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Clean your bills

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How?

It couldn’t be much easier. It takes just minutes and you don’t have to move an inch - you can do it right now, with a few simple clicks.

You don’t have to have new power lines installed, and you don’t have to stick a wind turbine on the roof. You simply switch provider to one who will invest in producing renewable energy to feed into the grid.

Of course, you’ll still benefit from the reliability of the National Grid.

We’ve pulled out what are widely believed to be the two most reliable and effective green energy tariffs, Good Energy and Ecotricity:

Switch to Good Energy

Good Energy are the only UK electricity supplier selling 100% renewably sourced energy, all from independent generators. They’ve been running for over a decade and are an all round good company. (And for the energy gurus, they even retire 5% of their ROCs)

If you do decide to switch they’ll give you £25 off your first bill, and they’ll donate £25 to The DoNation too!

Good Energy

 

Switch to Ecotricity

Ecotricity are a friendly bunch who reinvest all their profit into building new forms of clean power. And what's best is they price match to the Big Six's standard electricity tarrifs. They supply electricity that is 41% renewably sourced, but don’t retire any of their ROCs.  They can even supply your gas too. 

Switch to Ecotricity and you'll recieve a £50 Naked Wines voucher - no strings attached. Or if you'd rather, they can make a £40 donation to The DoNation instead.

Ecotricity

If you'd prefer to speak to one of the friendly Ecotricity team, call 08000 302 302 (and be sure to tell them you heard about them through The DoNation!).

Of course, the Big Six also provide green tariffs, but just how green they are is highly debatable. With Good Energy and Ecotricity it’s clear how clean they are, that’s why we recommend them.

 

Read about how we chose the products and services that we recommend here.

1 - Special Feature-UK Coal Imports

2 - Fuel Mix Disclosure

Lag your loft

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And a little bit richer

Your loft insulation could pay for itself within a couple years and will continue to save you energy for more than forty years.

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that insulating your loft will cost between £50 and £350 and save you about £175 a year on your energy bills. If you are just topping up existing insulation the savings will be less but since the UK's major energy suppliers increased their fuel prices by up to 18% in 2011 the pay-back period could get shorter.

How?

There are two routes to getting your loft well insulated: You can do it yourself or you can get a specialist installer to do it for you.

DIY:

Installing your own loft insulation can be done in a day, no matter how experienced or otherwise you are at DIY.

It is important to go for an approved material, one that has been properly tested to ensure it is safe to use in your loft. Look out for Energy Savings Trust recommended products.

Thinkinsulation.com has some useful tips and a video on DIY loft insulation. 

Bring in the professionals:

There are a lot of professional energy efficiency advisers and installers for you to choose from, go to the National Insulation Association website to find a registered installer in your area 

Funding:

And before you make any decisions, why not have a quick word with your energy supplier or local authority to find out what deals are available locally. The energy companies have carbon emission targets they have to meet and as a result they may be subsidising or even giving away loft insulation.

Support:

Make My Home Green gives detailed and impartial advice on ways to make money-saving green improvements to your home – including loft insulation. And better still they have been nice enough to give DoNation users a 15% discount on their Advanced Home Energy Report service so mention discount code 'Do Make My Home Green' when you give them a call.

Got other tips or great resources to share? Please email them over to us at

Thank you to Polly Simpson

Sun power

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The DoNation Sun power DoAction - the suns clean energy fueling your electricity

Money

By installing domestic solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, not only will you drastically cut your electricity bill, but you could also earn yourself almost

£1000

a year can be earned by selling the power you generate into the grid.

The Feed in Tariff (FIT) guarantees healthy cash back payments for 25 years, making domestic renewables like this a fantastically safe investment. You can calculate how much you could save on the Energy Saving Trust’s interactive Cashback Calculator.  The government is reviewing the FIT for domestic installations in April 2012, so don’t dilly-dally!

How?

  1. Check that your house is suitable for solar PV (i.e. do you have a sun-bathed spot to place the panels).
  2. Find yourself a good MCS accredited installer. 
  3. Sit back and let them do all the hard work.

Make My Home Green offer a great reporting service that can help see if your house is suitable. They are also giving DoNation users a 15% discount on this service so mention discount code 'Do Make My Home Green' when you give them a call!

Both Yougen and Save and Generate are great sources of independent advice. Check them out.

Got other tips or great resources to share? Please email them over to us at

Soak in the sun

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This is a big one. Take the plunge and install solar thermal water heating, the most reliable, easy to install, and low-maintenance form of domestic renewable energy for us in the UK. You could sponsor your friend with a whopping 1,923Kg CO2!

Money

Obviously you’ll be cutting your fuel bills and protecting yourself from fuel price rises. The systems do require some capital investment, but you should claw back the money from your heating bills over the following years - payback time can range from 5 to 50 years depending on the system and location though!

The Renewable Heat Incentive is due to kick in on 1st April 2011, which should also provide a good financial leg-up to help make this an even more attractive investment.

25%

of your home’s energy consumption goes into heating water

How?

1. Check that your house is suitable for solar thermal (i.e. do you have a sun-bathed spot to place the panels). 

2. Find yourself a good MCS accredited installer. 

3. Sit back and let them do all the hard work.

Make My Home Green offer a great reporting service that can help see if your house is suitable. They are also giving DoNation users a 15% discount on this service so mention discount code 'Do Make My Home Green' when you give them a call!

Both Yougen and Save and Generate are great sources of independent advice. Check them out.

Got other tips or great resources to share? Please email them over to us at



1 - Act on CO2