10 ways to be green - and save money

Not many of us can spend a fortune installing wind turbines and solar panels – lagging your loft and turning down the heating by a degree or two, plus turning off everything you would normally keep on standby when you are not using it – are easy ways to reduce your energy use and save money.

Going even greener in your home is not as costly as many of us may think. Energy-saving lightbulbs are being offered at five for 5op in some supermarkets and there are plenty of products on the market that can help save more energy and money. We have found a list of 10 of the best and least expensive ways that you can reduce your carbon footprint with the least effort:

1. ECO Showerdrop Meter (£11.99) – saves water and money
A family of four could save £180 per year, 40,000 litres of water and over 600kg of CO2. Taking a shower is considered to be better for the environment, and your pocket, than having a bath (which uses 80 to 100 litres of water). The ECO Showerdrop is a low cost universal shower meter that is designed to let you know how much water you’re using and alert you when the recommended amount of water has been dispensed.

2. Single Spray Water Saving Showerhead (£14.99) saves energy and water
Save up to 60% or up to £160 per year in shower water and energy costs with one of these amazing handheld shower heads or. If you have a power shower, combi boiler, condensing boiler or a dedicated shower pump, these DEFRA approved water saving replacement flowpoint shower heads are guaranteed to cut down on the water the shower uses, and so save you on water and energy bills. Easy to fit with no loss of shower power.

3. Heatkeeper Radiator Panels (£36.97) – reduce your heating costs by 20%
Make your home warmer, and reduce your heating bills by up to 20% or save over £100 per year. Heatkeeper Radiator Insulation Panels behind the radiators. They work by reflecting the heat that would normally be lost behind your rads back into the room. Using them will cut your carbon emissions and improve the efficiency of your central heating.

4. Energy Efficient and Energy Saving Light Bulbs
These can prevent 450kg to 900kg of CO2 and typically save £40 each or more over their lifetime. Lighting accounts for approximately 25% of national power generation, so do your bit for the environment by choosing energy saving and energy efficient light bulbs. Our top quality, energy saving, low energy light bulbs are the best on the market.

5. Radiator Booster (£19.99)
For a running cost of around 30p per year, a radiator booster could save an average household between £70 and £140 per year. It uses a small fan to capture the heat that comes out the back of your radiator, circulating it better into your room. It will heat your room faster, save lost energy, and reduce your heating bills. It can reduce heating time and cost by as much as 50%. It’s adjustable in size, has a built in thermostat and

6. EcoBalls® laundry (£29.99) lasts up to 1,000 washes
EcoBalls® 1,000 is a refillable eco friendly laundry kit that’ll save you save as much as £74 in water and fuel costs and make your laundry more eco friendly. You use them instead of washing powder and yes, they do really work. There are three ecoballs in each box. You put all three balls in the washing machine with your clothes, each one contains pellets made of mineral salts that produce ionized oxygen, which combined with the movement of the balls on your clothes, penetrates deep into your washing, lifting dirt and grime away. Because there’s a lot less to rinse out, you can use a shorter cycle, and wash at a lower temperature. The kit lasts for up to 1,000 washes.

7. Ecobutton reduce your computer’s carbon footprint (£14.99) save money
Save up to £50 and over 130kg of CO2 per year. This great USB device enables you to power down your desktop computer every time you take a break (long or short), at the touch of a button, saving you money, electricity, and helping to reduce your carbon footprint. Every time you take a phone call, go for a meeting or a break, simply press the Ecobutton^TM and your computer and monitor are put into the most economical sleep mode available.

8. Energenie Standby Shutdown (£13.49) automatically turn off TV, saving money and energy– Save up to £34 per year in lost energy

The latest addition to the standby ‘buster’ market, the Energenie Standby Shutdown is clever enough to recognise when you have put an appliance on standby, it’ll then automatically switch off the mains power. Great for TVs, Sky Boxes etc, and you can use it with more than one appliance as long as the max load of 13A is not exceeded.

9. Hippo the Water Saver (£1.99) saves water each time you flush
Hippo the Water Saver is a water saving pack that you put inside your toilet cistern - it’s really easy to fit, and can save up to 3 litres of water every time you flush the toilet and up to £20 a year, with a pay-back on your initial investment within 8 to 12 weeks. Can’t be bad.

10. The Eco Kettle (£29.99) saves energy and money
The innovative Eco Kettle has a unique double chamber that gets you to measure out exactly how much water you want to boil, saving electricity, water, money and time, making it better for the planet… and you still get to have a great cup of tea.

All these products are available from Nigel’s Eco Store, tel: 0800 288 8970.

Tags: Green issues, RC top 10s