Saving Energy Works

Fantastic news - we can and do all change the world every day. The Independent reported that Britain could slash its CO2 emissions by a third just by making simple everyday changes in our homes. The UK could easily make energy savings that would be the equivalent of us shutting down 10 large gas-fired power stations, saving a staggering 40 megatonnes of CO2 each year. I was struck by the enormity of scale with this particular story. More and more, evidence is emerging to say that the little changes we can make at home really do have an impact on the bigger picture.

The story came from new calculations by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, which is based at the well respected Imperial College London. The figures appear to demonstrate the government has been too conservative in its energy saving estimations. Instead, it seems that encouraging everyday people like us to save electricity would produce a far greater reduction in emissions than has previously been discussed. The reason is that the Grantham Institute took into account that gas and coal fired power stations see a bigger drop in their CO2 emissions compared to wind or nuclear powered stations when people conserve electricity. So far, the UK is lagging behind the government’s emissions reduction target for 2010, so its time to take some action.

Dr Hawkes, the respected scientist behind the report, stated that if we were all "turning off all appliances at the mains when going to bed or on holiday .... installing 10 energy-efficient light bulbs .... and hanging out wet washing to dry rather than using tumble dryers ... we'd save about 40 megatonnes of CO2 a year". Three super simple ways to achieve such a staggering reduction - I’m totally inspired by this new research, because these are quick, easy steps all of us can take! First of all, we can all use a standby power saver to switch off all appliances when not in use - no need to try to remember. Next is energy efficient light bulbs. Thank goodness these days the technology has moved on and they are available in a wide variety of styles for use all around the home. Then, skipping the tumble dryer is a good excuse to add a little shabby chic charm with a clothes airer or rotary line.