For those of you that have left the comfortable student accommodation lifestyle of first year behind and moved into your own house, you will understand the importance of being energy efficient. With no more unlimited gas, heating, water or electric, it’s time for the next step to becoming that all important independent grown up – it’s time to start paying your own bills. Of course however, this will exclude the smug few that have managed to get bills included in their housing contracts. You guys will never experience the joys of house meetings to discuss the latest confusing piece of paper that has just been sent through the door. Oh and these never ever seem to carry good news either; more often than not it means having to part with yet more money that an average student can’t really afford to spare. So, rant over, this is what I am attempting to help you with. I will try to give you a few tips on how to be energy efficient, but be warned, it will contain traces of sarcasm.
Tip number one: Freeze
If you don’t use any heating, you will save money right? I’m sure a lot of you reading this will be able to identify with the arctic conditions of student living. The first thing students think of doing to save money (when they are responsible for their own bills) is to avoid putting on the heating for as long as possible. Now although this will save a few extra pennies along the way, you do have to prepare yourself to freeze in the meantime. Pretend you are living in an igloo if you will. Wrap up warm, wearing more layers in the house than you would outside, huddle with your housemates like penguins in one room (trust me the body heat works wonders) and spend as much time as possible in the kitchen when the oven and hobs are on. Problem solved – never feel cold again.
Tip number two: Spend your days in the library
Have you ever stopped to think about how much electricity you actually use whilst doing work? Charging laptops, charging phones/tablets, lights on and maybe even watching some TV (I’m talking to you, procrastinators). Now think about how all this energy usage in your house can be avoided. One simple solution: live in the library. Okay well you don’t quite have to go to the extremes of living there, but if you do most of your work in the library you can avoid those small added energy costs to your bill. And as a Tesco employee, I feel obliged to say ‘Every little helps’ here. Oh and an extra bonus: at least the library is warm so you might not have to freeze after all!
Tip number three: Blow-dry your clothes
Now this may sound stupid, but having gone through the trouble of doing this myself, I can say as a quick fix it’s not too bad. If you have taken the advice of tip number one and not used any heating, then getting clothes dry is a bit of a challenge. You can say no to the dryer as well, because this happens to be one of the biggest users of energy in a house. If you have the access to, you could hang your clothes outside but be warned, with the weather in Leeds, you could end up with wetter clothes than when you started! However, on those miserable rainy days that occur a little too often for my liking, blow-drying is your next best option. I’m not saying you should do this for all of your clothes as I’m pretty sure if you tried you would be there all day. But if you have just one or two items of clothes which have simply not dried quick enough, a blast of the hairdryer can help a great deal. Don’t spend too long with it on though; think about the electricity you’d be using!
Tip number four: Go anywhere but your own house
If you aren’t in the house, you can’t use any energy, correct? So why don’t you spend most of your time elsewhere? Like previously mentioned, you could spend most of your days in the library. However, if you feel you aren’t up to that massive commitment with uni or are even afraid of the library (I would include myself in that group), then why don’t you go and crank up your friends energy prices instead? Go and chill round theirs for some warmth, or maybe a nice film/TV session. If you have really good friends, you might even be able to get them to cook for you too. You get all the comforts of being at home, without having to be at home and even better – without having to use any of your own electricity or gas. Result! Or alternatively, for the gym crazed fitness fanatics, go and spend some extra time in that haven of yours. And after you’ve finished your workout, you can even shower there without having to use your own water, electricity and gas. It’s a win win if you ask me!
I’m well aware that these aren’t your typical energy saving tips, but I’m willing to bet they can all work! However, I’m not sure how many of you will be willing to freeze, never spend any time in your own house and blow-dry your clothes. So maybe it would be wise not to follow my advice exactly, but by all means use them as a basis to find energy savers that work for you.
Image Sources:
1) http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=36990
3) http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Wrinkles-from-Clothes-Without-an-Iron
By Rebecca Kent