We have all been encouraged to switch off – lights, televisions at the mains and don’t forget the computer, use the clothes line rather than a dryer and run the washing machine of a cooler setting. All great advice and we have been having a far bigger impact than we realised, according to a new study by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change looking at calculations used by the UK government.
UK government advisors have been estimating CO2 emission savings through energy efficiencies but their figures maybe as much as 60 per cent too low – meaning we save more than they have estimated.
The problem has been the vagaries in how power is generated. Power stations that burn fossil fuels produced higher emissions than nuclear or clean energy such as wind power. Generally only fossil duel fed power stations can react instantly to varying demand.
» Read more: Your Energy Saving Could Be Doing Good More Than You Thought
