Council seeks 10% cut in staff energy consumption in on year

Stroud District Council in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre have this week put up a display on the ground floor of Ebley Mill aimed at Council staff and members. The 'My Energy' project hopes to involve every member of staff participating in behavioural change to reduce the amount of energy that is wasted in our Council buildings. Energy Champions have been selected to advise fellow colleagues and monitor progress on each floor/building, and they will be carrying out regular audits of their designated location.

Photo: posters from the Ebley Mill display

The Senior Sustainable Energy Officer, Lisa Wilkes writes: "If we all work together to do our bit, we should easily reduce our energy consumption by 10% in one year! But don't stop there, take your energy saving activities home with you too and save yourselves some some energy and money off your bills!"

Below I've enclosed the 40 useful no-cost ways to save energy in your home that has been circulate to all staff. This is an important initiative as all of us need to be made aware of our energy use - hopefully this will also impact on the actions and policies being made by staff....my own view is that this is only a start - if we are to seek real changes then more input and training will be needed for staff. One example that comes to mind is how on earth did the recent Environment Green paper get to be posted around in a big brown envelope when an address could have been put on the side of it and saved all those envelopes - similarly DCC papers still come out with large amounts of shaded areas - a waste of ink - an issue raised by Cllr Ken Stevens on several occasions. Why no action?

I am optimistic that all these measures will start to really have a significant impact but we mustn't get away from the need for all the big changes to....why are developments still going ahead without renewables on them? Why are the Council supporting a supermarket being built only 3 miles from another supermarket in Dursley? I could go on but thats another blog......

40 FREE ways to save energy

Start changing your energy wasting habits now! Your efforts will be rewarded.

HEATING

1. Close all curtains at duskto keep the heat in and open sunny rooms’ internal doors to let the warmth travel through your home.

2. Never open windows or doors to cool a room, turn down the heating instead.

3. Make sure your heating system is only on when you need it: adjust the timer/programmer until your heating is only on for the hours you need warmth. Try switching it off ½ hour before you go out or go to bed, saving both money and energy.

4. Turn down the room thermostat by 1ºC and save up to 10% on your fuel bill- 21°C is recommended for your living room and 18°C for your hall. If you are elderly, sick or very young you may need extra heat, but take care not to over-heat babies.

5. If hot water is heated separately to the central heating, turn off centralheating pilot light in the summer.

6. Boilers operate more efficiently and safelywhen serviced regularly.

7. Reflective panelsbehind radiators can reduce energy consumption and shelving over radiators and storage heaters can deflect heat into the room.

8. Furniture which is in front of heaters/radiators blocks the heat from the rest of the room and can damage it – so move furniture (and curtains) away from heaters.

HOT WATER

9. Check that your hot water tank thermostat is set no higher than 60ºC: this is hot enough for hot water; setting it higher increases the risk of scalding and wastes fuel.

10. Only heat water when you need it.Don’t leave water heaters on constantly day and night and the use of a timer with an immersion heater will help to control how much electricity you’re using.

11. Lag your hot water tankwith an 80mm jacket.

12. Make sure hot water taps are always turned off properly. Dripping taps waste water and energy.

13. Put the plug in the sink or use a bowl when washing hands or dishes: running the hot tap can be very wasteful.

14. Having a 5 minute shower costs approx. 5 times less than a bath.

INSULATION

15. Free advice on energy saving:if you would like advice on insulation or any energy-related topic (e.g. specifications and grants available for loft/cavity wall insulation):

COOKING

16. Cook as much as possible at the same time: using divided pans or steamers. Also, cook several dishes at the same time in the oven and freeze extra portions.

17. Choose the right sized pan and cooker ringfor what you are cooking – on a gas cooker the flames should not cover the sides of the pan.

18. Always put lids on pansand once boiled, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer.

19. Try not too use too much water– most vegetables only need to be just covered.

20. Cut food into smaller piecesas it cooks quicker.

21. Cook small things like chops under the grillrather than in the oven.

22. When baking or preparing food, use manual utensils whenever possible.

23. Pressure cookers and slow cookersare more energy efficient than convection ovens and microwave ovens are especially efficient for heating single or small portions.

DOMESTIC APPLIANCES

24. Never put hot/warm food straight into the fridge/freezer.

25. Defrost fridge/freezer regularly– this keeps it running more efficiently (you can use a refrigerator thermometer to keep an eye on this).

26. Site fridge/freezers away from the cooker– if this is not possible leave a good gap.

27. When replacing a fridge/freezer, choose one which is not too big for your needs.

28. Always load/unload fridges/freezers quickly: for every minute the door is open it takes 3 minutes to regain the lower temperature.

29. Keep your fridge/freezer as full as possible– fill unused spaces with bread or paper.

30. When using a kettleonly use as much water as you need.

31. If you have a dishwasher, wait until you have a full load before using it and preferably rinse plates first with cold water, before using the economy or quick wash setting.

32. When washing clothes, wait until you have a full load or use a half load/economy cycle. Also, wash lightly soiled clothes on a lower temperature setting.

33. Dry washing outside if possibleand if you are drying it indoors, give it an extra spin.

34. When buying appliances look for an energy efficiency label: these are cheaper to run.

35. Iron clothesdamp, on a low temperature setting where possible and do fewer, longer sessions.

36. Turn TV’s/video recorders/stereos off properlywhen not in use – leaving them on standby wastes energy.

LIGHTING

37. When a light bulb goes, replace it with an energy efficient bulb which lasts up to 12 times longer and uses about one fifth of the energy.

38. Turn out lightsin empty rooms (but make sure that areas like stairs are adequately lit).

39. When decorating choose pale colours for walls/ceilings: you may need less lighting.

GARDENING

40. When gardening/DIY use manual tools wherever possible.

For more information call 0800 512 012