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Energy Saving Tips

Energy is vital to nearly all aspects of our daily lives - but we rarely stop to think about how or why we use it. As the price of energy continues to rise, now is the ideal time to consider what you can do to be more energy efficient. The good news is that there are many simple ways to use energy more efficiently that will save money and benefit the environment.

Electricity Saving Tips

Lighting:

Turn the lights off when leaving a room.
Use "task" lighting rather than whole room lighting when a small amount of light is required.
Regularly clean light fittings, reflectors and lampshades.

Timers: Use the timer on your immersion heater. This should supply you with enough hot water as and when you need it.

Electric Shower: Take a shower rather than a bath. A typical shower uses only one fifth of the energy of a full bath.

Computer:

Configure your computer to "energy saving" mode in which it will automatically change to the state of low consumption.
Switching off the screen can save even more than just letting the screen saver run.
Turning your computer off at night instead of leaving it on will save on average 25% of its annual energy bill. Remember you should turn off your computer whenever you are not going to use it for more than an hour.

Television: A television in standby mode can use up to as much as half the electricity as when it is switched on.

Fridge/Freezers:

Don't let frost build up in the freezer compartment as this increases energy consumption. Remember to defrost and clean the inside of your refrigerator and freezer at least every 6 months and make sure they are positioned in a cool place, not next to the cooker or boiler or where possible not in the path of direct sunlight.
Check that the door seals on the refrigerator and freezer are tight fitting - the seals hold a 5 euro note in place when the door is closed.
Don't put warm or hot food straight into the freezer - let it cool down first.

Cooking:

Put lids on pots and turn down the heat when the water starts to boil. The lids not only keep heat in the pot but also reduce condensation in the kitchen.
At a certain point in cooking, turn off electric rings and use their residual heat.
Lots of energy saving cooking devices are under used: like slow casseroles, insulated deep fat fryers, microwave ovens and pressure cookers. They can save both energy and time - with better results!

Microwaves: In a microwave oven, arrange unevenly shaped items with the thickest portion to the outside. Stir or turn the food over to speed up cooking time. Remember a microwave is more efficient than a cooker for reheating food.

Electric Ovens:

The oven is expensive to use - try to use it as sparingly and efficiently as possible. Where possible use it for more than just one item and remember you can cook at a higher temperature at the top of the oven, and simultaneously at a lower temperature at the bottom.
Do not open the over door to check cooking - every time you do so you lose 20% of the accumulated heat.

Toasters & Kettles:

The toaster is more energy efficient than the grill for toasting bread.
When making tea or coffee, boil only the amount of water required (but make sure the heating elements of electric kettles are covered!).

Tumble Dryers: When drying clothes in a dryer, dry heavy articles separately from light articles and turn the dryer off as soon as the clothes are dry - don't over dry the clothes!

Washing Machines: The washing cycle selected on a washing machine should have the lowest water temperature required for the items being washed. A full load of washing is more energy efficient that two half loads. Use a cold rinse for your clothes.

Dishwashers: Stop the dishwasher before the drying cycle and open the door to let the dishes air dry and always use the economy button where possible.

Electric Blankets: Switch on electric blankets no more than half an hour before you go to bed and switch off just before you get into bed.

When purchasing, you should consider the following:

Appliances: Be demanding when you buy, check the energy labels on appliances. Purchase ‘A’ rated appliances whenever possible, they can save their replacement cost over their lifetime and benefit the environment.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs): These use a fraction of the electricity and last up to 10 times longer than ordinary light-bulbs - could you install more in your home?

Electric Heaters: When buying heaters, make sure they are the right size for the rooms they are to heat. Remember that electric heaters consume electricity at the most expensive charge rate.

Heating & Insulation Tips

Heaters:

When buying heaters, make sure that they are the right size for the rooms they are to heat, and that they have thermostatic controls.
Remember that electric heaters other than storage heaters consume electricity at the most expensive charge rate.
Use a space or portable heater instead of the central heater, if only one room needs heating.
Choose heaters with thermostat controls and timers.

Central Heating:

Turn off the heating overnight and when you are out during the day.
Turn off the heating if you are going to be out of the house for more than a day.
Proper control and regular maintenance of your heating system can reduce fuel consumption by 10-20%
If you have gas heating, turn-off pilot lights during the warmer months.
Heat bedroom areas to less than 18oC
20oC is an ideal room temperature. Turning down thermostats by 1oC can reduce annual space heating energy consumption by 10% with an equivalent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Heat Loss:

Open fires are wasteful of energy with more than 70% of the energy going up the chimney.
If the radiator is mounted below a window, a projecting window-board or shelf above the radiator will direct warm air into the room, reducing heat loss through the window.
Close doors to separate heated from unheated areas of your home, and minimise the area you are heating.

Hot Water Heating:

Use the timer on immersion heaters. This should supply you with enough hot water as and when you need.
Heating hot water account for 64% of energy consumption in the home: you should be thrifty in its use.
90% of the energy consumption of washing machines goes on heating the water. Wash clothes whenever possible in cold or cool water.

Insulation:

Much of the heat loss from a house occurs through the windows particularly if they are single glazed. Keep curtains closed at night and ensure that the curtains don’t hang over the radiators.
A reflective foil, backed by insulation if space permits should be fixed behind radiators mounted on external walls.
A lagging jacket on your hot water cylinder will keep water hotter for longer and pay for itself in 2-3 months.
If replacing the hot water cylinder, a cylinder with factory applied insulation should be considered. Such insulation is more effective at retaining heat than a lagging jacket, is less easily damaged and cannot be pulled out of place.
Insulate your attic and save up to 20% on your home heating bill.

Renewable Energy Tips

Renewable Resources:

Combining solar collectors with a wood burning stove provides an ideal year-round renewable energy heating solution. A solar collector system can provide around 60% of your annual hot water needs for free (80 to 90% in summer).
Simple Passive Solar Design techniques can make a big difference to energy consumption in the home. Just by facing a house south to capture the maximum daylight energy bills can be reduced by 30%.
Transmission of light through windows (passive solar heating) can reduce heating costs - could you allow for passive solar heating in the design of a new home? What about integrating a solar water heating system onto a south facing roof?
Adding an unheated conservatory or sunspace to the south face of your house increases passive solar gains and provides an insulating effect.
Space and water heating account for over 70% of energy used in the home, so switching to clean, renewable energy (e.g. wood fuel, solar energy or heat pump systems) makes a big reduction in the environmental impact of your home.
Wood is a renewable fuel you can use without producing the harmful greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuels. Instead of coal or peat, throw on a log onto a fire. Whereas peat and coal take hundreds of thousands of years to form, wood is a renewable fuel that grows in just 3-70 years.
Using renewable sources of energy like wood and solar energy to heat our homes reduces our reliance on polluting, imported fossil fuels like oil and coal.
If you recycle glass and paper, you save on a great deal of energy, raw materials and pollution.

Alternative Heating Systems:

Ground source heat pumps, which collect solar energy stored in the ground, are ideally suited to the Irish climate and can provide year round space and water heating for the fraction of the costs of a conventional system.
A modern wood burning stove can achieve efficiencies of up to 80% compared to only 20-30% for a traditional open fire.

"Quote from Sustainable Energy Ireland Website"

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