Adding insulation

Modern buildings have a much higher standard of insulation than other buildings. As the average replacement rate of the building stock is more than 100 years, adding insulation is a sensible investment having both short and long term benefits. Not only will insulation reduce the heat loss, it will also reduce or eliminate condensation in older, poorly insulated dwellings. For further information, see the section on heat loss.

Better use of existing appliances

The quickest savings require only changes in the way appliances are used; these include

• washing a full rather than part load
• only filling the kettle with sufficient water to satisfy immediate needs
• setting room thermostats at levels appropriate to room use - bedrooms do not need to be heated to the same level as living rooms
• switching off appliances at the mains rather than using the remote control and leaving the appliance on 'standby' (red light on)

Buying new appliances

The design of household appliances has improved considerably over the past 10 years since the introduction of the EU energy label. On average the electricity consumption has been reduced by 50% and, for washing appliances, water consumption has decreased by a similar amount.

The EU has developed two new product labels, which will help consumers when purchasing appliances that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

An EU energy label for a washing machine
	The EU energy label enables the consumer to compare the performance and efficiency of different models within an appliance group. The classification is from grade A to grade G, but in general the majority of models are graded A to C with A being the highest grade. For cold appliances, two higher grades have been introduced A+ and A++ with A++ being the highest. From the information on the label, it is possible to calculate the amount of electricity (and water if required) and thus calculate the running cost. For a useful calculator see the European Appliance Information System website www.eais.info.
The EU Ecolabel
	The EU ecolabel is by contrast a threshold label and those models which exceed the threshold values for each criterion are able to display the 'flower' symbol of the label. As it is a voluntary label (unlike the EU energy label which is mandatory), the absence of a label on a model does not necessarily indicate that the model will not meet the criteria.

The eco-label criteria cover the environmental impacts from manufacture through to recycling. For a heating system such as a heat pump, the biggest impact is associated with energy usage during operation. The prime heat pump criterion is therefore a high threshold value for heat output to energy input. The second criterion is associated with restricting the use of refrigerants with high global warming or ozone depletion potential.

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