Good habits can prove hard to get into but once everyone realises the benefits and makes a little effort to do things differently, they can also be hard to break. Think about how tricky it was to get the kids to take responsibility for brushing their teeth, tying their own laces or tidying their rooms (you might still be struggling with that one!). Yet, once something becomes a habit, they'll do it automatically without having to be asked.
The Smart Power site has been designed to help the whole family to save money and cut back on the amount of energy that gets wasted in a range of ways - by raising awareness about obvious things such as leaving on lights and games consoles to realising how much electricity each appliance actually uses. Our hints and tips are made even more meaningful if you have a home energy monitor - also called a Real Time Display (RTD) - an electronic device that helps people to see how much electricity they are using around the home.
Energy-monitoring devices work simply by attaching a transmitter to your utility meter with a small clamp. The current is then measured and transmitted wirelessly to an attractive display that can be kept anywhere in the house.
Tell me more
Saving the planet and helping reduce the amount of money that your company pays out for electricity is probably not at the top of your agenda when you come into the office to start the working day. You're probably more worried about getting through the items on your 'to do list' so that you don't have to work late! Yet, if we're honest about it, we all know that there are things that we could be doing both at home and in work to save money and help cut our individual carbon footprint.
Take electricity as an example. How many of us can honestly say that we take responsibility to ensure that everything non-essential is switched off before we leave the office? Yet just by adopting a few better habits at work and using an energy monitor to help identify energy wastage, we can all do a few things to reduce our individual carbon footprint - and to save a little money for the company. Who knows - perhaps those savings could be put towards buying some decent coffee for the office! Read on to find out more about how energy monitors work and how you can use them to identify and cut energy waste. Plus! Enter our competition to be in with a chance of winning a bundle of free devices for your office!
Tell me more
We all know that using electricity for TV, games and cooking costs money, but did you know that your electricity meter (get mum or dad to point it out if you haven't noticed it before) actually keeps count of how much electricity that your family uses?
When we tell the electricity company what the number on the dial of the meter is, they calculate how much electricity we have used since the last time we paid them and then send us a letter known as a bill. While it's true that we depend upon electricity for a lot of the things that we do around the house (think about all the things you switch on and off!), there are also lots of things that we can do to cut back on the amount of electricity that gets wasted (read on to find out more!).
If the whole family starts to do things a little differently to stop this wastage then the numbers on the electricity meter won't be as high. What does this mean? For start, the less electricity we use, the better it is for the environment - which counts towards 'cutting our individual carbon footprint' (tell your teacher what you're up to - they'll be super-impressed!). Saving electricity also means we save money - so smaller bills for mum and dad and, who knows - perhaps a little bit more pocket money for you!
The more people that make an effort to reduce the amount of energy that gets wasted around their homes, the bigger the difference it makes to the environment. So read on to find out how you can do your bit to cut energy wastage around your house then tell your granny, uncle, aunty, best friend - everyone you can think of - to get smart and join in with our Smart Power Campaign!
Tell me more