Tips and facts about energy efficiency and how you can obtain a smart meter to help you reduce your electricity consumption
HOW MUCH IS YOUR £L£CTRICITY COSTING?
Normal meters don't make it easy. They're usually hidden under the stairs. The only time you find out how much energy you've been using is when that big bill drops on your doormat. It makes it hard to relate our daily use with the actual cost of electricity (let alone the environmental costs!).
YOU CAN NOW BORROW A SMART METER AND FIND OUT
"Smart Meters" clip on to your existing meter and give you live feedback on the electricity you are using right now in pence per hour, tonnes of CO2 or kWh. They're a great way of raising awareness about the electricity that is actually used. The Esk Valley Community Energy Group has obtained a number of Smart Meters (donated by Scottish and Southern Electric) which are now available for anyone to borrow!
If you would like to borrow a smart meter please call at Danby Village Hall on any first Wednesday in a month between 7pm and 7.30pm (when full easy to follow instructions will be given) or ring Judie Holliday on 01439 770657 to arrange delivery.
Some facts about saving energy
By buying an energy efficient light bulb rather than the other alternatives, you can cut energy wastage by over three quarters. That's around £10 a year on your energy bill, or £68 over the bulb's lifetime. If everyone installed one energy saving light bulb the carbon dioxide emissions saved would fill the Royal Albert Hall nearly 3000 times
The average household could save £200 a year by taking energy efficiency measures. This is equivalent to a saving of around 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide. £5 billion is wasted on energy in the UK every year. This is enough to give every man, woman and child £84 a year in the UK.
If everyone in the UK installed loft insulation up to 250mm thickness, the equivalent financial saving would pay the energy bills of 740,000 families for a year.
If everyone in North Yorkshire swapped their old fridge freezer for a new 'A' rated model we could save enough money each year to pay David Beckham's annual salary.
Using a 40°C wash cycle rather than 60°C means you use a third less electricity. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures for your average wash.
If everyone in York, North Yorkshire and East Riding installed just 1 low energy light bulb, enough carbon dioxide would be saved to fill 47,598 double decker buses.
If all the households in our region insulated their hot water cylinder we could save up to £2million a year off our collective fuel bills. That's enough money to pay the annual wages of 130 new police officers.
If every one in North Yorkshire topped up their loft insualtion to 250mm (10") we could save as much as £6million a year and save enough energy to meet the needs of 15,666 households for a year.