Try putting on an eco hat to keep warm - There's never been a better time to go green

Published on Sunday 19 October 2008 22:13

WE ARE told to put turbines on our roofs, to install gadgets called ground source heat pumps and even to top off our homes with so called eco hats. Trying to help the environment is a complex business.

This week is Energy Saving Week, and a good opportunity to make an extra effort to be green. But how to go about it can leave many people stumped.

To help cut through the jargon, and tell a good idea from a hare-brained scheme, The Scotsman has spoken to some of Scotland's top environment experts to get some tips on how to cut down on energy use.

Their advice involves easy-to-copy habits such as putting on an extra jumper rather than turning on the radiator, and trying to get out on a bike rather than using the car.

They insist such small lifestyle changes can make a huge difference to the amount of energy used, and so reduce the amount of damaging greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere.

According to experts, the best way to help the environment – better even than using electricity produced by renewables – is to cut down on energy used in the first place.

Mike Thornton, the Energy Saving Trust's director in Scotland, said the average household can save about 340 a year by being more energy efficient.

"With the credit crunch unlikely to ease any time soon, there has never been a better time to start living a greener life," he said.

He suggested Scots should try taking just ten minutes this week to do something green.

"Energy Saving Week is the perfect opportunity to discover your green/life balance – however much time you do or don't have. We're urging people to take just ten minutes to make time to change their households' habits to help fight climate change.

"It doesn't take long to get things started – it takes fewer than ten minutes to undertake simple energy-saving measures like changing a light bulb or turning the lights off before you go to bed at night."

New research by the Energy Saving Trust suggests Scots are motivated to try to take action, perhaps by the hope of saving money in the process.

A survey of 6,000 adults across five European countries found that 33 per cent of Scots would share a bath or shower to save money on their electricity or gas bill, compared to just 8 per cent of Swedes.

Four in ten would cuddle up in bed to keep warm, compared to just a quarter of Spaniards and 28 per cent of French.

However, 46 per cent of Scots still leave the television on standby before they go to bed, which in total generates as much carbon dioxide as driving 29 million miles in the average UK car.

Six experts share their saving methods

'Put on extra fleeces to keep warm'

DR DAN Barlow, head of policy for WWF Scotland, who lives alone in his Edinburgh tenement flat.

1. I walk wherever possible, particularly if it is only a few miles, such as to get food. It takes about half an hour and you get a bit of fresh air and exercise at the same time.

2. I make sure the radiators are turned down, or turned off in any rooms that aren't being used.

3. I put on extra fleeces to keep warm when it gets colder, rather than putting the heating up.

4. I buy Scottish and seasonal produce. If there are apples from the UK and apples from New Zealand I will chose those from the UK.

5. I've got an extra duvet that I get out when it starts getting cold. Instead of putting the heating on, I just add an extra duvet. I do put the heating on if there are other people coming round to visit, though.

'I went to Brussels by train'

PATRICK Harvie, Green MSP, who lives alone in his Glasgow tenement flat.

1. You will rarely find me without my bus pass. I go pretty much everywhere by bus or on foot.

2. If there are rooms I'm not using at home I turn off the heating and close the doors.

3. The first thing I did when I moved in was get big, thick, heavy curtains. They are floor-length and rather swish. That helps to keep some of the energy in that might be leaking. I also want to replace my windows at some point.

4. I try to reuse things in the home where possible. For example, I use both sides of scrap paper, rather than just sticking it in the recycling.

5. My holiday this year was to Brighton, which was fantastic fun and by train. I try to use the train as much as possible. I went to a conference this weekend in Brussels by train.

'We added extra layer to curtains'

NICK Green, head of renewables at Savills, who lives with his wife in a country cottage.

1. Put another jumper on instead of turning on the heating. Our house only had a wood-burning fire until last year, so we walked around in a hat and gloves.

2. We have added an extra layer to our curtains and we've put draft sealer around the windows.

3. I cycle to work whenever possible. It's about ten miles.

4. We have turned our front garden into a vegetable patch. We grow broccoli, turnips, leaks, potatoes, beetroot, carrots, beans, blackberries and blueberries. This helps save energy because we don't have to travel to the shops as often, and it saves on food miles.

5. Turn off the lights and make sure you have got adequate insulation.

'I think about travel carefully'

STEWART Stevenson, climate change minister, who lives in a house in the countryside with his wife.

1. I always switch things off when I'm not using them and use energy-efficient bulbs.

2. I think about my travel arrangements carefully, working out where I can use the bus, train or walk rather than the car.

3. I make sure that all paper, glass and plastics at home and in my office are sent for recycling. I discovered that if you recycle one aluminium can you save enough energy to run a television for three hours.

4. To keep my carbon footprint low, I use videoconference facilities and Skype for meetings and media interviews whenever possible.

5. I always try to buy environmentally-friendly products .

'We try to go on local holidays'

HENNING von Barsewisch, managing director of wind-turbine firm REpower UK, who lives with his wife and baby daughter in an Edinburgh flat.

1. I cycle about three miles to work, no matter the weather. Getting the bus takes longer than cycling, and I get to think.

2. We use reusable nappies for our daughter. We are not religious about it and when we travel we use disposables. You have to be realistic. Some-times convenience is nice.

3. We try to go on local holidays when possible. There are fantastic places in Scotland. Others might fly to the south of France but we stay in Scotland.

4. We try to buy European fruit and vegetables. It's ridiculous when you look at where apples come from

5. We didn't fix our broken heating until we absolutely had to, but just coped with radiators that did not work.

'We wash nappies in solar hot water'

DUNCAN McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, who lives in an end-of-terrace house in Meadowbank with his partner and two children.

1. We have a solar panel on the roof, so we wash the baby's reusable nappies in solar-powered hot water.

2. We topped up the loft insulation with a material made from waste paper. When it arrives it is compressed, but then it fluffs up.

3. We get an organic vegetable box and we compost our food waste.

4. We have got bikes and baby bike seats. My three-year-old son is taken to nursery on the bike. We have got a car, but it does about 2,000 miles a year.

5. We have put in double glazing. We had to shop around. Most of the suppliers wanted to charge the earth. By splitting supply and fitting, we managed to get it for about 4,500.

Sign up to help the environment

LET'S Go Green Together is a campaign by The Scotsman and the Scottish Government.

We are urging people to sign up to ten pledges to help the environment, from turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, to reusing carrier bags.

To sign up to the campaign, go to one of these websites and follow the instructions:

&#149 www.scotsman.com/gogreen

&#149 www.infoscotland.com/ourfuture