Keep warm and cut your bills
KEEP WARM AND CARRY
If your home’s cold, you could be risking your health. You need a temperature of 21°C (70°F) in your main living room and 18°C (64 or 65°F) in your bedroom.
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This is particularly important for elderly people, very young children and anyone with chronic health problems. If you’re worried about your heating bills, here are some top tips for saving cash: f make sure your home’s properly insulated (loft insulation should be around 270mm thick, and many homes are suitable for cavity wall insulation) f use draught excluders f use lined curtains and draw them at dusk f if you’re not at home during the day, use a heating timer
How much heat is your home losing? Just enter your postcode at portsmouththermalmap.bluesky-world.com and select your address.
More info: f Home Heat Helpline – 0800 33 66 99 (free call) f www.energysavingtrust.org.uk f You can find out how much heat your home is losing on our ‘thermal map’, see panel opposite. Other ways to save energy: f turn equipment and lights off when not in use f use energy-efficient light bulbs f don’t leave equipment on standby
Doing our bit The council is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 30% over five years.
Council Leader Cllr Gerald VernonJackson at Southsea Library
In the first year, 2011/12, we cut our carbon by 8% through projects such as installing energy-efficient lighting and solar panels, and switching to bio-diesel fuelled trucks. This saving is equivalent to the carbon footprint of 680 Portsmouth homes, and means we saved £300,000 on our electricity and gas bills.
City helpdesk Tel 023 9283 4092 I Email cityhelpdesk@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
flagship February 2013
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