Hints & Tips at HomeWe all want to do our bit. Safety, sustainability and energy efficiency are important to us all. Sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big difference, particularly when we act collectively. Here are some top tips to help at home. |
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Washing a small load of clothes? Check you washing machine’s settings to see if you can use the “half load” programme to save water and energy.
Using lids on your pans when cooking will save energy and help heat the contents quicker.
Remember to turn off the tap while brushing your teeth – a running tap wastes over 6 litres per minute.
Make the most of your oven. Filling an oven and batch cooking meals can save energy and money. If you share your home with others, planning meals and eating collectively can help build relationships whilst saving both energy and money.
When cooking you can often use the residual heat to to save energy if you switch your cooker off just before you finish cooking. However, you still need to make sure that your food is properly cooked through.
Switch off radiators in any rooms you are not using regularly and keep internal doors shut to save energy.
About a quarter of all our clean, drinkable water at home is flushed down the toilet. Place a sealed bottle of water or brick in your cistern to reduce this amount.
Check the programmer on your heating and hot water to make sure the timings match your needs. If you don’t have a seven-day programmer fitted consider getting one.
Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. Every year in the UK it kills around 50 people and sends 4000 to A&E for emergency treatment. Make sure you get all your combustion appliances properly serviced and fit an alarm. Good quality alarms are available from most DIY suppliers and take minutes to fit. It could save your life!
Think before your print. Reducing the amount of material you print has a long list of benefits including saving paper, chemicals and electricity. More and more offices and industries are going paper free, so think about how you can reduce any printing you do.
