Domestic energy bills have risen to reflect rises in the price of oil, so some households have no choice but to reduce other aspects of their expenditure to pay their gas and electricity bills. But there are simple, ecological solutions available to help you reduce your water and energy bills, and do your bit for the environment at the same time. We’ve brought together a few hints and tips that can help you economise…
Limiting your energy bills
Achieving a more comfortable living environment doesn’t necessarily mean increasing the amount you spend on energy! We need gas and electricity to keep warm, light our homes and run appliances every day, but there’s nothing stopping us making sure that the amount we do spend on energy is more productive and as low as possible by following a few simple rules. In France today, households consume nearly 50% of all the energy generated in the country. .
- Keep an eye on your heating
There’s no point in heating your home to 25°C all winter long! Heating your living room to 19°C and your bedroom to 17°C is healthier for you and lightens the load on your wallet. In fact, you use 7% less energy for every 1°C reduction in room temperature.
- Be efficient with your lighting
On average, lighting accounts for 15% of your electricity bill (excluding space heating, water heating and cooking). Today’s low energy bulbs are ideal, because they use five times less energy and last eight times as long as traditional bulbs. Over the space of a year, that knocks 75% off your lighting bill.
- Turn off your electronics
Although they use less energy than lighting or your fridge (at around 1,000 KWh per year, it’s the biggest consumer of electricity in most homes), TVs, computers and hi-fi systems left on standby all cost you money while they are doing nothing. It’s far better to turn them off, even for just a few hours.
- Remember to put the lid on when you’re boiling water
If you’re boiling 2 litres of water, putting the lid on reduces the amount of energy consumed by 75%!
- Use all the heat in your electric hotplates
The hotplates of an electric hob stay hot for around 15 minutes after you turn them off, so why not use this “free” heat when you’re cooking something for a long time.
- Thaw frozen foods at room temperature
Thawing out frozen foods at room temperature uses no energy and helps maintain the quality of produce like vegetables.
- Defrost your fridge regularly
Defrosting your fridge before the layer of ice reaches 3 mm thick will save up to 30% on its energy consumption.
Controlling your water consumption
Of all the water on planet Earth, only 2.5% is fresh water. On average, we consume 162 litres of drinking water every day, but it’s easy to reduce the total without compromising our everyday comforts. All it takes to improve our habits is a little vigilance.
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Take showers instead of baths
Baths and showers together account for 39% of our water consumption. If you have the choice, showers are better, because they use between 25 and 100 litres of water, compared with 250 litres for a bath.
- Don’t leave the water running
Leaving the tap running while you wash up is not a good idea. Instead, use two bowls of water; one for washing and the other for rinsing. The same is true of leaving the tap running while you brush your teeth, which can waste 12 litres of water every minute. So using a glass of water instead can save a staggering 10,000 litres of water per year!
- Trace every leak, no matter how small
The figures speak for themselves: 10% of all the water distributed in France is lost through leaks. A single toilet cistern overflow can leak 600 litres every day; that’s three times the average household consumption! A dribbling tap could waste as much as 300 litres. All it takes to be aware of this problem is to read your water bills carefully or, better still, read your water meter regularly.
- Make best use of your household appliances
It’s always better to run your washing machine or dishwasher with a full load. Using the “half load” or “eco” setting can save up to 30% of the water you would otherwise use. Many of today’s modern fabrics need no prewash at all, which in itself saves 15% of the energy input.
