This week’s simple swap can save you up to £300 annually on your energy bill and drastically reduce your carbon footprint.

Meaning, you could save up to £300 a year and, over the average life span of 80 years you could save up to £24,000, while simultaneously reducing your carbon footprint by over 240 tons of CO2 in your lifetime. 

You can get these enormous savings by switching your tariff to a green tariff (known as an energy supplier). Even, if you’re renting, as a tenant, you have the right to switch if you pay your supplier directly for the energy you use. Your landlord may have named a ‘preferred supplier’ in the rental agreement, but this won’t affect your right to switch.

This is because if you pay your bills, then legally you are entitled to switch and source your energy from whoever you like. If your landlord pays your utilities, then it’s a bit more difficult, but definitely worth asking them if it’s something they would look into.

In addition, some tariffs have penalties if you leave before a fixed time period is up. However, some renewable suppliers will pay your exit fees for you.

Furthermore, switching tariffs is definitely better for the environment, as the average UK household CO2 emission is an overwhelming 20.2 tons annually. By switching to green tariffs, users can lower their impact by an astonishing 3.4 tonnes of CO2 per year. 

A transition to renewable energy is exceptionally good for people and the planet; it will mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve human health and the environment by decreasing air and water pollution, it also supports jobs and economic development.

However, there is the potential for ‘greenwashing’ (marketing something as greener than it is) as some companies label nuclear fuel as renewable. According to the government website, the UK energy mix in 2022 is ‘Primary oil (crude oil and Natural Gas Liquids) accounted for 42% of total production, natural gas 29%, primary electricity (consisting of nuclear, wind, solar and hydro) 16%, bioenergy and waste 12%, while coal accounted for the remaining 1%’

True renewable energy is energy that comes from sources that are constantly replenished, for example, the water for hydroelectric dams is topped up by the rain, and the sunlight on solar panels. However nuclear power uses radioactive fuel so it is not renewable. In addition nuclear waste remains radioactive for millions of years and sustainable storage of the radioactive waste that is needed for tens of thousands of years required for public safely has not been resolved.

Companies like Big Clean Switch and Octopus Energy are energy companies whose goal is “to make it easy to switch to clean energy suppliers you can trust”. Octopus currently powers over three million homes and businesses in the UK, all with award-winning 100% green electricity, from many different sources including solar and wind.

Making this simple swap drastically potentially reduces your impact by 3.4 CO2 tonnes every year and so it could reduce your carbon footprint by over 240 tons of CO2 in your lifetime. While simultaneously saving you up to £300 annually and potentially £24,000 in your lifetime. Save money, save the planet!

Next week’s simple swap is savvy soap savings...