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Low carbon energy emissions in buildings are crucial for addressing climate change, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing the overall sustainability of urban environments. Low-carbon buildings use energy more efficiently, save cost and significantly lower their carbon footprint.
Buildings account for a significant portion of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions due to energy used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering appliances.
For the government, reducing emissions from buildings is essential to meet international climate targets, such as those set by the Paris Agreement and to do this, the UK government has set a target for all new homes to be built to zero carbon standards by 2025. It is also providing funding to support home energy efficiency improvements such as retrofitting insulation and upgrading heating systems.
Implementing carbon-saving and energy-reduction processes in your household may either be cost-intensive or cost next to nothing. First, let us consider the cost-intensive options, which by the way are highly subsidised through loans and grants by the UK government
Find a renewable alternative to your gas boiler
Some alternatives are heat pumps, hydrogen and district heating. If you are a homeowner in England and Wales, you will be entitled to a fund of £7500 to replace your old gas boiler with heat pumps.
Insulate walls, floors and roofs
An effective way of cutting your home emissions is by reducing heat loss via the insulation of walls, floors and roofs.
Replace or adapt windows and doors
Making doors and windows more energy-efficient will also reduce your carbon footprint. We can fit modern double-glazing windows and draught-proof your home by blocking up unwanted gaps that let cold air in and warm air out in doors and windows.
Fit LED bulbs and buy energy-efficient appliances
Opting for energy-efficient lighting and appliances could also help lower your emissions. You can further reduce energy use in these appliances by using eco modes and turning off standby.
If you are not inclined to commit some capital towards reducing carbon emissions in your home, you can bring your energy spending under control, first by ensuring that you have the right energy tariff, and also by keeping an eye on your energy use, first by an awareness of appliances in your home which uses the most energy, then by taking a proactive approach towards reducing energy use. I’ll show you how to do this, first by making you aware of appliances which use the most energy in your home:
The better you know these, the better positioned you are to make savings on your energy bills by cutting down on their use, or by using them in different ways.
The biggest energy guzzlers in your home include:
1. air conditioning systems
Built-in air conditioning systems can be a powerfully effective way to control your home’s ambient temperature, but they can have a substantial impact on your energy consumption. Energy efficient airconditioning methods have been developed especially in modern homes towards maintaining clean energy and without enormous energy consumption such as found in airconditioning systems.
2. Refrigerator
Refrigerators need to be kept running 24 hours a day but they could account for over 30% of your home’s energy usage.
3. Washer and dryer
washing machine uses substantial energy; more so if you also use a tumble dryer to dry your clothes, this will set you back on cost savings.
You can reduce your energy consumption by avoiding washing at high temperatures and avoid under-loading the machine. Dry your clothes naturally indoors or outdoors where possible rather than relying on your tumble dryer.
4. Dishwasher
Using a dishwasher can cause energy wastage. As with your washing machine, be sure not to underload the dishwasher and use the eco setting where possible.
5. TV
LED TVs are generally the most energy-efficient than Plasma TVs. Generally, plasma TVs while offering good picture quality, tend to consume more power than LED and LCD TVs.
6. Computer
Both desktop and laptop computers can put a sizeable dent in your household energy bills. Especially at a time when many of us are working from home.
There are several ways in which you can reduce your energy use and save on your bills.
Install a smart meter
A smart meter is a very useful way of tracking the impact of energy-saving measures around the home. Your supplier should fit one free of charge!
Use appliances in off-peak times
If you have a dual-rate meter, this allows you to save around 50% on the unit costs of your electricity during off-peak times.
Unplug appliances on standby mode
Make sure TVs, games consoles, DVD and Blu Ray Players, or any device with a standby mode are unplugged or switched off at the wall every night before going to bed.
Try not to waste food. choose food from sustainable sources and buy options that are made locally.
The problem with food waste is not necessarily the emissions when it goes to landfill. It's all of the emissions that come from producing the foods that aren't going actually into people's mouths. for instance, methane, produced from cow waste is 50 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than CO2.
We should also think of the environmental impact of what we consume, not just food, but everything we buy. We should buy only things that are reusable, repairable or fully recycled.
By adopting a healthy recycling habit in homes, we aid the ecosystem by converting items back into a resource that can be reused and prevent the build-up of waste giant plastic patches that are forming in the oceans.
For further assistance on how to contribute to the reduction of global warming and to save cost on your energy usage, contact us at ARC Facilities.