#ZeroCarbonCraven Guide to Efficient Appliances and Lighting

Craven Guide to Efficient Appliances and Lighting Power Down, Level Up

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Introduction Hubbub and Craven District Council are working together to help you reduce your energy use at home to tackle climate change and save money on your bills in the face of rising energy costs.

Currently, 22% of all the UK’s carbon emissions come from the energy used by us to power and heat our homes. Whilst the energy grid is using more and more renewable energy, it is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. These fuels cause climate change by releasing carbon and greenhouse emissions, causing damage to our communities, economy, and agriculture in Yorkshire through flooding and extreme weather events.

What are the Council doing?

Craven District Council are taking big steps to reduce their energy demand and generate their own energy. With a £1.2 million fund from the European Regional Development Fund, they are cutting costs and carbon by installing new insulation and solar panels across seven public buildings.

Yet the Council’s buildings only create a small fraction of emissions in Craven – a quarter come from our homes. One way to reduce these household emissions is by replacing old and inefficient electrical appliances and lighting. For instance, modern LED lightbulbs use 90% less energy than traditional bulbs.

What are efficient appliances and why are they important?

Efficient appliances: Home electrical appliances which use less electricity than other models.

Up to 66% of our home electricity use goes into our appliances, devices and lighting.

• Wet appliances (such as washing machines and dishwashers) can account for 25% of your home electricity use and 15% of your bill!

• Up to 15% of electricity use at home goes on lighting.

Want to make a big difference? Investing in efficient appliances can help you reduce your carbon footprint and cut your bills, without needing planning permission and with greater ease than installing insulation.

→ Remember! Waste not, want not – best to get efficient appliances only when old appliances need replacing.

What’s in this guide?

Unclear on how to identify the most efficient appliances? Not sure on what to do with your old appliances? Don’t worry – we’ll take you through step-by-step to get you started. This guide covers: • How to buy efficient appliances • What you could save • What to do with old appliances

How to Buy Efficient Appliances Energy Labels An energy label does exactly what it says on the tin - they show how energy efficient home appliances are, using a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). More efficient appliances use less energy over their lifetime and therefore cost less money to run. Therefore, keep a lookout for these labels when buying new appliances.

In 2021, the energy label system was revamped. The old A+++ to G scale has now been simplified to A-G, and labels now show other appliance relevant information (such as noise levels for washing machines). Currently this change only affects these six types of appliances: • Refrigerators and freezers • Washing machines and washer-dryers • Dishwashers • TVs and electronic displays • Light sources At the time of writing, other types of appliances currently use the old rating system – but plans are in place to expand the labelling system further. For more information, including differences between the old and new systems, check out the energy label website.

How to Read the New Energy Label QR code – This is a code that can be scanned by your smartphone camera to take you to the product on the manufacturer’s website. The website can give you help and information with the appliance.

Energy efficiency scale – This is where the A-G rating is displayed. Washer-dryers have two ratings, one for washing and one for drying.

Energy consumption in kWh – This shows the amount of energy used by the appliance in kWh (kilowatt hours), a standard measure of energy use. Depending on the product, it will show you the kWh used per year, per 1,000 hours or per 100 cycles.

Extra information – Some devices may have more specific information, such as: • Dishwashers – Number of place settings, water used per wash and noise level • Fridges and fridge-freezers – Capacity and noise level • TVs – Screen size in pixels • Washing machines and washer dryers – Capacity, duration, water consumption and noise level

Where to Buy Efficient Appliances Efficient appliances don’t have to come with a high price tag and can be found in any normal shop where you would buy appliances. Legally, all new appliances must display energy labels – allowing you to spot the most energy efficient options when shopping.

You can also check whether they have a Which? recommended Eco Buy. This scheme recommends the most energy efficient products, and looks at factors such as energy usage, water usage and repairability – helping you to identify the most sustainable, affordable options. Find out more information on the Which? website.

Guide to Efficient Appliances *Remember: All cost savings in this section are based on Government energy prices that were last updated in November 2021. New energy prices are set to come in April 2022 – meaning these savings are likely to change. Once new prices have been set, you may be able to find up to date savings estimates on the Energy Saving Trust website.

→ FYI: A flight from London to Rome produces 234kg of CO2

Appliance Savings Overview

Appliance

Dishwasher

Fridgefreezer

Tumble dryer Washing machine

PCs and tablets

Potential Cost Savings

Potential Carbon Savings (CO2)

More Information

*£15 per year

15kg per year

Standard dishwashers cost £40-£55 to run per year

(D-rated compared to similar low-rated model)

(D-rated compared to similar low-rated model)

*£510 over 17-year lifetime

650kg over 17-year lifetime

(D-rated freezer compared to G-rated freezer)

(D-rated freezer compared to G-rated freezer)

*£455 over 13-year lifetime

570kg over 13-year lifetime

(A+++ compared to

(A+++ compared to

*£95 over 11-year lifetime

115kg over 11 year lifetime

An efficient model may also help you save on water bills if you have a meter

(A compared to D)

(A compared to D)

Savings can be maximised by using eco-mode, washing at 30°C and only washing full loads

*£25 per year

25kg per year

(using a laptop instead of a desktop)

(using a laptop instead of a desktop)

Laptops typically use 85% less electricity over a year than desktop PCs

The most efficient dishwashers have D ratings Smaller fridges use less energy.

