The Power of One challenge to reduce bills
The Power of One Street II is currently carrying out a new energy saving campaign. This should help families to slash heating and electricity bills by almost a third while helping to save the planet.
The aim of the campaign is to prove to everybody that small changes can make a huge difference to bank accounts and to the environment. In fact, families are achieving savings of almost one third on household bills.
Here are the steps these families took to lower their bills:
The families were advised to turn down their heat just one degree to gain about 10pc in heating bills. In this way, one household managed to saved 26pc or the equivalent of €480 a year by turning down the boiler temperature and running the heating at a lower, more constant temperature.
Another energy-saving example was boiling a kettle to wash the dishes, rather than turning on the immersion. A further challenge encouraged participants to switch off electrical equipment when not in use and to use efficiency settings on appliances such as fridges and freezers.
The Joyce family saved a massive €215 by "making sure absolutely everything is turned off when not in use" (e.g. unplug your phone charger, radio and TV).
Buy 'A' rated kitchen appliances -- they cost less to run and over time will give you considerable savings on your electricity bill.
Use compact fluorescent lamp bulbs (CFLs) instead of traditional bulbs -- they use 20pc of the energy and last up to 15 times longer.
Don't over-fill your kettle -- only boil as much water as you need.
Avoid unnecessary electricity use between 5pm and 7pm -- help reduce national CO2 emissions.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan said the results showed that "not only can each one of us counteract the price increases, we can actually reduce our energy costs to lower levels than we've seen in recent times".
For more energy-saving tips see www.powerofonestreet.ie