So what type of low energy bulb should you buy?
Both CFL light bulbs (low energy light bulbs) and LED light bulbs offer substantial energy savings. LED bulbs offer the greater saving overall using less energy and lasting longer at 60,000 hours, however a greater initial investment is required. In addition alternative fittings may be required and at present they only provide directional lighting.
With improvements in LED’s making them more and more viable, they will be the choice of the future, but for now we would recommend choosing CFL bulbs. The energy savings are still very good and although they have a lesser life span at 6,000-15,000 hours, they are much cheaper and can directly replace your current bulbs which only last 1,000 hours, helping the environment and your pocket straight away.

Will just swapping light bulbs make a difference?
By swapping a normal bulb to an energy saving bulb you could cut energy wastage by three quarters and save £9 on your electricity bill. It might seem like a small change, but if every home in the UK changed just 3 light bulbs, enough energy would be saved to light the UK’s street lamps.
But don’t energy saving light bulbs use more energy when first turned on, therefore wasting more energy if switching lights on and off?
Carbon Footprint carried out an in-house investigation and found that if anything low energy bulbs used slightly less energy when first switched on, gradually building up to a continual wattage (which only took a couple of seconds).

CFL Low energy light bulbs contain mercury, is that safe?
Low energy bulbs do contain a small amount of mercury which is not at all dangerous when contained within the bulb. The bulbs should be disposed of responsibly and can either be collected in your normal household waste bin or can be recycled at your local council’s Household Waste and Recycling Centre or at collection points provided by some light bulb retailers.
Should you break a bulb in the house, it is advised that the broken material is swept up using a damp cloth and both the debris and cloth put into a double layered plastic bag and taken to a collection point for disposal. The room should then be well ventilated for at least 15 minutes.

Reduce the use of electrical appliances
When replacing appliances, try to buy appliances which use less power and have a good energy rating
Turn things off when not in use
Replace standard light bulbs with their low energy equivalents

Making Aluminium cans from old ones uses one twelfth of the energy to make them from raw materials.
For glass bottles, 315kg of CO2 is saved per tonne of glass recycled after taking into account the transportation and processing
Making bags from recycled polythene takes one third the Sulphur Dioxide and half the Nitrous Oxide, than making them from scratch

Everyone should try and re-use products for as long as feasibly possible. It is amazing how often people buy certain products and use them only once or twice, even though they can be re-used many times. For instance can you think of some items of clothing you have worn only once?

The production of the packaging uses additional energy
The extra volume and weight will have to be transported (by lorries, aircraft, ships etc.)
The packaging will be thrown out and will need to be collected from your home by a large waste disposal truck
Packaging then takes more space at land fill sites

1. Bottled water
Tap water is safe to drink in most European and North American countries, yet people still insist on buying bottled water. If the bottle is labelled as being from volcanic springs - you can bet that it has probably been imported from some distance. Imagine the carbon footprint of the flight / shipping of the water! And that's before adding in the emissions due to making the bottle and / or recycling it.
2. Food and drink from far distances
When you go to the supermarket, look at the label to identify which country the food is from. There is no need to buy New Zealand apples in the UK in the autumn - but people do!
Think twice about buying a bottle of wine from the other side of the world - you may be able to find much more local wine, which will have travelled far fewer miles.
Better still try growing your own fruit and vegetables in your own garden. Planting an apple tree will not only provide you with lots of fruit, with zero carbon footprint, but the tree itself with breathe in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - making these fruit effectively carbon negative!
3. Meat eating
Reduce your consumption of meat, especially red meat.
4. Clothes from far off lands
Check the clothes labels before you buy. If they come from more than 1000 miles away, keep looking!
5. High packaged items
Avoid goods and services that have unnecessary packaging!

While you are using the computer, you might just think that the screen is just too bright. You can just turn the contrast more so that your computer screen becomes darker and if saves a bit of money at least you do not waste all the extra energy and you will not damage your eyes.

If you are a person who likes to go to the gym just to train your running skills, you should not. You should just go out for a long jog in the park or just jog near your house as when you are tired from all the running, you can just go home and take a break.

Fit energy saving bulbs
Install thermostatic valves on your radiators
Insulate your hot water tank, your loft and your walls
35% of heat generated in the house is lost through the walls. Installing cavity wall installation to a medium size house could reduce your heating bills by up to £100 per year
By installing 180mm thick loft insulation you could stop about 25% of your heating escaping through the roof
Recycle your grey water
Replace your old fridge / freezer (if it is over 15 years old), with a new one with energy efficiency rating of "A"
Replace your old boiler with a new energy efficient condensing boiler

Sign up to a green energy supplier, who will supply electricity from renewable sources (e.g. wind and hydroelectric power) - this will reduce your carbon footprint contribution from electricity to zero
Turn it off when not in use (lights, television, DVD player, Hi Fi, computer etc. etc. ...)
Turn down the central heating slightly (try just 1 to 2 degrees C)
Turn down the water heating setting (just 2 degrees will make a significant saving)
Check the central heating timer setting - remember there is no point heating the house after you have left for work
Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load - this will save you water, electricity, and washing powder
Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need
Unplug your mobile phone as soon as it has finished charging
Defrost your fridge/freezer regularly
Do your weekly shopping in a single trip
Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it
Go for a run rather than drive to the gym