Therefore, a small C rated fridge may use less energy than a large B rated fridge! Check the label for energy usage

Drying clothes on a line or a rack can lead to even bigger savings

Tablets have even lower energy usage – on average, tablets use 70% less power than laptops

Lighting On average, 15% of your household energy will be used on lighting. Spark change by using efficient lighting as there are big potential savings. By replacing all bulbs with LED lights, you could save £40 on your annual bills and reduce your annual emissions by up to 40kg – cutting down by the equivalent of a 140-mile car journey.

These two types of lightbulbs have now been phased out for sale for home use: • Incandescent/Traditional - Efficiency: Very low, they convert only 5% of electricity to light!

• Halogen - Efficiency: Low. Often used in spotlight fittings.

You can instead buy: • Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) - Efficiency: Medium - CFL bulbs are often cheaper than LEDs but are not as energy efficient. They can also take a while to get bright – meaning they’re not always the best option for bathrooms or stairs.

• LED - Efficiency: High - These are the most efficient bulbs and use 90% less energy than incandescent. They can cost more, but pay for themselves in a couple of months. They also last a long time – 25-30 years, saving you time and hassle.

If you still have incandescent or halogen bulbs, you can save by switching to CFL or LED – with the most benefits from LED lamps.

Televisions

Heating Controls and Boilers

If you’re looking for a new energy efficient TV, it’s not just the energy rating you need to look out for – it’s also size. Smaller TVs use less energy and cost less to run than larger TVs. For example, an efficient 60-inch TV can be more expensive to run than a low efficiency 32-inch TV.

Boilers have their own separate efficiency rating systems. Currently, there are three separate ratings systems. These all work like the energy label, with A (or A+++) being the most efficient and G (or D) being the least efficient.

The table below shows some average yearly energy costs and CO2 production from different TVs: TV Size Energy Rating 32 inch

40 inch

60 inch

A

£4 5kg of CO2

£6 8kg of CO2

£12 15kg of CO2

B

£5 6kg of CO2

£7 9kg of CO2

£14 18kg of CO2

C

£7 8kg of CO2

£9 12kg of CO2

£18 23kg of CO2

→ FYI: Making three cups of tea every day for a year produces 42kg of CO2 You can also increase the efficiency of your TV by: • Turning down the brightness of the screen • Putting it on eco-mode • Switching it off when no one is watching – research has shown that many households leave the TV on (up to 4.6 hours per week!) for a pet

Like any efficient appliance, getting a new boiler can help you hold onto those pennies – upgrading from a G rated to a D rated boiler in a semi-detached house can save £80 a year on bills!

If you’re getting a new boiler, it will likely be an A-rated condensing model and therefore an efficient model. For more information on boilers, check out the ‘How Efficient is My Boiler’ page on the British Gas website and the Energy Saving Trust website.

You can cut your energy use further through using central heating controls, such as programmers or timers, thermostats, and thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs). These can be installed or upgraded without replacing your boiler.

• A timer or programmer can programme your central heating to fit around when your schedule, saving you energy by only having the heating on when you need it • Thermostats can control the temperature of your home by turning the heating off once it reaches the desired temperature • TRVs control the flow of hot water through the radiator by detecting the temperature of the air around them and changing the temperature of the radiator based on this.

If you want more advice on cutting down your energy usage on heating, check out our other guide, Keeping the Heat In on retrofitting insulation (and keep an eye out for our upcoming guide on renewable energy at home!).

What to do with old electrical appliances?

If you’ve bought new energy efficient appliances, it’s important to ensure that you dispose of your old appliances in a safe and environmental way.

Retailer Recycling When you are buying new electrical appliances, retailers have a legal obligation to take your old items of you for free or inform you where you can recycle them for free.

Many high-street retailers have services where they take your old items when you purchase a new appliance from them. You can find more information on this website.

Recycling Centres Alternatively, you can safely dispose of your items at the two Household Waste Recycling Centres in Craven. These are provided by North Yorkshire County Council and are at: • Sowarth Field Industrial Estate, Settle, BD24 9AB • Skibeden, A59 Harrogate Road, Skipton, BD23 6AB

Donating and Selling If the item you are planning to dispose of is in good condition and still works, it’s a good idea to either sell or donate it instead! Research has shown that there are some 527 million unwanted electrical items in our homes and that we throw away 155,000 tonnes a year, costing the UK economy £370 million.

Most charity shops accept smaller electrical items (such as laptops or tablets). Some will also accept larger items (such as TVs or fridges) and may even be able to collect them from directly from you! To find out which charity shops can take these items, go to the Recycle Your Electricals website.

If you’re the entrepreneurial type, you might be interested in selling your old appliance (provided it’s in good condition). These are many online marketplaces which allow you to sell or give items away to other people, such as: • eBay • Facebook Marketplace • Preloved • Gumtree • OLIO You can check out the Recycle Your Electricals website for more information on where and how to sell.

Energy-efficient light bulbs should be specifically disposed at the recycling centre.

Please note, traditional and incandescent light bulbs cannot be recycled and should be thrown away with general rubbish.

For a full list of items that can be recycled and opening times, you can go to the North Yorkshire County Council recycling website.

Bulky Household Waste Collection If you have difficulty taking larger items (such as fridges and washing machines) to a recycling centre, Craven District Council may be able to collect from your home for a small fee.

You can find more information on pricing and what can be collected on the Craven District Council website.

Written March 2022 – using Energy Saving Trust, Which?, The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Recycle Your Electricals. All information was correct at the time of writing.