At home
On average your home accounts for around a quarter of your carbon footprint, but there are many ways to help change this and save you money in the process!
What can you do?
- Retrofit your home - improving the energy efficiency of your home not only reduces your carbon footprint, but saves you money on energy bills and keeps you warm and healthy. Retrofitting could include insulating your loft, floors or walls, upgrading your windows and doors, or replacing your boiler for a more efficient model or for a renewable heat pump and solar panels. Check Cosy Homes in Lancashire (CHiL) to see if you qualify for any grants to help, and use the little book of warm to see some of their top tips. The Centre for Sustainable Energy or Energy Saving Trust offer simple advice guides. For more detail, take the Government survey to find ways to save energy in your home.
- Install a smart meter - as well as helping you to track how much energy you are using, smart meters allow you to take advantage of cheaper energy rates in the evening and overnight. Contact your energy supplier to see if you can get one installed.
- Use LED light bulbs - switching to LED light bulbs uses much less energy and can save you up to £70 each time, over the lifetime of the bulb.
- Give large unwanted household items to charity - if you are getting rid of some large unwanted items, you can request a collection from Bulky Matters. Wyre Council has a partnership with Bulky Matters and local re-use charity Furniture Matters that helps local disadvantaged people by selling the unwanted household items for low prices.
- Save water - shorten your showers to 5 minutes, turn off the taps when you're bushing your teeth, and use waste water to water your plants. If you can, install a water butt in your garden to make the most of rainwater for your plants, especially during droughts.
- Choose energy efficient appliances - when changing large appliances like washing machines or fridges, check the labels for their energy efficiency rating. As well as savinge energy, this will save you money on your bills over the long term.
- Use eco cleaning supplies - many cleaning products in your house contain harmful chemicals which wash into our water system and damage marine life. Try out some of the many eco cleaning supplies in shops, or sign up to subscription services to get these delivered to your door.
- Turn off your electricals overnight - watch out for 'vampire' electricals which use energy overnight, such as plugged in computers, radios, TVs and phone chargers. Turn these off at the wall to save your electricity bill.
- Lower your thermostat - aim to keep your thermostat at 18 to 21 degrees over winter to save money, and draught-proof your home to make the most of your heating. You can also ask a plumber to upgrade your thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to smart valves, so you can easily control which rooms you heat throughout the day.