Going Green - By: Dave Sabri

Going green has never been easier. The costs and the time and effort involved are decreasing and the plethora of ways you can reduce your carbon footprint is increasing. There are two main areas ways to go about doing this. You can switch to more energy efficient products in your home and look for alternative sources of power.

Energy efficiency As individuals, we contribute 40% to the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This includes our use of cars, electrical products and food waste. But by far the biggest personal contribution comes from heating – 60% of all our CO2 emissions come from boilers.

So if you switch to a new energy efficient boiler, you will produce 875g less CO2 than by using a regular one and this could save you around £170 a year on your heating bills. If you add heating controls, such as timers and thermostats, you could increase the saving to £275 and the country could save 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

Thanks to British Gas’ latest offer, installing these new boilers has never been easier and cheaper. If you buy a new or replacement boiler by 25 July you will save £852 off the cost of the boiler, servicing and installation. This mounts up to a saving of over £1000 this year, if you add the savings to your energy bill.

So that less of this precious heat is lost, make sure you have the right insulation. British Gas estimates that on a standard 3-bed semi-detached house, annually you could save £365. Plus the government is offering a tax rebate of £125 on all homes that install the correct insulation.

Energy companies are also offering a good selection of green tariffs. A good example is the Zero Carbon plan also from British Gas. It promises to make 100% of the gas and electricity you use carbon neutral. It does this by offsetting you gas usage, matching electricity consumption with that from renewable sources such as wind and water power and supporting investment into new renewable energy generation.

Alternative power sources You can save money whilst not contributing one gram of CO2 to the environment by switching to solar panels which can supply around 50% of your hot water.

40% of Europe’s total wind energy is here in the UK, so it makes sense to harness this free energy source and use it to power our homes. You can produce enough energy to power the lights and electrical appliances in a standard-size home using a small turbine in your garden or on your roof. This means more free electricity and no carbon footprint. If you’re connected to the National Grid, you can even store this energy in batteries and then use it on low-wind days.

Going green has never been easier. The costs and the time and effort involved are decreasing and the plethora of ways you can reduce your carbon footprint is increasing.

British Gas is not just a gas supplier. They can also service all of your electric needs and provide security through their boiler cover services.