Whoever said that saving money would be out of fashion – because it never is, but this is certainly a topical subject today. We all hate receiving those monthly energy bills in the mail and will silently curse as we open them. Often we would make a mental note that we were going to turn off those lights when we went out of the room. Invariably though, we would forget as it didn’t seem quite so urgent for some reason. Fast forward to today and everything seems much more urgent now. Now we are looking for a whole array of different ways to save electricity, as we realise just how pressing this need is.

Once the domain only of environmentalists and tree huggers, we now all know how important it is to cut back on our energy use, so that we do not emit carbon dioxide and damage the planet. We hear all kinds of reports on the news about how global warming is changing polar ice packs and that people in far-off countries are in danger of losing their ability to feed themselves, due to climate changes and weather pattern alterations. On our own doorstep we hear about companies, which will soon be penalised for failing to reduce their energy use and for emitting carbon, fairly sure that the consequence of these actions will result in additional costs for us to deal with.

Even if we don’t look at things from an overall perspective and express our concern for nature, we can see how energy costs themselves have exploded in recent times. The government has tried and seems to be failing to regulate the energy industry and infrastructure seems unable to cope and is constantly under pressure. Those seasonal spikes in energy seem to be causing more issues as we go along and we wonder how long the system will be able to put up with this, as we continue to rely on fossil fuels for our power. You don’t have to be a scientist to understand the benefits of renewable energy, but nevertheless, we still seem hesitant to move forward and do something about it. We would be helping the environment in no small way if we were able to receive the majority of our energy from renewable sources, wind, solar, etc.

Getting down to business, what can we do at home to help both ourselves and the environment? There are a number of options. For a start, we should always purchase highly efficient equipment for our kitchens and for our heating and air-conditioning needs. As an example, some refrigerators are available that consume only 100 kWh per year and these appliances are said to be four times more efficient than similar appliances found in the European Union. If you have to spend up to 10% more to actually buy a machine like this it would be okay, as you could save a significant amount of money annually, greatly reducing your electricity bill. These appliances may last for 4 to 5 years and the additional amount you pay to buy them up front will definitely be saved in the long run. New appliances will need less repairing and you will do yourself a favour as well by eliminating the noise coming from that old and worn fan, which seems to circulate annoyingly whenever you sit down in your most comfortable chair to watch a film!