Ways to be greener

If your appliances are on standby — they look turned off, but often there is still a light on — they are still using electricity. And you are still paying for them. Some appliances use almost as much electricity while on standby as when they’re on. 

There’s a simple solution: turn off appliances at the wall before you go to bed. You’ll notice the difference in your electricity bills pretty quickly.

If you are receiving benefits or Pension Credits you may be able to claim extra help towards the cost of your energy bills.  The links below will take you to the government websites:

• Cold Weather Payment
• Warm Home Discount
• Winter Fuel Payment

As part of their ‘help for households’ initiative, the government has launched a Cost of Living Toolkit

Curtains and blinds are good at forming a barrier to heat escaping. As soon as it starts to get dark outside, close the curtains and lower the blinds to help keep heat in.

You can stop heat leaking out of your home by fitting draught proofing or draught excluders to your doors and windows.

The Energy Saving Trust has some useful tips on draught proofing your home: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/draught-proofing

The Energy Saving Trust has a range of tips

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/hub/quick-tips-to-save-energy/

Beko has some useful tips for improving the energy efficiency of your fridge

11 ways to improve your refrigerator's energy efficiency (beko.com)

Easy ways to go green at home.

https://greenecofriend.co.uk/simple-ways-to-go-green/

Using a clothes line or hanging your clothes indoors on an airer is much better for the environment, and your wallet, than using a tumble dryer.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have largely replaced Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL energy-saving bulbs), which are more efficient still, turn on instantly at full brightness and are available to fit pretty much any light fitting in the home. So they are brighter, last longer and save you more money on your electricity bills compared to the older energy-saving bulbs.  We are fitting LEDs as standard in our homes when they become empty as part of our void Property Standard.

These are a great way to get your local community together and improve the area in which you live. You will be surprised at the amount of skills and knowledge your neighbours have and the amount of great work that you can do by sharing things. Check our 'get involved' pages.

These are another great way of getting neighbours together and having fun in an environmentally friendly way. They include swimming, jogging and running, among others and allow you to have a breath of fresh air, save you money, engage with others, help you stay fit, and above all, is environmentally friendly.

Older radiators have valves which let you turn the radiator on and off. If a radiator is too hot, turn the valve clockwise. If the radiator's too cold, turn the valve anti-clockwise.

Newer radiators, or ones that have been serviced recently, will have ‘TRVs’– Thermostatic Radiator Valves. They have numbers on, usually 1–6. The valve shuts off once a room is at a certain temperature, depending on the number set.

How do you know which number to set the TRV to? Here’s our handy guide, which assumes that your TRV goes from 1 to 6:

• Bathrooms — set to 6
  Bathrooms have a lot of moisture, which can cause damp and mould. Keep your bathroom warm to stop the moisture settling, and ventilate it properly to stop mould building up.
• Living room — 5 or 6
  This is where you spend most of your time, and usually where your thermostat is found.
• Bedrooms — about 3
  We tend to sleep better when in cooler rooms because our bodies cool down when we sleep, and we’re often covered in blankets/duvets.
• Unused rooms — 1 or * (frost protection)
  Keep doors closed so they don’t take in heat, and set the TRV to the frost-protection setting, shown as a *, or to 1.
• Kitchens – 1–3
  Your cooking will warm the kitchen.
• Hallways – 1–3 

You might need to experiment a little bit with the settings.

Find out about the Sustrans cycle maps and other sustainable travel options happening across Cornwall.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-other-routes/cornish-way

Upcycle Kernow offers volunteer-led projects, a recycling point, refill station, repair cafe and tool library, community clothes swaps, upcycling workshops and sustainable events. You can also learn new skills, such as sewing, using power tools or just how to live more sustainably.

Top tips to help you reduce your waste and recycle more

• Recycle – check out what you can recycle through Cornwall Council’s website
• Don’t dump your unwanted items – look out for any skip days in your neighbourhood, or contact Cornwall Council for bulky waste collection and details of your nearest household waste and recycling centre
• Re-use old furniture – local charities such as Hidden Help may be able to collect re-usable furniture items for free.  You could also try listing items on Freegle, Gumtree or a local Facebook group to find or give away items for free
• Make do and mend – set up or visit one of the Repair Cafes across Cornwall.  These are free meeting places where people can get together to alter or mend clothes or fix broken furniture, electrical items, toys and more.  They’re also an opportunity to learn a new skill.  Find out more about the Cornwall Repair Cafe network or Upcycle Kernow
• Use a bag for life – reduce your plastic and protect the planet.  Did you know it can take 100s of years for a plastic bag to degrade?

Volunteering maintains your wellbeing and makes you feel better about yourself. Clean a street, help with beach cleans, litter picking in your own community, put up anti-dumping posters in your estate or next to rivers and lakes around you. Volunteer with local environmental teams or Climate Action Groups, plant trees, and much more.

Find out more at Volunteer Cornwall and our Volunteering page

There are many ways that you can save water around your home. You may find these tips helpful.

Keeping warm is so important for health and welling. Head over to Cornwall Council's Winter Wellbeing page for a range of information, advice and support to keep well in winter.

You can find some great tips, help and advice from industry experts on YouTube, such as this informative clip from Octopus Energy.

Sleep well knowing every little thing we do can help the planet