Everyone knows about low energy light bulbs based on compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). These now cost less than £2 each and last for a much longer time than a conventional bulb. Spotlight and flat format tubes are now available, as well as conventional globe-shaped bulbs.
Less well known is the increasing availability of Ligh Emitting Diode (LED) based bulbs. These are much more efficient than CFLs and have even longer lifetime. No heavy metals are required in their production. At the time of writing (2007) they are only available in a few formats (mainly spotlights) and they are expensive. But no doubt the price and availability will both improve.
Use a Plug-In Mains Power & Energy Monitor to examine how much mains power your gadgets and household appliances use. You can plug each item into the monitor (which in turn plugs into the mains socket) and then measure the power drawn by it. For something like a fridge which is only on intermittently you can leave it plugged in to the monitor for a day or so to get an idea of averge power consumption.
You can use the Power and Energy Monitor to check what the stand-by consumption of each appliance is. Sometimes you find this is negligible (<1 W) but older appliances (e.g. a cathode ray tube TV or old Hi-Fi) often draw 30W or more.
More elaborate electricity saving measures
If
you have a substantial area of (approximately) south facing roof you
may be suprised to find how much of your annual elelctricity supply
could be generated by photovoltaic panels fixed to the roof.
The
output from the panels is direct current which must be changed into
alternating current to run your appliances or to be fed back into the
main supply. This requires a small gadget called an inverter.
The
cost of the panels is at present rather high. So this solution does not
give a very effective return on your investment, even after allowing
for a possible government grant which can cover some of the cost.
On the bright side it will quite radically reduce your carbon footprint.
See also:
Disclaimer:
The author of these pages takes no responsibility for the accuracy of
the information described here. Anyone following these suggestions does
so entirely at their own risk.