In this section
Homes in England produce more carbon than all our cars combined. But we want to get our homes to net-zero carbon by 2030.
Keep scrolling to find out how we’re doing out bit to tackle climate change, how you can contribute too in your everyday home life - all while saving on your energy bills.
Cycle routes, public transport and more
Avoid overheating at home
Top 7 tips to try today
1. Knock 1° off your thermostat - turning your heating down by one degree alone can save the average family up around £65 per year.
2. Switch off standby - lots of us have fallen out of the habit of turning off our appliances off. It is easier to leave everything on standby. But can save around £55 per year by turning things off properly. Check your appliance first, but almost all electrical appliances can be turned off at the plug and it won't affect them.
3. Turn off lights - turning your lights off you’re not using or when you leave a room could save around £20 a year.
4. Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs - LED light bulbs can reduce bills by £30. But more than that, you save on buying light bulbs. They might be more to buy, but LEDs also have a longer lifespan - around 34 years. That's compared to just over one year for a traditional bulb.
5. Wash clothes at a lower temperature - washing your clothes at 30˚C saves around 40% of the energy it takes to wash them. Cutting your washing machine use – e.g., by avoiding washing half loads – will also cut your energy costs.
6. Avoid overfilling the kettle - we've all done this! Try filling your mug / pan and pouring that into the kettle - rather than sticking it under the tap as it's hard to judge how much you need. That could be another £11 per year saved.
7. Take shorter showers - if you can cut your shower down to 4 mins, that could shave the average family £65 a year on your bills.
A sneaky one more - budgeting in the summer. If you have a card / key meter, try putting money aside in the summer. This means you're ready and have credit on your meter when we get the winter 'cold snap'.
A lot to remember?
We get it. Changing habits is tough – so we’re breaking it down.
Our #OneByOne campaign focuses on one small change per month.
Each month in our email newsletter, we’ll share one thing we’re doing and one suggestion for you. That way, we’re making change. One step at a one.
Not signed up for our newsletters?
What we’re doing
Our Better Futures strategy sets an ambitious target – net-zero carbon by 2030. We’ve realised this won’t be easy to achieve alone, so we’ve teamed up with neighbouring housing associations to create ‘Greener Herts’.
It’s a partnership project where we pool our resources to achieve more.
Join the Green Panel
Are you passionate about fighting climate change? Or do you want a say in how we adapt your home to make it more energy efficient? Better yet – do both statements apply to you?!
Be part of a Green Panel of customers from across Hertfordshire. They’re steering the decision making that affects over 20,000 homes across the county (not just B3Living homes).
Find out about Cosy Homes
We want our homes to be warmer, use less energy and cost less to run. That's where the Cosy Homes project comes in.
This year we were awarded some funding through the Government which means we can upgrade 260 homes to make them warmer and more energy efficient.
Making our homes green
More news and advice on saving energy and how we'll get to net-zero carbon.
Feeling the heat? How to stay cool and stop overheating
Wednesday, 02 August 2023
Category: Energy saving
