Want to slash your carbon footprint AND save money?

[littlefrog]

I have just been working out electricity costs, and I am AMAZED by how much money/carbon you can save with really tiny changes.

Now, I always try and turn off ALL the lights whenever I leave a room, but I don't always remember, or I have my hands full, or DH doesn't bother... So I thought I'd just work out how much an ordinary 100W bulb, left burning for 4 hrs/day, would cost me. That's the equivalent of having a single light on in the hall all evening, from 6-10pm.

So: light in hall on for 4 hours/day, 30 days/month= 120 hrs/month
Using a 100w bulb
If your electricity costs 10p/kWh that will cost you £1.20/month, £14.44/year
Just to light your hall! With one bulb!

BUT if you switch to a 20W energy saving bulb then a month?s lighting will cost just 24p (£2.88/year)

OR if you don't change bulbs, but only have the hall light on when you actually need it (when you're in the hall - say for an hour a day (generous!)), then a month's lighting will cost 30p (£3.60/year)

Now, if you do both, i.e. change the bulb and only have it on when you need, the cost of the electricity to light your hall will be just 6p/month just 72p/year

That's a saving of £13.68 per year just from changing ONE BULB and only having the light on when you need it.

I have to say I'm astonished!

This is a nice site to use to calculate how much an appliance is costing you to run.

Moral is, even if you don't change bulbs, TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!

oh, ps, I wanted to say that while the title of this thread is a take-off of the Good Energy one, I'm not for a minute suggesting that it's not a really good thing to switch to renewables - it's just that there are lots of other things to do as well!

Thank you - just got my last bill and was thinking, "Argh". So, will now go away and do something about it!

good post littlefrog!

It is lots of little changes that add up isn't it.

When I moved into this house, there where five light bulbs in the sitting room, one on each wall and a main ceiling one. I took the bulbs out of the wall ones and only use the ceiling one. Five just seemed so wasteful!

wow.... that is amazing

i ONLY have energy bulbs in my hosue anyway and am careful about turning them off, but i think its fair to say more oftne than not my hall bulb is on 6 - 10pm most evenings.

will make even more of an effort to turn it off now

wonder how much Xmas lights cost to run?

washing at night made a big difference to our bill.... at a lower temp. Nothing goes in on wash hotter than 30 degrees and we only use half a washing tablet. Everything comes out clean and we save lots of money!!!
When i rang the electric company after one horrifyingly big bll she said... turn the heating down and put on another jumper, and blow me it works!!!!

Dh is always very pedantic about turning all the lights off, the only lights on are in the rooms we are in.
Laundry - I have started washing less often and tend to bung all colours in together instead of doing seperate loads. But I cannot was at 30. No matter which detergent I use, nothing gets clean [exasperated emoticon]
Heating is on a timer here, goes on at 6.30am and off at 10pm, but the thermostat is set to 18degrees I believe, so it is by no means warm! We are a family of jogger/jumper/slipper wearers (very fetching when someone pops by unexpectedly)

I am very very keen to do more though, so if you have any more tips, please do post them!

Got a steamer as a present for Christmas and now i can cook a whole meal on one hob instead of 3!

Turn off everything at mains when you go to bed at night - the only thing that stays on in our house is the answer machine and our top up tv recorder.

I still think everyone should move to renewables!

I read an article that said people are saving energy by switching off/using energy saving bulbs etc, but because they save money they spend it on more consumer products which cost energy to produce, so their carbon footprint doesn't actually reduce. A bit depressing really

Happy New Year!
Spent New year with some friends who have just had an extension built, just one (large) room with THIRTY THREE halogen downlighters to light it... just worked out that that room alone will cost them more or less £20 a month to light. leaving aside the carbon... makes you weep.

maybe we should have a special thread for frugal carbon-saving tips?

Sorry but I hardly think this is "slashing your carbon footprint" and saving £14 a year is not much of a saving either. Giving up your car might be somewhat closer, surely?

it's per lightbulb, so actually it can be surprisingly significant.

i know, though, of course you're right... it's just that most people just can't imagine giving up their cars (The 'I need it' problem). (we don't have one)

anyway i still think it's something people should do, whether or not they're going to give up their cars.

What I really want to know is exactly how much electricity our ancient storage heaters might be guzzling. We only have two and have them set how the electrician recommended to keep the worst of the chill off (ie input 3, output 1) and we are guzzling electricity like there's no tomorrow. The electricity company's answer is that yes they eat electricity, but since we're renting we're pretty stuck I think.

Is anyone else on Total Heating, Total Control and in the same situation just out of interest? Or maybe I should start a new thread. I'd love to hear any tips.

BTW, we're already wearing two pairs of socks and two jumpers each. The only room we keep tolerably warm is DS's. Unheated rooms in this house are around 14 degrees normally. Heated ones around 16 to 18 if we're lucky.