SAVE ENERGY : SAVE MONEY

Welcome to the Ecofreak Eco Blog. A unique take on green goings on from around the world as well as snippets of Ecofreak news, interesting information and anything else that catches Ecofreak's eye!

12th May 2008

It's elementary dear Wattson : you can't avoid the credit crunch, but you can save money elsewhere. Why not start by saving energy and reducing electricity bills?

It's on the telly. It's on the radio. It's in the newspapers. We're all doomed! Well, maybe not, but upsets in the global financial markets as well as one or two in the UK itself are certainly concentrating everyone's minds on the state of the economy, and many are asking the question whether we are heading for recession.

Of course the housing price boom of recent years in the UK has provided a false sense of financial well being for many and now that credit is becoming harder to come by, more expensive and harder to pay back many of us are looking at ways of reducing our monthly outgoings any way we can.

Well saving energy in our everyday lives is one way we can start to save money and maybe benefit the environment at the same time. It is amazing how much energy we waste every day - leaving the bathroom light on all day by mistake, boiling more water than we need, leaving the TV on standby.... the list goes on and on.

If you want a comprehensive guide to reducing your utility bills and saving energy around the home and workplace have a look at our Ecofreak guide to Cheaper Utility Bills.

Around the home and office one of the best things I think I have done is fit a Wireless Energy Monitor. These little devices are excellent. There are several types on the market all doing pretty much the same thing - they give you information about your energy use and put it where you can see it and react to it.

And by jove, seeing the energy you are using displayed on a little screen somehow makes you want to reduce it. This in turn motivates you to look at introducing new electricity saving measures in the home and workplace which save money and helps to reduce our combined emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. All of sudden remembering to turn things off standby becomes fun and reducing the figure on the monitor a challenge that can engage the whole family. Many of my customers who have bought an energy monitor for their home go on to buy another for their workplace.

So please think about saving electricity in your every day life. It is all too easily one of those things we intend to do but never quite get around to. If you want the kick that is required to get you saving, then buy an electricity monitor. They really do help to motivate change.

My favourite wireless electricity monitor is the Wattson. It is small, neatly designed and looks great. It has lights that change colour according to your electricity consumption as well a digital display and the ability to interface with your PC. Historical data can be stored and analysed using the Holmes software which has been designed to be used in conjunction with the Wattson electricity meter.

Our best selling electricity meter is the Efergy. It is a bit cheaper and does not quite have the functionality of the Wattson but still works very well. Both units are simple to install and use and I have had excellent feedback from past customers about both products.

Take my advice : save some money on electricity and put it in your piggy bank for a rainy day. It will help the environment, make you feel good and you never know, there might be a credit crunch just around the corner!

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