Heating usually takes a bit more than half of domestic energy consumption; electricity (without heating) about one third, and warm water about one fifth.
Learn to take quick showers and avoid unnecessary use of warm water.
Small measures can impact your domestic carbon footprint decisively:
- Maintain reasonable room temperature. Reduction of indoor temperature with one degree will decrease energy consumption by 5%. The best indoor temperature for health and comfort is 21–22 degrees. A temperature below this is sufficient for the bedroom. Choosing the recommended indoor temperature will reduce indoor air symptoms, dryness, static electricity, heating costs and emissions.
- It is a good idea to reduce the temperature of a vacant room as well as the entire home when not present. Automation, such as an away-from-home switch, makes heating control easier.
- Fast and effective ventilation by opening windows and doors is a better alternative than having a window ajar for a long time. It is not recommendable to open windows when using a mechanical ventilation system.
- Ensure appropriate ventilation adjustments, change filters once a year, and vacuum the filters half way before the change. Adjust ventilation power to avoid mustiness.
- Ensure that insulation in windows and doors is in order. Draught increases the sense of cold and heat loss.
- Thick curtains prevent heat from radiating out.
- Do not cover radiators with curtains or furniture, because that will prevent them from heating the room properly.
- Learn to take quick showers and avoid unnecessary use of warm water. Abundant showering increases the risk of dampness, particularly in older buildings. Use of a timer, such as an hour glass or the kitchen timer, may help estimate the time spent in the shower. Two (2) minutes of showering uses 1 kWh of energy. With the same amount of energy you can use the refrigerator for 40 hours!
More and more municipalities and energy companies are choosing low-carbon energy production solutions, which will reduce the carbon footprint of electricity and heating for living. If your home is part of a district heat network, check your energy company website to learn which fuel is used to produce thermal energy. If the company has a large carbon footprint, you may want to start using geothermal heating or try and impact the company’s source of energy.