Project families tell of energy bills savings

Householders can save hundreds of euros annually on their fuel and electricity bills, without incurring any costs, by introducing simple energy-saving measures in their homes, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan has said.

The Minister was speaking following a six-month pilot project which saw eight families reduce their electricity bills from between €328 to €920 through measures such as switching off radiators in unoccupied rooms and unplugging mobile phone chargers.

The families involved in the Power of One street project also achieved combined carbon dioxide emissions savings of more than 22 tonnes over the six-month period, a one-quarter reduction on their normal CO2 output in some cases.

"People can save literally thousands every year on their heating bills and help the environment just by doing old-fashioned things like shutting doors, turning off lights, turning the temperature down slightly and not leaving equipment on standby," Mr Ryan said.

One of the biggest attractions of the project was that people did not have to incur any capital cost, by converting heating systems or buying new insulation, to participate, he said. "People were saving tonnes of carbon without spending any money, but saving money and still having warm, comfortable homes."

Neal Meehan, his wife Mary and their four boys achieved the largest savings of the eight families in their three-year-old, five-bedroom detached house in Raphoe, Co Donegal.

"We saved €920. Instead of getting 2½ or three fills of oil for the tank, we're using just two.

"We turned off radiators in rooms that we weren't using; in the rooms we were in, we opened the doors to allow the heat to move through and we actually enjoyed higher temperatures in the house," Mr Meehan said.

Having studied energy usage as part of his degree in civil engineering, Mr Meehan thought he and his family were already good at saving energy.

"I had thought that there probably weren't ways we could save much more than we did, but I had never bothered with things like changing the thermostatic valves on radiators or using the sun in the kitchen, the passive solar gain, to heat the rest of the house."

Mr Meehan said the family also stopped using the electric immersion to heat water, which uses 14-15 cents a kilowatt hour, and used oil instead, which uses 6-8 cents a kilowatt hour.