Following a recent gathering of Henley Town Council's Climate Emergency Working group. A document has been created to provide guidance on how to reduce energy costs. It is available in paper form at the Town Hall and will be distributed throughout the town.

The advice includes:

Appliances draw power even when not in use - switch them off completely whenever possible:-

-        Do not leave appliances on standby but switch off at the socket (including TVs)

-        Switch off the microwave, dishwasher and oven at the plug when you aren’t using them

-        Switch off lights in rooms that are not in use

-        Empty and switch off extra freezers if possible

-        Bathroom fans run for a long time after washing, consider open a window instead

-        Charge phones and other appliances and remove them from the socket once fully charged.

Use appliances efficiently. If you need to use an appliance, use it as efficiently as possible:-

-        If you use an oven to cook food, consider buying an air fryer, slow cooker or microwave to use instead

-        Limit cooking food from frozen

-        Fill up the oven when you have it on: can you add a cake, crumble or casserole to cook at the same time? Or add few jacket potatoes which can be reheated in the microwave later.

-        Only run the washing machine with a full load

-        Only run the dishwasher with a full load

-        Run the washing machine on a lower temperature wash or the shortest hot wash

-        Hang washing outside to dry rather than use the tumble dryer whenever possible

-        Clean the element behind the fridge as it will improve the energy efficiency of the fridge considerably

Swap for low energy alternatives:-

-        Swap halogen bulbs for LED. An LED bulb uses only about 20% as much energy as a halogen bulb.

-        Check for any halogen bulbs in the cooker hood, garage, loft.

Reduce your heating and hot water costs by heating your home efficiently:-

-        If your radiators are water filled, bleed them to improve efficiency

-        Adjust radiator valves and only heat rooms that are in use

-        If you have individual radiator thermostats, turn them down for areas less in use

-        Adjust your space heater timing controls to operate only when the house is occupied

-        Keep all doors closed to retain heat in each room and reduce draughts

-        Air the house midday when heating is off: open windows and doors for no longer than 20-30 mins to let fresh air in without cooling down surfaces 

-        If you have a fireplace, use a chimney balloon to avoid hot air rising through the chimney

-        If you have a condensing combi boiler, you can turn down the flow temperature to 60 which will save you about 9% on your gas bill without your home feeling colder

-        Block draughts under doors and through windows

-        Keep a blanket in the living room when you’re relaxing to keep you warm at a lower room temperature

-        Take a 4-minute shower rather than a bath

-        If you have a hot water tank, reduce the heating timing controls and the hot water

-        temperature

-        Switch off the central heating and consider as mall oil filled radiator if only using one area of the house

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