Carbon neutral
Living a carbon neutral lifestyle is effectively balancing the amount of carbon dioxide you create against the amount you offset. But, spending lots of money on carbon offsetting is not the answer. The answer lies in adopting a low or carbon neutral lifestyle, which reduces the amount of carbon dioxide you create in the first place. The biggest changes you can make to live a more carbon neutral lifestyle will be to reduce the amount of CO2 you create when driving your car or heating your home.
Zero stamp duty – not far enough
The Government is also trying to encourage us to go carbon neutral, and have tried to remove the burden of stamp duty on houses that make no impact on the environment. However, in reality this makes little difference to homebuyers as very few newly built homes meet the carbon neutral standards.
On a lighter note, if you do install ‘micro-generation’ facilities (solar, wind, hydro or geothermal) to become carbon neutral, by generating your own electricity the good news is that you will not be subject to income tax on any surplus electricity that you sell back to the National Grid.
Turn down your heating
Being carbon neutral doesn’t have to mean installing a £20,000 solar roof. Most of us just need to adapt our lifestyles to reduce our negative impact on the environment.
Central heating and hot water in your home account for around 80% of your domestic energy use and there are lots of small changes you can make to try to reduce the amount of energy you consume, thus helping you on your way to a carbon neutral lifestyle. For example:
- Switch to a green electricity tariff
- Turn down your thermostat by a couple of degrees for both your heating and your hot water
- Make sure your loft is properly insulated
- Keep your hot water tank warm with an insulating jacket
- Don’t heat empty spaces – turn down the radiators in rooms that you don’t use very much
- Put foil reflectors behind radiators to reflect heat back into the room
- Close the curtains at dusk to stop the heat escaping
Don’t leave appliances on standby
Lighting and appliances accounts for nearly 15% of your domestic energy use and there are many ways in which you can reduce this in order to go carbon neutral. For example:
- Always buy energy efficient appliances – washing machines, dishwashers, fridges and freezers all have to display the EU Energy label by law which tells you which are the most energy efficient
- When light bulbs go, replace them with energy efficient ones – each bulb will save you around £100 in power during their lifetime
- Make sure that you don’t leave appliances on standby – TVs, DVD players, stereos, digiboxes, microwaves and computers are the usual culprits and some even use as much energy in standby mode as they do when they’re being used.
Slow down
Every time you drive your car you’re producing CO2 and you can easily reduce this and become more carbon neutral in the process. The Department for Transport is encouraging every one to follow their smarter driving tips, which can help reduce CO2 emissions from cars by 8%. For example:
- Pump up your tyres to cut down on fuel
- Less clutter in your car, means less engine workload and lower fuel consumption
- Slow down – driving at 50mph uses 15% less fuel than driving at 70mph
- Over revving and frequent stop/starts causes more fuel consumption and more CO2 emissions
- Switch off your engine if you’re at a standstill for more than 3 minutes
Don’t forget that you can always try using public transport, walking or cycling short journeys or join a car-sharing scheme. All of these can help you become even more carbon neutral.
Pay less car tax
When buying a new car you can become more carbon neutral by following the Department for Transport’s Car Purchasing Tips, for example:
- The smaller the car, the bigger the reduction in CO2 emissions
- It’s not the size of the engine the matters, it’s how fuel efficient it is
- Get a diesel engine if you regularly drive long distances as they’re more fuel efficient; but get a petrol engine if you spend more time in town where air quality is a greater consideration
- Look for the energy efficiency label - most new cars now have a colour-coded fuel efficiency rating like fridges and washing machines.
- Remember, the lower the CO2 emissions, the lower the car tax!
