Your guide to appliances in the home - Npower

Your guide toappliances in the home

The average household could save £250by being more energy efficient around the home.(Source: Energy Saving Trust)Why it paysto save energyIt’s all too easy to take electricity for granted. We plug things in,switch them on, and often forget the cost to our pockets and theenvironment. The more appliances and gadgets we buy, the moremoney and energy we burn. All energy savings facts and figuresare provided by the Energy Saving Trust, are current at the dateof going to print, May 2010 and are based on a typical 3 bedroomsemi detached house and paying a gas price of 3.67p/kWh and anelectricity price of 12.50p/kWh.In the UK alone, just leaving our TVs on standby before going to bedcreates around 125,000 tonnes of CO 2and costs us nearly £31 milliona year. Whilst most of our appliances are essential, there’s a lot we cando to save money and help protect the environment.This guide comes packed with tips and advice on getting the best fromyour appliances without them costing the earth. So, from TVs and DVDplayers to fridges, washing machines and dishwashers, plug in and switchon to some great ways to save money and energy.This guide has receivedthe Wallace and Gromitseal of approval fortop tips on saving energyHot spotsThese symbols show where you can find theenergy saving measures in this booklet:From most DIY storesFrom most superstores1

AppliancesPutting your appliances to work doesn’t haveto hit your finances hard. Here are some toptips on ways to use your appliances that savemoney and energy…Dishwashers• Make sure your dishwasher is full beforeswitching it on.• Only use high temperature washprogrammes for really dirty dishes.If your dishwasher has one, use thequick wash or eco cycle to save onwater and energy.• When buying a new dishwasher,choose one that’s a suitable sizefor your needs and A-rated forenergy use.• If you’re on the Economy 7 tariffand your electricity is cheaper atnight, save money by switchingthe dishwasher on in the evening.Fridges and freezers• Position your fridge away from cookers,heaters & radiators so your fridgedoesn’t have to work as hard to keepyour food cold.• Never put warm or hot food straightinto the fridge or freezer. This leads toa build-up of frost.• Keep the door seals in good condition.Test them by closing the door on a pieceof paper. The door should grip it tightly,so the paper doesn’t slide easily. Newdoor seals aren’t expensive if you needto replace them.• Use a fridge freezer thermometer tocheck the temperature. Your fridgeshould be no more than 5˚C and yourfreezer shouldn’t be set below -18˚C.Washing machines andTumble dryers• Try and wait until you have a full loadbefore using your machine.• If you need to wash or dry things quickly,use the ‘economy’, ‘half load’ or ‘quick’settings on your machine.• Use the lowest wash temperature you can.• Spin dry your clothes before tumble dryingor, use the highest spin setting you canbefore tumble drying your clothes.• If you’re on an Economy 7 tariff, use themachine at night as some machines havetimers, so you can set it to start wheneveryou wish.Switching off your…TVDVD playerComputer at the socket, ratherthan just shutting it downStick with the stickers…When buying any newappliance, look out forthe Energy Saving TrustRecommended logo. It’sthe quickest way to spotthe most energy efficient productsaround. It’s also your guarantee that theappliance has met strict criteria on energyefficiency. See what you could save whenyou buy any appliances with the logo:Looking to buy a new fridge, freezer,washing machines, dishwasher orelectric oven, check out its EuropeanUnion (EU) Energy Label. The labelrates appliances from A (mostefficient) to G (least efficient)and up to A++ for cold appliances”• Washing clothes at 30˚C rather thanhigher temperatures will save around£10 a year on energy bills.Mobile phones• To avoid unnecessary expense and energywaste, always unplug the charger from yourmobile phone when it’s fully charged andunplug the charger from the wall socket.TVs, DVD players andcomputers• Don’t leave them on standby.Here’s what the UK could savein carbon dioxide emissions every yearif everyone switched them off;Could save the UK…125,000 tonnes of CO 2and £31 million a year70,000 tonnes of CO 2and £16.5 million a year160,000 tonnes of CO 2and £40 million a yearEnergy SavingRecommended applianceFridge freezer *Upright/chest freezer *Refrigerator *Dishwasher *Integrated Digital TVYou couldsave…£38 a year£23 a year£13 a year£11 a year£4 a yearHow will you spendyour savings?Switching your appliances off andavoiding standby could save you around£40 a year on your energy bill… aroundthe cost of a family of four going tothe cinema with change for popcornand sweets.23

