Green – it’s the issue everyone is talking about. Whether you believe in global warming or not, being green can help your bottom line. By making small changes, not only can you work your way towards a greener house, you can also save money. So what changes can you make?

Heating
Staying warm is important, however you are unlikely to notice if the temperature fluctuates by a degree or two. With this in mind, turn your thermostat down by 1 or 2 degrees. If you want to go one step further, invest in some jumpers and wear them around the house – and only turn the heating on when a jumper just isn’t enough.

Roof Insulation
Heat rises – this means that if your roof is not a good insulator, you will be losing a lot of heat through your roof. The more heat that is lost, the more energy you need to use to heat up your house and the higher those energy bills. Insulating your roof should pay for itself in reduced heating bills over the long-term.

Draught Excluders
Windows can let heat out and let the cold air in. This means that more energy is needed to heat the house, so by fitting window draft excluders, you will be saving money on your heating bills. Similarly, letterboxes can be a cold air culprit. Check yours and fit a draft excluded or a new letterbox if you find it’s causing draughts.

Turn off the lights
It’s an easy one to do – switch off lights in rooms that you aren’t using to save energy. Energy-saving lightbulbs are another possibility. They are more expensive to buy, however they have a much longer life-expectancy so overall, are much better value for money. Energy-saving lightbulbs use less electricity than standard bulbs whilst giving out the same amount of light, therefore you shouldn’t notice any lighting differences.

Bleed Radiators
It is advisable to bleed your radiators once a year to rid them of any air which may have gotten in. This ensures that they are working at maximum efficiency to heat your house.

Recycle
Most councils now provide households with green-boxes for recycling. Many supermarkets now also provide recycling facilities. It only takes a couple of minutes per week to separate out recyclable products from the non-recyclable products – you may be amazed at the amount of rubbish you have which is recyclable. Even if you aren’t a believer in Green, the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill must be reduced and recycling is one of the best ways to help.

Energy Efficient Products
If you are about to buy some new electrical products, consider checking the energy efficiency of the product and buy one which is very energy efficient. Large white goods such as fridges and freezers are often marked prominently with their energy efficiency rating. An energy efficient product may cost more to buy however the difference in price will pay for itself in reduced energy usage and therefore cheaper energy bills.

In the Bathroom
Modern toilets have a tendancy to come with a dual flush so you can choose how much water is used each time you flush. If you are fitting a new bathroom, consider getting one of these dual-flush toilets. If you have an old-style toilet, it is possible to put a brick in the cistern so that less water is used per flush.

Taking a shower tends to use less water than taking a bath. It is generally accepted that taking a shower each day instead of a bath can save up to 300 litres of water per week! That’s a lot of saving on the water bill!

Monitors
LCD monitors (flat screens) are more energy efficient than CRT monitors (the not-so-flat screens). If you are purchasing a computer soon, or you are planning to buy a new monitor, go for a flat screen.

Unused Equipment
When you are not using a piece of electronic equipment, make sure you switch it off. Stand-by uses about half the energy that the appliance would use if it was on. If you don’t use the appliance often, consider completely unplugging the device from the wall.

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