Energy Saving Tips - By: Dave Sabri

The current economic climate means we are looking at how we can cut back and save money in every area of our lives. But it isn’t just in economics where the climate is changing; global warming is a real and ever increasing reality.

In our personal worlds we contribute over 40% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the UK and of this 40% around two thirds comes from boilers used to heat our homes.

At the moment, the idea of going green may not be at the top of your to-do list, what with unemployment increasing and the economy in a slump you might feel like there are more important things to think about than checking if your boiler is ‘green’.

But energy efficient boilers will not only be less harmful to the atmosphere, they will save you money too.

These environmentally friendly boilers are known as condensing boilers. They extract heat energy from the exhaust gases and condense water vapour back into water, meaning less gas is expelled through the flue.

If the science sounds complicated lets put it into monetary terms. Basically one of these boilers could save you £170 a year and the environment 875kg of CO2. If everyone in the UK installed one then we would save 13 million tonnes of CO2 and enough energy to heat 3.4 million homes for a year.

There must be a catch? Well getting a new boiler can be pretty expensive and a bit of a hassle. However, at the moment British Gas is actually giving you a financial incentive to upgrade your old, polluting boiler for a shiny new energy efficient one.

Upgrade by 25 July and you’ll save £852. This saving includes a new boiler, free home care for a year in case something goes wrong and free radiator and heating controls installation.

These heating controls can further save on your heating bills. By giving you full control of each room; through timers and heat settings you can increase your savings by another £100.

Other ways to save money on your heating bills are to install proper insulation. British Gas reckons they can save you around £365 a year based on a three-bedroomed semi. Plus, if you are worried about the cost, the government has actually done something to help. If you install insulation, which will mean you use less heating, so give off less CO2, you can qualify for a tax rebate of £125. So it does pay for you to go green.

The current economic climate means we are looking at how we can cut back and save money in every area of our lives.

British Gas is not just a gas supplier. They are also one of the leading electricity companies and even help you with the installation of a new central heating system.