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Energy Efficient Winter Warming Advice
June 2008
As the summer months approach us, the last thing on people’s minds will be preparing for winter, however Care4Air, South Yorkshire’s air quality campaign, is urging people to prepare now if they want their home to be toasty warm and energy efficient when the winter arrives!
The air quality awareness campaign, which is run by all four local authorities and funded through the South Yorkshire Local Transport Plan, is highlighting simple steps that people can take to reduce their carbon footprint, as according to Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, at the recent launch of the ‘Act on CO2’ advice line, 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the home.
By ensuring their home is energy efficient, people can look forward to lower heating bills and improved quality of air in their local environment. Care4Air is listing some top tips that everyone can do now in preparation for the winter months:
- Fit a coat around your hot water cylinder, which will reduce heating bills by about £20 per year
- Install Cavity Wall Insulation, which will massively decrease the amount of energy you need to heat your home
- Think about ‘draft proofing’ and save £20 a year on heating bills! If you can feel cold air coming in through windows in your home, it means heat is escaping. Stop drafts by using brushes on letterboxes and foam, sealant or strips to reduce other gaps in windows etc.
Care4Air wants to remind everyone that now is the time to make these improvements to your home, as when the winter months do come around, tradesmen will be more stretched due to increased demand when the weather becomes colder. Also, why not use the money you save on heating bills during the summer to ensure you’re toasty warm for the winter!
Other tips that people can do all year-round to improve energy efficiency in their home include:
- Turn off lights, televisions, DVD players, computers and other electrical items
- Make sure you set the boiler thermostat, time programmer and thermostatic radiator valves, so they only heat the rooms that you use at the time that you use them
- Replace all old light bulbs with energy saving ones
- Turn down the central heating slightly (by as little as 1 or 2 degrees)
- Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load
- Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need
Mark Daly, Spokesperson for Care4Air, said: “It is important that people plan for winter, to not only help the environment, but also help their finances and save hundreds of pounds each year. When heat escapes from your home it reduces its energy efficiency, which will result in you using more heating, which in turn gives off more pollution. Being energy efficient costs near to nothing and can really make a difference.”
For more information on energy efficiency and improving air quality, please visit www.care4air.org