Energy in the Home
Our use of energy in the home is responsible, on average, for up to a quarter of our personal carbon footprint.
Apart from climate change considerations, the use of electricity and gas in our homes is depleting the world’s non-renewable resources at an alarming rate.
In Europe energy demand is rising at around 3% a year. In developing regions such as India and China demand is rising annually by over three times as much.
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Energy consumption in homes is almost three times higher than that in commercial and public buildings.
Major uses of energy in the home (in descending order) are space heating, water heating, electrical appliances (ie refrigeration, washing/drying machines, computers and entertainment systems), cooking, and lighting.
World oil reserves are finite. The rate we are extracting oil from known reserves has caught up the rate at which new reserves are being discovered. As demand continues to grow, prices in the medium to long term are likely to rise dramatically.
70% of our electricity is generated by burning coal or gas. Both are relatively inefficient at converting energy into electricity.
A fifth of our electricity is generated by nuclear power stations, including those in France, though the problem of waste disposal remains unresolved. Supplies of the uranium required by them could be exhausted later this century. Nuclear fusion remains at least 30 years away, though may provide a solution one day.
The UK lags behind many European countries in the use of renewable sources despite having the highest wind resource in Europe.
What You Can Do
- Monitor your gas and electricity usage to see how much you are using in the first place.
- To reduce heating costs, wear appropriate clothes and set the thermostat at no more than 20 degrees – you may be able to reduce this by a degree or two.
- Use the timer, so that you aren’t heating the house at night, or when out during the day.
- Home insulation reduces waste. Cavity wall and loft insulation each cost a few hundred pounds and will save their installation cost within a very few years. Insulating the hot water tank should also provide savings. Grants are available which reduce the net cost considerably.
- Replacement double glazed windows are a big investment, but they make the house more comfortable and easy to maintain. If you can afford it, invest in triple glazing.
- If your gas boiler is old, then replacing it with a condensing boiler is likely to reduce your gas consumption significantly.
- Woodchip and log boilers are a more environmentally friendly option than gas, though more expensive to install. Make sure you have a good local source of fuel. Ground source and air source heat pumps may be suitable for certain properties.
- Solar water heating provides all your hot water needs for a third of the year and a decent proportion for another third. However, the payback period is quite lengthy.
- When replacing appliances, first consider whether you need to replace them at all (especially tumble driers, which are heavy users of power). If you do, then buy A++, A+ or A rated ones where these are available.
- Replace your most frequently-used lights with energy savers. There is an increasing range of LED bulbs available. These save even more electricity than compact fluorecsents, and the quality of the light they provide is improving all the time.
- Turn lights and appliances off when not in use.
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