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Energy Saving Tips From Plastic-Free FIFE
With the cost of living and energy crises biting, we’re all being inundated with energy-saving tips that should also save us a few quid. You know the kind of thing:
- switch to LED light bulbs
- turn the thermostat down by 1 degree.
- turn off all standbys (including WiFi) at night
- switch all electric devices off at the socket when not in use
- …the list goes on.
These are all great and we should all be doing them if we can, but it’s fair to say many people have probably heard about them already.
Our Plastic-Free Fife team had a chat about the less widely publicised things that we do to save energy in our everyday lives, and thought we’d share them.
1. Passive Cooking
Most commonly mentioned as a way of cooking pasta, passive cooking involves boiling the pasta for just two minutes and then turning the heat off and leaving it to stand in the hot water with a lid on for the remaining cooking time (e.g. a further 5 minutes), instead of keeping the heat on for the entire time.
It can reduce the CO2 emissions from cooking the pasta by up to 80%, and obviously also cuts the associated energy costs. And it really works well, for things like grains like rice too. In fact, it produces better results than conventional cooking as long as you keep checking (always replacing the lid quickly) to see when everything is cooked to your own personal taste.
With a bit of experimentation, you can use it for other foods too, e.g. steamed vegetables.
2. Defrost Food Before Cooking
If you are eating frozen food, defrost it ahead of time in the fridge or on the worktop to halve the cooking time/avoid using extra microwave energy.
3. Wash Up With Cold Water
Warm water makes no difference to washing up, it is scrubbing and detergent that gets your dishes clean.
So you can save energy by washing up in cold water – it will work just as well.
And don’t just randomly fill up the washing-up bowl. Only use as much water as necessary for the amount of washing up you have – water is a precious resource too, and we need to start using it sustainably like all other resources.
4. Turn Down The Brightness On The TV and Computer
The factory brightness setting on most TVs and other screens is brighter than needed for most homes, so delve into those unused menus and see how much you can turn it down.
5. Reduce Shower Time To Save Hot Water
Instead of having hot water running the whole time when you shower, only have it on briefly to wet your body/hair. Then have it off while soaping/washing hair and only switch on briefly again to rinse down.
And why not try a cold shower for at least some of the process? You can get used to it soon enough, and there are well documented benefits for inflammatory conditions and even mental health.
Alternatively, using a timer when in the shower is a good way to save energy. 3 minutes is a good target to aim for.
6. Sustainable Laundry
Reduce the amount of energy you use to do your laundry by:
- Wearing a lightweight T-shirt under heavier shirts, sweatshirts, jumpers etc. so you can get away with just washing the T-shirt;
- Checking that clothes really need washing. The old sniff test works well – if it doesn't smell don't wash it;
- Washing at lower temperatures. Detergents will wash most dirty clothes effectively at 30°C.
7. Eco-Friendly Driving
OK, the most eco-friendly way to drive is…not to drive. But if you have to, there are lots of things you can do to keep fuel consumption as low as possible.
It is well known that driving at around 55 mph is more fuel-efficient (it makes a huge difference, actually), but even with petrol prices soaring, it’s amazing how few people seem to have cottoned on to the fact that this will save them £££s.
So next time you’re on a motorway, don’t give in to peer pressure and drive at a sustainable speed. Generally keeping an eye on your rev counter and trying to keep it no higher than 20 is a good idea, too.
Keeping your car’s weight down also means using less fuel.
Don’t keep your roof box on permanently, this is just throwing fuel and money away.
And if you know you’re just going to be doing short local trips, try to only fill your petrol tank up to a third rather than all the way – that way you’ll be carrying 20-30 liters less weight around, the equivalent of around 20 kg.