We all want to be more Green but without knowing the effect we're having it's hard to keep up motivation. So as promised I've put together a few interesting facts about recycling and the actual impact it has on the environment so we can keep the momentum going. :)
Laptops use 80% less energy than a desktop.
They're portable, last hours without being plugged in and can connect us to the internet on the go so we already love our laptops. Now you can also be smug that you're helping the environment at the same time!
If everyone re-used 2ft of wrapping ribbon just once it would save 38,000 miles worth.
That's enough to tie a bow around the earth!
A tumble drier uses 3x more energy than the washing machine.
So if you wash and dry your clothes with machines it's the equivalent of washing them 4 times over. An airer is more environmentally friendly and can be hidden out of sight if necessary. :)
85,000 litres of rain fall on your roof every year.
A water butt will allow you to use this water for your plants and washing your car instead of fresh water from the tap.
It takes 80% less energy to recycle an aluminium or steel can than make a new one.
To make it even more impressive; cans can be recycled endlessly so if everyone started recycling we'd never need to make another can again! (Unrealistic I know, but I'm a dreamer...)
A car club takes approx. 20 privately owned cars off the road.
If you're very car-reliant it may not be for you, but if you can rely on public transport a lot of the time and only need a car now and then car clubs can be extremely useful.
Glass milk bottles are reused approx. 13 times before they're recycled.
That's 13 times more than a plastic bottle! Plus the milkman delivers using an electric car so you can be smug when you don't have to go buy fresh milk instead of feeling lazy!
80% of the energy a washing machine uses is to heat the water.
Turn down the temperature and you turn down your electricity bill!
An urban cycler reaches speeds of approx. 15-22km/hour.
An urban driver reaches speeds of approx. 22-35km/hour in traffic. Add in time for searching for spaces and parking, then walking the 2 miles to work because you couldn't get closer... it could be quicker to just cycle!
You can save approx. 5000 litres of water a year if you have an old toilet.
Fill a 1L bottle with water (or 2 500ml bottles) and put them in your cistern. This will save 1L of water every time you flush, which accumulates to approx. 5000 litres of water over the year! (This only works if you have a normal flush - push buttons use a different mechanism.)
Insulating your roof will save approx. 25% more energy each year.
For the full details on insulating your loft check out this post.
Filling in draughts around the house - especially doors and windows - can save up to 10% on your energy bill.
More information is also in the link above - it's well worth getting draught excluders, lining thin curtains and keeping doors shut wherever possible!
Cotton production takes up 2.6% of our water usage.
Fixing up old clothes, donating those you don't want and buying from charity shops will all reduce the amount of new clothing that needs to be made and will cut down our water usage.
In the UK appliances left on stand-by use 2 power stations worth of electricity a year.
Some of the appliances can use up to 90% of their normal power use even on stand-by, so it really is worth turning them off at the plug. Some of the worst culprits are TVs, stereos and games consoles!
In 2010 hydropower accounted for approx. 16% of global electricity production!
Add to that solar energy, wind energy etc. and we can see that our efforts are making a global impact. :)
Showing posts with label loft insulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loft insulation. Show all posts
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Cut your bills to pay for your luxuries!
At the moment we're cutting back on the luxuries so we can afford our bills. Now it's time to cut back on our bills to afford our luxuries!
My easter present from mum was a little unusual this year, but I love it. She got me Ideal Home magazine, which is full of really expensive design ideas that I will be copying for half the price, and interesting articles that led me to todays blog.
They have a wonderful article on Oliver Heath - a TV presenter who completely remodeled his house to be as eco friendly as possible. I'm not suggesting you go to quite the effort he has, spending £440,00 to buy the house and a further £130,000 in refubishment (!) but there are steps you can take that don't empty your bank account. Oliver estimates that it will take just 10 years to make back the refurbishment money with the savings he will make, which is incredible. If he can make back £130,000 in 10 years then we're all capable of making some pretty hefty savings ourselves with the right steps.
You need to start with the most obvious thing: changing your habits. Being green is a lifetime goal, not an instant save. Think of each habit you change as saving you 5p every time you remember. Add in just 1 habit a day and you'll only save £18.25 a year, but add 3 habits a day and you've saved £54.75!
