ENERGY CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY SAVE ENERGY = SAVE MONEY

DEFINITION OF TERMS Energy Conservation: behavior that results in the use of less energy. Energy Efficiency: the use of technology that requires less energy to perform the same function. 

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? With just a few simple changes to your lifestyle and your home, you could be saving hundreds of pounds on your heating, gas and electricity bills.

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 appliances Switch it off and save. Unplug all the appliances that you aren't using regularly - even chargers continue to use electricity when they aren't charging. Also, make sure you're not leaving appliances on standby: it may be easier but it's also a guaranteed way that energy is wasted compared to turning things off at the socket. Turn of the lights. Use energy saving light bulbs. Replacing just one old light bulb with an energy saving one can reduce lighting costs by up to £78 over the lifetime of the bulb. Plus, they last up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.

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

Sign up today to help us to help you save money. HOME VISITS Over the course of the next few months, we will be working in the community to address energy wastage and in turn increase energy conservation and efficiency. Our free home energy visits will help you to determine where your house is losing energy and money – and how such problems can be corrected to make your home more energy efficient. By allowing us to help you reduce your energy usage and save money, you will also be lowering CO2 emissions and combating climate change. Sign up today to help us to help you save money.

Mccormick House. 50 Darnley Street. Glasgow. G41 2SE. 0141 429 5555 Our home energy visits will help you to determine where your house is losing energy and money – and how such problems can be corrected to make your home more energy efficient. By allowing us to help you reduce your energy usage and save money, you will also be lowering CO2 emissions and combating climate change. Mccormick House. 50 Darnley Street. Glasgow. G41 2SE. 0141 429 5555