You control climate change!

Turn down

By taking small steps, you can contribute to the global climate change effort - and save money on your energy and heating bills! Learn how easy it is with these simple tips.

• Turn down the heat.Reducing the temperature by just 1°C can cut 5-10% off your family's energy bill and avoid up to 300kg of CO₂emissions per household and year.
• Programme your thermostatso that at night or while you are out of the house, the temperature is set low and by the time you wake up or return home, the temperature is comfortable again. This can reduce your heating bill by 7-15%.
• Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing.This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
• Don't let heat escape from your house over a long period.When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10°C or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 tonne of CO₂emissions.
• Install good home insulation, one of the most effective ways to reduce CO₂emissions and to save energy in the long term. Heat loss through walls, roof and floor commonly accounts for over 50% of overall space heat loss. Insulate your hot water tanks, the pipes of your central heating as well as your wall cavities and fit aluminium foil behind your radiators.
• Move your fridge and freezer- placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35°C, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO₂emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.

  Reducing the temperature by just 1°C can cut 5-10% off your family's energy bill and avoid up to 300kg of CO₂emissions per household and year.

• Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly.Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors. When buying new appliances (not only fridges, but also washing machines, dishwashers, etc.), choose those with the European Grade A+ label, meaning that it's very efficient - but also compare the energy consumption among A+ graded appliances since it can vary.
• Be careful which settings you use- if you set your fridge on its coolest setting, you will not only consume more energy; your food will not keep fresh as long since it might be spoilt through freezing.
• Avoid putting hot or warm food in the fridge.You save energy by letting it cool down first before placing it in the fridge.
• Check if your water's too hot.Your cylinder thermostat doesn't need to be set higher than 60°C. The same goes for the boiler of your central heating. Remember, 70% of the energy used by households in the EU is spent on heating homes and another 14% on heating water.

Switch off

Taking the time to flip a simple switch or turn off your tap may seem insignificant, but if everyone took the time to do it every day, the results would be considerable. Review these tips for ways to incorporate energy-saving measures into your everyday routine.

• Switch off the lights when you don't need them.Switching off 5 lights in hallways and rooms in your house when you don't need them can save around