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Best Practice & Self-Help |
Find out more... |
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1.
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First things first: Your Safety & Comfort
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www.gassferegister.co.uk
www.niceic.com
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i.
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Do not attempt any gas or electrical maintenance or repair work yourself. Instead, engage the professional services of a certified GasSafe Installer/Engineer or an NICEIC registered Electrician.
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ii.
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Know where your electricity mains switch is so that you can turn off your supply should you need to.
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iii.
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Know where your water inlet stop cock is so that, in an emergency, you can stop the flow of water in to your home or premises until professional help can reach you.
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2.
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Get the most from your heating system:
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www.energysavingstrust.org
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
Home-improvements-and-products/
Home-insulation-glazing/Draught-proofing
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i.
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Turn down the temperature - just 1 degree could save you up to 10 per cent off of your energy bill which could make you £55 a year better off (according to Energy Trust figures).
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ii.
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Set the thermostat on your water cylinder to no higher than 60ºC. Don't go any lower, or you risk providing a home for the sort of bugs that cause Legionnaires Disease!
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iii.
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Set your central heating programmer and have your heating &/or water come on twice a day at times that suit you and your family, rather than leave them on all day.
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iv.
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Fit thermostatic radiator valves to radiators so you can adjust the temperature in each room; which means you only heat the rooms that you need when you need them.
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v.
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Replace your old boiler. Find out more about the "boiler scrappage scheme" at the Energy Savings Trust website (see opposite).
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vi.
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Use draft excluders on windows and doors.
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vii.
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Schedule an annual maintenance call on your boiler and central heating system with a GasSafe registered company. Having this done in the Spring/Summer months puts you ahead of everyone else and ensures you are all set for winter!
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3.
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Insulate heating pipework and hot water tanks
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www.energysavingcommunity.co.uk
insulating-water-pipes-tanks.html
www.insulationgrants.co.uk
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i.
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According to the Energy Saving Trust, just adding a jacket to your hot water tank can slash heat losses by 75 per cent. Since the Environment Agency estimate that heating water accounts for a quarter of all the energy used in most households, any way of cutting down those losses has to be a good investment.
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ii.
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A 75-80mm thick jacket for your tank, for example, will cost around £15 to £20 to buy and should save you between £20 and £30 a year - which means that it pays for itself within 6 months to a year. It also shaves 195kg of CO2 off your carbon footprint. However, it's not just about insulating hot water tanks - there are plenty of other places to lose heat.
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iii.
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Insulating water pipes is another low cost, fast return step. At a cost of between £5 and £10 for the average house, adding insulation to your hot water pipes should cut around £10 off your annual bills - another fast payback. In addition, from an environmental standpoint, properly insulated pipes can help you avoid 65kg of CO2 emissions - and on a practical note, as well as stopping heat loss, it also reduces the risk of the pipes freezing in the winter.
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iv.
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Cold water pipes need to be insulated, too!
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v.
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Check the following website to see if you qualify for a government grant for:
- Loft insulation
- Cavity wall insulation
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4.
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Practical use of kitchen appliances:
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www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Energy-saving-products-2
www.argos.co.uk
http://www.energysavingsecrets.co.uk/does-appliances-standby-use-power.html
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i.
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Boil the kettle with only the amount of water you need. There are many stylish energy efficient kettles available from high street stores. Try the Breville "Hot Cup"!
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ii.
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Use dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads. Not only does it save on energy, it saves you money (fewer loads, less detergent) and reduces the impact on the environment, too!
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iii.
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Fully switch off electrical appliances (at the wall socket) when not in use - don't leave them on 'standby'. It is easy to have about 50 electrical appliances (scary - but just count them up...) and each one may only be using £3 of power per year - but that is £150 per year for all of them, per household, which is quite a sizeable sum for pieces of equipment that are doing nothing!
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