subject: Energy Use in the Winter [print this page] Energy Use in the Winter Energy Use in the Winter
Energy us in the winter is far higher than at any other time of year. Consequently, not only is the winter time the costliest time of year for our pockets it is also the most environmentally damaging period too.
Much of the energy we consume in the winter is essential to keep us warm and provide lighting, essential in the icy temperatures and dark nights, however, that doesn't mean we can't find areas where we can save money and energy.
Lighting
We require far more lighting during the winter. It gets light far later and darker earlier so we need our house lights on for longer periods. But its not just indoors that we need lighting. While street lights provide illumination along the roads, our driveways and paths can be quite dark, so exterior lighting is essential for safety and security. In both these areas, however, savings can be made.
Around the home, all conventional incandescent lightbulbs should be replaced with energy saving ones. These, use a fraction of the energy but produce just as much light. The accumulative savings from using energy saving lightbulbs can be quite dramatic.
For exterior lighting, solar powered lighting can be used as these lights are only used intermittently. Solar lights recharge during the day and store enough power to illuminate your way as you arrive home from work or leave in the morning.
Heating
No matter what type of heating system you use there are always ways of saving money. For radiators it is important they are bled regularly and the boiler is serviced properly, failing to do so will mean it is running inefficiently. You can also fit radiator panels to bounce back the heat from the rear., These can make quite dramatic savings as they allow you to turn down the boiler while still providing the same amount of heat.
For open and wood burning fires, logmakers will allow you to turn old newspapers, junk mail, envelopes and other waste into burnable fuel for the fire. They compress the recycled paper into compact slow burning fuel which produces the maximum amount of heat for very little smoke.
