Here are some green tips that you can use at home to make your life a little easier:
Put a lid on your pots when cooking. You can save up to a quarter of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Pressure cookers and steamers are even better – they can save around 70%!
Use a thermos flask to save energy. When you boil water for a hot drink, try to boil only what you need, or pour the surplus into a thermos flask to keep the water hot for your next cup!
Iron your clothes in one batch rather than one item at a time. You will save the energy required to heat up the iron each time you want to use it.
To save on energy when cooking, cut up your veggies into small pieces to reduce the cooking time. When boiling or steaming vegetables, boil the water in the kettle first and use only as much water as is necessary.
Switch the stove or oven off a few minutes before your food is ready and make use of the residual heat to finish cooking.
Do not use the pre-wash cycle on your washing machine. Modern washing machines allow you to bypass this cycle, saving 15 % of the energy that would otherwise be used.
Try to cool off without resorting to air conditioning. The use of A/C can increase your electricity bill by 33%. A fan requires one tenth of the energy used by an A/C system; sunshades, blinds, shutters and the cool of the night use no energy at all.
