Find the example that best fits your profile and home environment

Student
Student in a 40 m2 flat.
Electricity consumption: 2,500 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 1,500 kWh/year (The Trust’s benchmark for sensible electricity consumption if you live alone)

If you’re young and are frequently at home, you tend to use a lot of power running the TV and computer, and probably have a number of devices attached to both.

Savings advice:

• Replace the stationary computer with a notebook
• Connect an AutoPowerOff to the computer and TV
• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs

Family in flat
2 adults and 2 children aged 12 and 8 years in a 110 m2 flat.
Electricity consumption: 4,800 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 4,000 kWh/year

2 adults and 2 children mean plenty of clothes to wash and a high level of TV and computer use. There will also tend to be a certain amount of extra equipment for the TV and computer.

Savings advice:

• Only run the washing machine on full load
• Wash at 20 °C or 30 °C instead of 40 °C (requires special cold water washing powder, and you need to check that your washing machine can wash at 20 °C)
• Dry as many clothes as possible on a clothes horse
• Connect an AutoPowerOff to the computer and TV
• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs
• Where possible, switch to an energy efficient washing machine and/or tumble dryer

Family in house
2 adults and 2 children aged 7 and 3 years in a 140 m2 detached house.
Electricity consumption: 5,000 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 4,000 kWh/year

2 adults and 2 children mean plenty of clothes to wash and a high level of TV and computer use. These homeowners also tend to use quite of lot of power on garden maintenance and other recreational activities. Also, you may find you need more lighting when you have an outdoor space.

Savings advice:

• Connect an AutoPowerOff to the computer and TV
• Replace the chest freezer and other large appliances with A++ rated freezer
• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs 
• Replace your old circulator pump with an A-rated energy saving version

Family in house with teenagers
2 adults and 3 children aged 8, 13 and 17 years in a 180 m2 detached house.
Electricity consumption: 7,000 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 5,000 kWh/year

2 adults and 3 children mean plenty of clothes to wash and a high level of TV and computer use. There will also tend to be a certain number of other power consuming appliances in the house.

Savings advice:

• Connect an AutoPowerOff to the computer and TV
• Replace your old circulator pump with an A-rated energy saving version 
• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs

Affluent family with teenagers
2 adults and 3 children aged 16, 12 and 2 years in a 250 m2 detached house.
Electricity consumption: 9,000 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 5,000 kWh/year

2 adults and 3 children in a large house use a lot of lights and also tend to have luxury-based electricity consumption on top of the power used by TVs and computers, etc. Luxury-based electricity consumption can include things like an engine warmer, extra outdoor lighting or a garden fountain.

Savings advice:

• Install daylight and motion sensors for the lighting
• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs 
• Replace halogen bulbs with LEDs where possible
• Replace your old circulator pump with an A-rated energy saving version 
• Connect an AutoPowerOff to the computer and TV 
• Limit the use of the engine warmer
• Install a clock timer to control outdoor lighting and the garden fountain

Single person in flat
1 person in a 70 m2 flat. 
Electricity consumption: 2,500 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 1,500 kWh/year (The Trust’s benchmark for sensible electricity consumption if you live alone)

If you live alone, it can take longer to build up a full load for the washing machine, and the fridge is seldom full to capacity.

Savings advice:

• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs  
• Replace your old computer with a notebook or, possibly, just the old CRT monitor with a new flat screen
• Connect an AutoPowerOff to the computer and TV
• Put a full load in the washing machine for each wash

Retired couple
Retired couple in a 60 m2 flat.
Electricity consumption: 2,500 kWh/year
Electricity savings target: 2,000 kWh/year

Today’s pensioners are often extremely active. The computer could well be a slightly outdated model, and large domestic appliances might be slightly older models too.

Savings advice:

• Replace the fridge with a new energy efficient model
• Replace the desktop computer with a notebook
• Replace conventional light bulbs with A-rated energy saving bulbs

Electricity consumption before: 2,500 kWh/year
Electricity consumption after: 2,000 kWh/year