Money
Getting the best deal
Fuel for thought - top energy-saving websites
The onset of dark evenings always focuses minds on ways to save fuel, writes Andrew Stucken
There are plenty of websites offering advice – we've plugged in to the pick of them to give you the low-down on a low-energy lifestyle:
The Energy Saving Trust (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk) is a government-funded, user-friendly site where users can commit online to save energy. Choose how to cut your carbon footprint by clicking a panel of buttons, e.g. by changing to low energy lightbulbs. My own modest commitments added up to a saving of 381kg of CO2. A free home energy report is meanwhile available online.
A simple yet helpful site for beginners is the Citizens Advice Bureau's Advice Guide (www.adviceguide.org.uk). Concentrating on the cost-cutting angle, this unpretentious site takes users step-by-step through getting the best fuel deals and grants for home energy efficiency.
The Enact Energy (www.saveenergy.org.uk) Heat Project site is a fairly basic yet handy affair, geared towards homeowners wanting insulation grants.
The Energy Saving Centre (www.energysaving.co.uk) is a rather different animal and is highly recommended. Boasting an extensive set of links on all matters green, for those really serious about saving energy or investing in green technology this is a must-view. An overview of everything from solar power to loft insulation, from recycling to home wind power, is presented here.
The National Energy Foundation (www.nef.org.uk) describes itself as "a website that can help you learn about climate change and cut your carbon emissions." A fun widget is the carbon calculator, where you can work out your very own carbon footprint. Mine equated to 3.35 tonnes.
The Big Green Switch (www.bigscreenswitch.co.uk) admonishes Britons for wasting enough energy to power seven million homes - and then tells us what to do about it. Like the Energy Saving Trust, it is a portal where users can make an online power-cutting pledge. Lacks the super-slick presentation and interface of the Trust's site, but packed with content. Covers everything from travel and transport to water saving to waste reduction. Recommended.
Energy Saving Secrets (www.energysavingsecrets.co.uk) is a steadily expanding bank of more than 100 articles on all aspects of the energy saving issue. It says it was "formed to offer a unique reference point on saving money and the environment." Its uniqueness is doubtful, but a degree of academic content distinguishes it somewhat.
UK Energy Saving (www.uk-energy-saving.com) is another impressive and very through offering - as good a place as any to choose if you want to look at one website only.
The Carbon Trust (www.carbontrust.co.uk) is very much corporate-orientated and is an independent, government-funded body. It lists its aim as "To help the UK move to a low carbon economy". Only likely to be of interest if you are in business and want to surf the green corporate zeitgeist.
The Friends of the Earth (www.foe.co.uk/living/poundsavers/save_energy.html) website contains a section devoted to no-cost ways to save energy, by the simple means of changing daily habits.
A little time invested in checking out some of the above sites and applying their recommendations could pay big dividends, and help save the planet too.
