What is your energy use?

Energy consumption is an area that we are all familiar with. There are two approaches to reducing the climate impact of energy consumption.

The first strategy is to increase energy efficiency – reducing the amount of energy you use. This will save money and reduce your climate impact. Typical actions include installing energy efficient lighting, cleaning lights so that fewer fittings are needed, and ensuring that lights and other equipment are switched off when not in use. 

It is also possible to reduce climate impact through the use of renewable energy supplies. There are a variety of options to achieve this, which include; 

• Using a green tariff for your grid electricity. These green tariffs match the energy you buy with renewable energy. However not all green tariffs are the same, some just buy credits to balance normal grid electricity production. To avoid greenwashing look for providers that are actually supporting the development of the renewables industries directly, rather than just purchasing credits. 
• Installing large scale renewable energy infrastructure on your land – depending on your energy demand these might include large solar arrays on barn roofs or wind turbines – or ground based solar and ground source heat exchangers. Some innovative yard owners also utilize heat produced by muck heaps to warm buildings or dry rugs! 
• For smaller energy consumers, small scale solar is a good option. A single solar panel can be used to charge a car/leisure battery, which can be used for things such as stable lighting. Commercially available solar lighting and solar chargers for electric fences can also provide small benefits.