BE ENERGY EFFICIENT

Going green has never been easier. The costs and the time and effort involved are decreasing and the plethora of ways you can reduce your carbon footprint is increasing. There are two main areas ways to go about doing this. You can switch to more energy efficient products in your home and look for alternative sources of power.

Energy efficiency
We contribute 40% to the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions as individuals. This includes cars, electrical products and food waste. But 60% of all our CO2 emissions come from boilers.

New energy efficient boilers produce 875g less CO2 than regular ones and this could save you around £170 a year on your heating bills. If you add heating controls, such as timers and individual radiator thermostats, you could increase the saving to £275 and the country could save 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

Thanks to British Gas' latest offer, installing these new boilers has never been easier and cheaper. If you buy a new or replacement boiler by 25 July you will save £852 off the cost of the boiler, servicing and installation. This mounts up to a saving of over £1000 this year, if you add the savings to your energy bill.
It's also important to make sure you have the right insulation, so that less of this precious heat is lost through the roof and walls. British Gas estimates that on a standard 3-bed semi-detached house, you could save £365 annually. Plus if you install the correct insulation the government is offering a tax rebate of £125.

Take a look at the British Gas website for more tips to save on your heating.

Alternative power sources
You can save money whilst not contributing one gram of CO2 to the environment by switching to solar panels which can supply around 50% of your hot water.

We have 40% of Europe's total wind energy here in the UK, so it makes sense to harness this power and use it to supply energy for our homes. Small turbines for personal use can produce enough energy to power the lights and electrical appliances in a standard-size home. So this means more free electricity and no carbon footprint. If you're connected to the National Grid, you can even store this energy in batteries and then use it on low-wind days.