The tools

The library has a near-complete set of all the low-energy lightbulbs on the market. It also has tools to measure how much electricity is used by most household appliances.

The results

We reduced our electricity use by about 50%, by replacing every bulb, and acting on what we learned about appliances. The process of auditing each electricity outlet threw up some real shocks:

• Most of our computer equipment and video equipment used electricity even when switched to standby

• One set of three standard lamps, made in the 1980s, used as much electricity every day as a whole average Bangladeshi family

• Even apart from those lamps, installing low-energy bulbs reduced energy used in lighting by 75%

We could be (and now are) using less power in almost all our kitchen and utility room appliancesBut some lights and appliances still use too much energy. In each case, we now know what to specify when we buy new appliances and when we next move or refurbish the houseAnd, while we’re at it, there was far too much bad insulation around the house. It cost practically nothing to correct the next time we had a major job to do.