Simeon Brody
According to The Energy Saving Trust, we take more notice of our peers than of 'experts'. Now I am considered an expert, so you may not take much notice of me, but if YOU start a conversation about climate change, for instance, your work colleagues, family and neighbours are likely to be influenced. You are a powerful person. A report by Wildfire called 'The Power Of One says so, so it must be true, as they're experts...........
The Energy Saving Trust are holding Energy Saving Week again and what they'd like us all to do is hold a conversation (or three!) about this most important issue, the biggest issue of our time.
They would like us to try to spread the message about the ways we can all play our part in combatting climate change, and have partnered up with various organisations to try to start these conversations.
So don't be surprised if you are approached by your postie, or someone in Currys or B+Q, with a question about how you are saving energy, or what else you are doing to reduce your impact on climate change.
Apparently about 70% of us think that it is a good thing to be energy efficient, although only about 40% are changing our behaviour to become greener. So by my maths, that leaves 30% who are ripe for conversion and would be willing to change, and another 30% who might be more difficult to get to play their part.
You can find out where you fit in these categories by doing a simple online 'influencer index' and if it turns out that you are an influencer, you know what to do!
The Energy Saving Trust are a good bunch and their website has a wealth of information, some of which even I didn't know, such as some of the energy saving assumptions. I've been into saving energy and using renewables for years, but really enjoyed my trip around their website.
For instance, someone once told me that they were happy to leave their computer on standby all day and night as it was contributing to the heating in the house, that the extra heat generated wasn't wasted as it was replacing heat which would have otherwise been provided by their gas central heating.
This section (heat replacement effect) explains how much more expensive and inefficient this is. Fascinating!
My Energy Saving Tip of the week is to spend some time exploring the website (start on sitemap), digest a few tips and ideas, then switch off your computer and do something fun and healthy!
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