Home insurance - the green room

The time has come for us all to start taking the environment more seriously. In this busy day and age, we'd like to help by giving you a start with these tips. The tips, just like our home insurance , are simple and straightforward and should be easy for you to get started with.

As well as being environmentally friendly, running a greener house is more economical and can save you a lot of money so you can get on with all those home improvements you've been waiting to start!

Turn down the heating

Stay warm but remember to monitor your heating throughout the year and vary it according to the temperature. As it gets warmer, you should be using your central heating less.

Insulate the roof

Heat rises and, in the same way as we lose heat from our heads, houses lose heat through their roofs. This means that more energy is used to heat the house. Insulate your roof to minimise the heat loss.

Fit draught excluders on windows

As well as letting heat out, windows with draughts will be letting cold air in and increasing the energy levels needed to heat the house. Fit draught excluders where necessary and remember to shut your windows as well.

Washing machines

Wait until you have a full load before putting the washing machine on. This means you’ll turn the washing machine on less often and save electricity and water.

Check the letterbox for draughts

Check your letterbox and stop any draughts to keep more warmth in.

Turn off lights

When not in use, lights should be turned off to save energy. Energy efficient lights should be used where possible. These may be slightly more expensive but last much longer.

Bleed radiators

Let the air out of your radiators to make sure they are working efficiently. Do this carefully as it can cause a lot of water spillage.

Turn down the thermostat

Is your hot water too hot? Turn down the thermostat to save energy.

Recycle

Many supermarkets now provide recycling facilities so recycling is becoming more and more easy to do. You’ll be amazed at how many recyclable materials your family gets through in a week.

Use energy efficient electrical items

When the time comes to replace an electrical item in your home, consider a more energy efficient one.

Flush the toilet less

Toilets with dual flush facilities are now available so you can choose to use less water in a flush. If you’re redecorating your bathroom, these are worth considering.

Shower - not bath

Have a shower rather than a bath and you could save over 300 litres of water a week.

Don’t over-charge your phone

It’s become commonplace to plug in mobile phones overnight but they often don’t need charging. Charge your phone only when it needs it.

Buy an LCD monitor

If you’re considering buying a computer, LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors are much more energy efficient than CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors.

Unplug electrical items

Leaving appliances, such as the television, on standby still uses about half the energy used when the appliance is on. Unplug items when they’re not in use so they stop using energy altogether.

Check out Churchill Home Insurance to find out what cover we can provide for your home. If your current insurer charges you to switch your home insurance, we’ll even give you £25 towards the cost.