New Year’s Resolution

It is that time of year when many of us like to turn over a new leaf and make a New Year resolution. This year why not make that resolution an energy efficient one?  Here are some ideas for resolutions you can easily keep:

• Don’t leave lights on in empty rooms.  
• Switch off your home computer when you go to bed.  Don't forget to also switch off the monitor, the printer and your hub!
• Use the power saving features of your computer to switch off your computer's hard disk and monitor after they have been idle for 15 minutes.
• Take a shower instead of a bath. A typical bath can use over 100 litres of water, while a shower uses only about a third of that.
• Only boil as much water as you need when making a cup of tea or coffee.
• Check your house for all those standby lights and ensure that when you turn things off in future you turn it off and don’t use standby.
• Recycle your old Christmas cards: many supermarkets offer collection points and schools are collecting too. This avoids them going to landfill and can raise money for charity too.

Activity

Make an energy saving New Year’s resolution and keep it!

Dream up some energy saving resolutions of your own and share these with the rest of your team.

Did you know?

A study by a UK university in 2009 found that less than 25% of us keep the New Year resolutions we make.  But they did find that those who were more successful tended to break their goals into smaller steps, shared them with their friends and focused on the benefits of keeping their promise - perfect for a new energy saving lifestyle.  (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/28/new-years-resolutions-doomed-failure)

Want to do more?

Have you been horrified by the amount of waste you have generated this Christmas?  Taking control of your household waste is surprisingly satisfying and addictive try the rubbish diet challenge for a step by step guide.

Pass on what you have learnt about energy saving and maybe encourage your friends to take part in the Energy Neighbourhoods project next year.