This has been, if you didn’t already know, Energy Saving Week. It has passed a lot of people by. However, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) has published a study looking at how householders would use any savings they made from cutting their energy bills. In Scotland, more than half said they would bank the money, five times more than would implement more energy saving measures.
The EST is an independent body set up to help householders reduce their energy bills and combat climate change. The survey is linked to the Scottish government's new "Ready for Winter?" campaign. It asked 2,024 householders across Great Britain what they would do with £400 saved through putting in energy saving measures at home.
Despite the fact that energy prices have almost doubled since 2004, 57 per cent of Scots said they would save the money, rather than implement further energy saving measures as households tighten the purse strings. The EST says it is a warning sign that people are choosing to save money rather than cut their carbon emissions as the UK faces tough times ahead.
In fact, only 11 per cent of Scottish householders surveyed said they would reinvest the money in additional energy efficiency measures. Slightly fewer (8 per cent) said they would use the £400 to buy new consumer appliances and gadgets such as a large flatscreen TV, washing machine or smartphone.
However, if everyone in Scotland spent their energy savings on extra efficiency measures, they would collectively save £182 million on their annual fuel bills – enough money to power the entire city of Edinburgh for four years – and prevent 840,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere every year. Across the UK, that total would be £2bn and 9m tonnes of carbon dioxide.
“We are in austere times, so it's no surprise that householders in Scotland are trying to make every penny count," said Mike Thornton, Scotland director of the EST. "But we are missing a trick by choosing to bank cash from energy saving measures or spending the money saved on more gadgets.
“If we chose to reinvest the money saved in further greening our homes, we could make even bigger savings in the face of rising energy costs. That's why we're calling on all householders in Scotland to use Energy Saving Week to take back control of your bills before winter sets in.”
The survey also found that more than three-quarters of Scottish householders (76 per cent) want to use gadgets and household appliances as efficiently as possible. But when buying them, 51 per cent said the main factor is price, with just 16 per cent going on the cost to run. And 81 per cent of Scots did not know how much it costs to power a 45-inch plasma TV for the year.
Curiously, few seemed interested in increasing their comfort levels by, for example, leaving their heating on for longer rather than maximising their fuel bill savings. Economists call this the "rebound effect": when people implement energy saving measures in the home and then use more electricity on gadgets and the like, effectively undoing all their good work.
“A good example is getting your house insulated but then not turning your thermostat down,” said Mr Thornton. “Scots have a genuine desire to use less energy and save money. With energy bills set to continue rising as a proportion of household income until at least 2015, one key way of helping your household budget is making your home more efficient and that's what Energy Saving Week is all about.”
The need for domestic electricity use to be reduced was highlighted earlier this month with the release of the EST's The elephant in the living room report. It revealed that that in 2009 the average British household contained a staggering three-and-a-half times as many gadgets and appliances as it did in 1990.
The report also predicted that the UK will miss its 2020 target of a 34 per cent reduction in domestic appliance electricity carbon emissions from 1990 levels by up to 7 million tonnes unless we change how we consume energy in the home.
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