For countries with colder climates, winter is synonymous with high energy consumption as people try to keep their homes and workplaces warm. This comes at a great cost for both people and the environment as bills and carbon emissions rise. With this in mind, if you try to be more energy efficient across all areas of life during winter, you can significantly benefit both your finances and the planet – so why not! Let’s take a look at some of the ways this can be achieved.
Heating
Heating is an absolute necessity for every home in winter. Therefore, it is imperative to protect your heating system in case of emergency – it is worth getting comprehensive cover from a company like Hometree. But just because you have heating available, it is still essential that you regulate how much you use it. Excessive use of heating can cost you and the planet dearly, so controlling how long you have the heating on for and in what rooms will ensure that you maximise your energy efficiency.
Get into the habit of putting on more clothing when it gets chilly, rather than putting the heating on and you will soon see a difference in your heating bill. Avoiding draughts and reinforcing insulation is also a good way to maximise the sustainability of your house, which will pay dividends in the future.
Lighting and appliances
Winter means less daylight hours during which you can benefit from natural sunlight, so people are more reliant on artificial light. Upgrading your lightbulbs to energy saving alternatives is an affordable and simple solution to greatly improve your energy efficiency.
Furthermore, household appliances are a big energy consumer and these are used more as you spend more time in the house over winter. Upgrading to energy efficient models may be a relatively costly method to improve your efficiency but if you can afford to, it is definitely a worthwhile investment in the long run.
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Transport
People often rely more on motor vehicles during the winter because other forms of transport, such as walking and cycling, are less attractive in the cold and wet weather. However, walking or cycling where safe and viable to do so, can help to avoid congestion on roads and to reduce carbon emissions.
Furthermore, if you can use public transport (this applies all year round) for more of your routine journeys, you would be making a significant contribution to the fight against climate change.
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