AppliancesWhy not put yourself at the cutting-edgeof saving money and energy? Here aresome of the latest gizmos, gadgets andappliances that can help cut your energybills down to size. Some of the items arequite new to the marketplace, so youmay want to find them online.Solar ChargersWhat are they?Devices that charge mobile gadgetssuch as phones, mp3 players and handheld games. Solar battery chargersaccept most popular battery sizes,such as AAA, AA, C and D.How do they work?Solar chargers convert the sun’spower into energy for charging yourmobile device or batteries.CostFrom £10 to £40Energy-saving set-top boxesWhat are they?Set-top boxes with the Energy SavingRecommended logo.How do they work?An Energy Saving Recommendedset-top box is measured on standbyand on-mode power consumptionto ensure they’re among the mostefficient around. ≠(Source: EST November 2010 )Cost£20 to £30 approx.Did you know?If everyone boiled the water they needed to make a cup of tea instead of fillingthe kettle, we could save enough electricity to run all the UK’s street lightingfor 2 months.(Source: Energy Saving Trust)Energy-saving TVsWhat are they?The latest Integrated Digital Televisions(IDTVs).How do they work?They receive digital TV without needing aset top box. This means they do the sameas a TV, plus a set top box, but only needone power supply instead of two.CostAnything from £200 to £2000Intelligent mains panelsWhat are they?Socket plug extensions for using withTVs, DVD players, home entertainmentsystems, andcomputer equipment.How do they work?Depending on what you buy, you canswitch off the appliances with a remotecontrol. Alternatively, the device senseswhen the main appliance is on or off.It then switches any other equipmentattached to it, such as printers or aDVD player, on or off. Switching theequipment off rather than keeping it onstandby saves you money and energy.Cost£20 to £40 approxEco-friendly kettlesWhat are they?Kettles that save you money and energyby only boiling the amount of wateryou need.How do they work?Standard design: an internal area holdsa full quantity of water. Pressing a buttonreleases the required amount of water intoa separate chamber for boiling. +Plunger design: plunge once for each cup,so you only boil the water you need. ++Dispenser design: gives you hotwater at the touch of a button,only heating the water you need. +++CostStandard design: £35 approx.Plunger design: £60 approx.Dispenser design: £60 approx.Green electricity at noextra costSwitch to npower juice. Juice supportsthe generation of clean, greenerelectricity in a very simple way. Weestimate your electricity consumptionthroughout the year and feed the sameamount of renewable electricity fromrenewable sources into the electricitynetwork. At the end of the year, we’llcheck your annual consumptiondata and ensure the correct amountof renewable electricity has beenpurchased to cover your usage- its as simple as that.To find out more,call 0800 975 4798 † or visitnpower.com/green45

On your marks,get set, save!The next steps...We hope this guide has given you some usefultips on saving money and energy when usingappliances around the home. If you would liketo find out more about cutting your costs andenergy use, our Energy Efficiency Helpline ishere to help. If appropriate, the team can alsoarrange for an Energy Services Representativeto visit your home and offer advice.Call the Energy Efficiency Helpline on0800 02 22 20 †Mon - Fri 8am - 8pm and Sat 8am - 6pm.You can also email the team on energy.efficiency@npower.comor visit npower.com/savingenergyThe Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation providingfree, impartial advice to help you stop wasting energy andmoney and help fight climate change.To find out what you can do to stop wasting energy visit ourwebsite at energysavingtrust.org.uk or give your localEnergy Saving Trust advisor a call on 0800 512 012.It’s easy to stop wasting energy.visit energysavingtrust.org.uk or call 0800 512 012Our advisors will:• Give you personalised advice on what’spractical for your home• Explain any technical or planning issues• Tell you about grants and offers availablein your areaTerms and conditions:* Savings assume replacing an appliance bought new in 1998 with new Energy Saving Recommended model and an electricity price of 12.50p/kWh.+ www.ecokettle.com++ www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Plunger_filter_kettle.html+++ www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Tefal_One_Cup_maker.html≠ www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Energy-saving-products/Home-entertainment-and-electronics/Set-top-boxesFacts and figures are sourced from the Energy Saving Trust and are correct as of May 2010† Calls may be monitored and recorded for training and security purposes. Price of call may vary depending on your operator, please check for exact charges.© Aardman Animations Ltd. 2010npower Solar Thermal, Climate Cops, npower and hometeam are registered trademarks and npower is the trading name of Npower Northern Limited(registered in England and Wales No. 3432100) and associated companies. Registered office: Windmill Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon SN5 6PB.npm5971/01.11Printed on recycled materials