Tips to save energy and water during lockdown

The #StayAtHome movement has impacted on all aspects of our lives, not least energy consumption. We spend more if not almost all our time at home, teleworking, cooking and on our phones and tablets even more than usual. With all this activity, our utilities bills are likely to take a hit.

To make it a bit less painful, we have a series of tips and tricks to help you keep your bills from creeping up too high:

• Computer: try not to leave it on standby. If you know you are going to be away from it for more than 30 minutes, turn it off, or at least turn off the screen, which is what uses the most power. And when you’re done working, unplug it completely.
• Television: TVs, video game consoles, and stereo systems in standby mode use 15% of the energy they consume when in use, so remember to turn them off completely.
• Natural light: open up the curtains and let the sunlight in, removing the need for artificial light.
• Ovens and microwaves: a whopping 25% of the heat escapes when we open the oven door, making the oven work overtime. Microwaves can save us a ton of time and use 60% to 70% less energy.
• Ceramic hob: turn it off a few minutes before the food is completely cooked. The residual heat will take care of the rest.
• Fridge: try not to open it just to take a curious peek inside; every time you do, you’re consuming energy.
• Heat: keep it between 19 and 21ºC during the day and between 15 and 17ºC at night. Each degree above that means a 7% increase in consumption.
• Mobile: plug it into the mains socket to charge it, not the computer. Use a fast, high-amperage charger if you have one and remember to unplug it once your phone is fully charged.

And to save water…

• Don’t leave the tap running and fix any leaky ones.
• Have showers not baths. You’ll save about 240 litres of water.
• Install a double-capacity system or place one or two bottles filled with sand in the tank.
• Dishwasher: Always loading the dishwasher fully and using short wash cycles could save you up to 60% in water and energy. You’ll also waste less water than when you wash the dishes by hand.
• Washing machine: Always wash a full load and on cold whenever possible. Now that the weather is getting nicer, drying on the line is better than using the dryer.
• And remember, the majority of the water we let go down the drain could be used for things such as watering the plants or cleaning the house. Use water wisely, there isn’t enough to waste.

Each day that passes is one day less on lockdown, so stay positive. There’s light at the end of the tunnel!