Save Energy, Save Money & Save the Environment

ENERGY We rely on energy throughout our day to heat and light our homes, power our computers and equipment at work, and fuel our vehicles to get where we need to be. Our lives, and indeed our entire economies, rely on the use of energy. Over time our use of energy has increased significantly. The size of an average home in Scotland continues to increase and there are a larger number of lights, appliances and electronics in households today.

Where does this energy come from? OIL GAS COAL

Becoming energy efficient Increasing energy efficiency has two aspects: Changing our behaviour to reduce the energy we need. Simple and no-cost actions such as turning off lights and televisions when they are not in use, powering down office equipment at the end of the day, and not idling vehicles, can save energy that would have otherwise been wasted. Using technologies that allow us to reduce our energy needs. Using new and existing technologies that allow us to reduce our energy needs. This could include insulation or installing high-efficiency windows to reduce energy costs while increasing comfort levels, or buying only those appliances that are ENERGY STAR certified. While there are a variety of ways to be more energy efficient in our daily lives, there are also a variety of benefits in doing so.

What are the benefits of energy efficiency/conservation? Lowering household energy bills – energy conservation is the easiest, most affordable and most effective way for families to use energy more wisely and save money on both household expenses and transportation costs. Increasing comfort –bills can make up a significant percentage of household expenditure. As a result, some households have difficulty paying to heat their homes to a comfortable level. Yet inadequately heated homes can make occupants more susceptible to a range of health problems. Energy efficiency offers an opportunity to reduce energy costs, while enhancing comfort.

Be efficient with heating Stay warm, cut costs. Turning your thermostat down by 1°C can save you as much as £60 per year. Also, keeping your heating on constantly on a low heat could potentially save you more money than switching it on and off for big blasts of heat. Get cosy. Wearing extra layers (jumpers, socks and slippers) around the house, and putting an extra blanket on the bed means you won't be tempted to turn the heating up. Let the sunshine in. On a sunny day, opening your curtains will let warmth into your house, but when it's colder or the sun goes down don't forget to close them to keep that heat in. During winter, use thermal curtains.

Be efficient with cooking Save time and energy. Put the lids on pots when cooking. Food will cook quicker with the steam and thus use less energy, saving you money on gas. Make things easy for your fridge and freezer. Keeping them full means they don't have to work as hard and therefore they use less energy. Empty space in your fridge or freezer wastes not only space but energy too. Heat your home with cooking. Leave the oven door open after cooking to let the heat warm your kitchen. The oven might give off enough heat for you to adjust your thermostat, a far more efficient use of that stored heat than it escaping through an extractor fan.

Be efficient with washing Shrink your bills, not your clothes. 90% of a washing machine's energy expenditure is spent on heating the water, so if you wash your clothes at 30-40 °C you're saving significant amounts of money. Hang up your laundry. Air-dry your laundry rather than tumble drying it, particularly if there's warm or windy weather. What's more nothing smells better than air-dried clothes. < Energy efficient machines and refrigerators carry a ratings logo with A being the most energy efficient

Be efficient with your entire home Cavity wall insulation *. This could save you around 15% on your fuel bills, so you could be saving on average £98 a year. Loft insulation*. Heat rises. as much as 25% of the heat in your house could be disappearing into your loft space. Loft insulation could save about 19% on your fuel bills - which works out at an average of £128 per year. Heat is also lost through windows, doors and floors, therefore, insulation is a good investment. *Government grants are available

How does saving energy help to save the environment?

Let’s take a look at our previous slide OIL GAS COAL

Much of our daily life relies on energy generated from burning fuels Much of our daily life relies on energy generated from burning fuels. We use gas and petrol to run our vehicles or ships to transport goods, and oil to generate electricity for our homes and businesses. These fuels are often referred to as "fossil fuels" because they were formed or processed from organic material compressed deep underground millions of years ago. Fossil fuels contain greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere when used to generate energy. Over 80% of greenhouse gas emission in Scotland come from energy. 

Greenhouse Gases The Earth is surrounded by a layer of naturally occurring gases that include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These are commonly referred to as "greenhouse" gases because, like the walls of a greenhouse, they trap some of the heat from the sun and this warms the planet and makes it liveable. Without these gases, Earth would be too cold to support life, as we know it. The problem is, over the past 150 years, humans have been adding significantly to this layer by releasing more and more greenhouse gases by burning increasing quantities of oil, gas and coal. Now there is too much of these gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. In the last 100 years, concentrations of carbon dioxide have increase by 40%, methane by 150% and nitrous oxide by 20%. These gases are trapping too much heat and this is causing the global average temperature to increase and the earth's climates to change.

Statistics show that the planet has warmed by 0 Statistics show that the planet has warmed by 0.7°C since 1900 and could warm by up to a further 6°C by 2100 if greenhouse gas emission levels do not decline. Small changes in temperature can have significant impacts on our planet’s ecosystem. Therefore, small changes in our behaviour can help to prevent these impacts.

Here are some common climate crimes people commit: Leaving TV on standby: This wastes a lot of electricity and , so it is best to turn the TV off properly. Leaving lights on in an empty room: If a room is not being used, you do not need to leave the lights on. Leaving a mobile phone charger plugged in: Always remember to unplug the charger once a phone has been charged or the charger is not in use. Not using energy saving light bulbs: Energy saving light bulbs use less electricity and they last longer as opposed to normal bulbs. Boiling a full kettle of water for one cup: When making tea or coffee, only use how much water you need. Every cup that is boiled releases 25 cups of carbon dioxide.

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