Do you leave the door open when you take the bin out? Or leave lights on in various rooms even when no one is in them? How about leaving the shower running for 5 minutes to 'warm up' while you're getting ready? I'm not suggesting you lock yourself out of the house, sit in the dark and take a cold shower in the morning. That would be my worst nightmare! But pull the door almost closed, flick the light off when you'll be out for more than a few minutes and only leave your shower running the 30 seconds it needs to warm up before getting in.
Other ideas include keeping the doors in your house closed, only boil the water you need, switch things off instead of standby, don't leave things plugged in if you're not using them. All of these suggestions don't sound like they add up to much, but over the course of a year you'd be surprised.
Next you move on to simple solutions; conserve your heat and save water. A quick run down shows what you can do and how much you will save per year:
Seal drafts around doors, windows and loft hatches: £55
Insulate your hot water cylinder with a 75mm jacket: £40
Switch an old boiler to an A-rated condensing boiler: £100-£300
Fit a low-flow shower head: £90 (based on water-meter bills for a household of 4)
Swap incandescent lightbulbs to fluorescents: £55+ over the bulbs' life.
Swap a 70W halogen bulb with a 6W LED light: £70 over its' life.
It doesn't sound like much, less than £5/year saved on a lightbulb. But think of the bigger picture; most people will have 10-20 bulbs in their house as a conservative figure. That's £50-£100/year!
Insulate your loft to 270mm thick insulation and you can save £175/year. Add cavity wall insulation into the equation and you'll add a further £135/year. (based on a 3-bed semi detached house)
The final and biggest step is to start generating your own energy. This is where it gets a little complicated, so I'll be devoting another blog to that one!
So there you have it, some quick and painless steps to make your house more energy efficient. What habits will you be changing? Write them in comments below and we'll all try them together!
My easter present from mum was a little unusual this year, but I love it. She got me Ideal Home magazine, which is full of really expensive design ideas that I will be copying for half the price, and interesting articles that led me to todays blog.
They have a wonderful article on Oliver Heath - a TV presenter who completely remodeled his house to be as eco friendly as possible. I'm not suggesting you go to quite the effort he has, spending £440,00 to buy the house and a further £130,000 in refubishment (!) but there are steps you can take that don't empty your bank account. Oliver estimates that it will take just 10 years to make back the refurbishment money with the savings he will make, which is incredible. If he can make back £130,000 in 10 years then we're all capable of making some pretty hefty savings ourselves with the right steps.
You need to start with the most obvious thing: changing your habits. Being green is a lifetime goal, not an instant save. Think of each habit you change as saving you 5p every time you remember. Add in just 1 habit a day and you'll only save £18.25 a year, but add 3 habits a day and you've saved £54.75!
Do you leave the door open when you take the bin out? Or leave lights on in various rooms even when no one is in them? How about leaving the shower running for 5 minutes to 'warm up' while you're getting ready? I'm not suggesting you lock yourself out of the house, sit in the dark and take a cold shower in the morning. That would be my worst nightmare! But pull the door almost closed, flick the light off when you'll be out for more than a few minutes and only leave your shower running the 30 seconds it needs to warm up before getting in.
Other ideas include keeping the doors in your house closed, only boil the water you need, switch things off instead of standby, don't leave things plugged in if you're not using them. All of these suggestions don't sound like they add up to much, but over the course of a year you'd be surprised.
Next you move on to simple solutions; conserve your heat and save water. A quick run down shows what you can do and how much you will save per year:
Seal drafts around doors, windows and loft hatches: £55
Insulate your hot water cylinder with a 75mm jacket: £40
Switch an old boiler to an A-rated condensing boiler: £100-£300
Fit a low-flow shower head: £90 (based on water-meter bills for a household of 4)
Swap incandescent lightbulbs to fluorescents: £55+ over the bulbs' life.
Swap a 70W halogen bulb with a 6W LED light: £70 over its' life.
It doesn't sound like much, less than £5/year saved on a lightbulb. But think of the bigger picture; most people will have 10-20 bulbs in their house as a conservative figure. That's £50-£100/year!
Insulate your loft to 270mm thick insulation and you can save £175/year. Add cavity wall insulation into the equation and you'll add a further £135/year. (based on a 3-bed semi detached house)
The final and biggest step is to start generating your own energy. This is where it gets a little complicated, so I'll be devoting another blog to that one!
So there you have it, some quick and painless steps to make your house more energy efficient. What habits will you be changing? Write them in comments below and we'll all try them together!
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