Warwickshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre

Global awareness of environmental issues has significantly increased over the last decade.

More and more people are anxious not to waste money on unnecessary energy use and now have some concern for the future of the planet.

Doing different things will save different amounts of energy, so what is needed is a knowledge of which actions will save energy and how much.

Key actions include

• making sure that buildings are not losing heat as fast as you put it in
• the appliances and equipment you use are designed to use the minimum amount of energy to do what you need them to do
• the way you use things makes the best use of what you've got

You can save energy at home, at school and at work, but the best way to start is to find out what your options are.

There are things you can do that cost nothing so you can start saving energy immediately. Some energy saving options you will have to buy and this can range from a few pounds to several thousand.

One way to judge which option to choose, is to see how quickly the money it costs is recovered from the savings you make, this is called the payback period. For example

• Fitting low energy light bulbs: payback within 3-6 months through the reduction of electricity bills
• Cavity wall insulation: payback within 1-2 years through the reduction of heating bills