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Simple ways to save energy at home ....Diane Stokes from St Neot is changing little things in the home to make a big difference to the climate. Why they are doing things to help the climate.... Diane lives in the beautiful village of St. Neot, between Bodmin and Liskeard, and is surrounded by stunning countryside. She has always loved nature, and is very proud of her local area, but worries that if people don’t all make an effort to protect the climate, it just won’t be the same in fifty years time. She doesn’t want it to change and is concerned we will lose some of the animals and plants due to climate change. Dianne is doing things to prevent climate change and believes that others in Cornwall can do the same to make a real difference and act an as example for the rest of the country. What they are doing.... Diane is taking simple, low cost steps in her own home to reduce her energy use. She has gradually changed over her old light bulbs to energy saving ones. Every time she went shopping she just bought one of the new light bulbs and Why it’s important….. We all need and use energy in our homes for heating, lighting and appliances. Currently nearly all of this energy comes from power stations that burn fossil fuels and this results in carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. It is the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in recent decades that are causing the changes in our climate that we are already beginning to see. In the UK, 27 per cent of the carbon dioxide we produce comes from the energy we use in our homes. Saving energy in the home is one of the most simple and cost effective ways we can all tackle climate change. By using energy more carefully we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we are responsible for, helping to avoid the risk of future climate change. Like Dianne is proving, small changes can save energy, reduce our fuel bills and protect the climate. The Energy Saving Trust says that nearly £5 billion is wasted on energy in the UK every year. This is enough to give every man, woman and child £84 a year. Lighting Low energy light bulbs cost a bit more than ordinary bulbs, but they last 12 times longer and can save you around £9 on your annual electricity bill or £100 over the bulb's Draught Proofing Draught proofing is easy and cheap to do and most materials are readily available in local DIY stores. You can use draught excluders for doors, windows and letterboxes and draught proof around your skirting boards. These sorts of measures can save you around £20 on your fuel bills and will pay for themselves in three to five years at current prices. You can also follow Dianne’s lead and close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping – this doesn’t cost anything! You can find out more about draught proofing from the Energy Saving Trust website. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that almost a billion pounds of electricity is wasted in the UK every year by people leaving appliances on standby. All these simple, low cost things make a real difference to climate change. With over 215,000 homes in Cornwall, image how much carbon dioxide we could save if we all followed Dianne’s lead. Small changes really do make a difference to our climate and they also save us money on our fuel bills. Avoid Stand-by Further information.... Find out more about climate change and how carbon dioxide is causing this from our understanding climate change pages. For free, impartial and locally relevant advice on how to save energy at home, speak to the Cornwall Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (EEAC) on 0800 512012 or email them on advice@cep.org.uk. As well as providing tailored advice for your home they can advise you on grants and offers that you could be entitled to for helping cover the cost of installing energy saving measures (they say that every household in Cornwall is eligible for at least a partial grant for insulation). More information is available from their website. If you prefer doing everything on the internet you can also complete your own DIY Home Energy Check, and the EEAC will send a report back to you with lots of hints and tips on ways to save energy and money. For a simple ten point list of things you can do to help the climate and save energy visit the Energy Saving Trust website. As well as the low cost ways to save energy highlighted on this page, there are lots of ways to save energy and money that don’t cost a thing. The Friends of the Earth website contains lots of advice on how to do this.Images courtesy of and copyright of EST
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OptionsThis StoryListen again to this story.... Related Stories18. Tackling climate change from home 20. Working with nature to fight climate change 29. No cost ways to save energy Related LinksClimate Change Energy Saving Trust Cornwall EEAC Home Energy Check Friends of the Earth |
used these as her old one’s needed replacing. She’s also taking steps to reduce drafts in her home. She is using draft excluders on her doors and uses thick curtains in the winter to help keep the heat in. Finally, she always makes sure she switches off lights when she’s not in the room and doesn’t leave appliances on standby. All these actions are cutting her personal carbon emissions and saving her money on bills.
lifetime, making them cheaper in the long term. It may not feel like you will make much difference by using a low energy light bulb in the fight against climate change, but if every UK household installed 3 compact fluorescent light bulbs, enough energy would be saved in a year to supply all the street lighting in the UK. You can find out more about 