Member Article

UK households wasting £8.6 billion every year on excess energy consumption

By not being energy efficient, an average UK property could be saving up to £325* and 1.3 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Consumer research also released today shows vast majority of us admit we could make savings if we were more energy efficient

Bosch pledge to continue sustained investment in research and development to provide consumers with energy efficient products

Figures show that British households could be consuming more than £325 in excess energy per year in the form of gas, electricity and petrol – equaling £8.6 billion across Britain.

And consumer research released today backs up the figures, with almost 80% admitting they could make savings if they were more energy efficient.

However, when asked how much they estimated they could save two thirds answered up to £250 a year, but as the figures show, it could be a much more significant amount.

And it seems the issue lies in the household products and cars we are using as well as the way we are using them.

Modern energy efficient domestic products in the form of washing machines, fridges, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, boilers, even hair dryers and toasters can make big reductions on energy consumption as well as more environmentally friendly cars.

However, 63% say they are put off using more efficient products because of the cost while more than half say they would replace old appliances with new more energy efficient products, but only if they could reap the savings within three years.

The research by Bosch also shows that only about half of those surveyed regularly service their car, with a similar amount checking tyre pressure, while one in ten don’t believe they drive efficiently and a quarter don’t know if they do or not.

Meanwhile, only around 40% regularly clean filters on washing machine, only a quarter regularly service domestic appliances and the same number clean drains and filters on dishwasher.

The research also shows that 85% say both consumers and companies should be equally responsible for energy efficiency and Bosch are leading the field of R&D. In 2012 the company invested €4.8 Billion (£4 Billion) in its various R&D projects.

H: Interviewer

A: Dr Peter Fouquet - President of Bosh UK

H: I’m joined by Peter, president of Bosch UK, to discuss the fact that UK households are wasting 8.6 billion pounds every year on excess energy consumption. How much excess energy are UK households wasting.

A: Its good’s good to speak on a day like this about wasting energy because we have all heard about the increase in energy prices between 8 – 11% and it will go on so ultimately next year we have that so the number we have got about wasted energy per household is £325 per household and yes this is a lot and you can imagine what this means for many people so therefore people can do a lot to reduce that.

H: Why are we wasting so much and how can we reduce it?

A: We are wasting so much because we don’t have the right tools, we don’t have the right insulation in our houses, maybe we drive the wrong car and many, many people and they admit that, we found that out in a survey we recently did, many people just doesn’t know what to do, how to be more efficient and how to reduce their energy bill.

H: How can we reduce our energy bill?

A: I speak for Bosch and we are a provider of household appliances, boilers from Worcester and many parts of the cars for example, ejection systems so for modern energy domestic products in form of washing machines, fridges, dishwashers, boilers, even hairdryers or toasters can make big reductions on energy consumption as well as more environmentally friendly cars can do that. Good examples are fridges. A modern fridge can reduce your consumption by 60% compared to an old fridge twenty years ago and many people don’t know that a fridge can make 25% of your energy bill.

H: What is Bosch calling for?

A: Bosch is calling for producing and using energy efficient and environmentally friendly products. Our products are not the cheapest to buy I admit that. We are in the middle of the higher price range but we see a big success, people are very, very sensitive to look for high tech, environmentally friendly and efficient appliances and we are successful with this kind of appliance at the moment, even more when you see the current discussion.

H: Who needs to take responsibility for reducing their energy?

A: We all have to take responsibility, the consumer as well as separate users, especially the industry. The home owner has to look for insulation, has to look for efficient products. You simply have to spend to save money. This is clear because people also look at their return, they will get their return it depends on how much they can invest in their homes but also the producers themselves they can contribute. Our target is, for Bosch, is to reduce our CO2 emissions for example, by 20% compared to 2007 up to 2020 and I can tell you now in 2013 we have already reached that in the UK for our sites which is a success and we always try to invest in such issues for our products as well as for our production site.

H: Where can people go to find out more information about this topic?

A: www.bosch.co.uk and what we also did was we issued a number of, so called top tops on how you can reduce your energy in your home. Like use energy reduced bulbs or don’t fill up your kettle up to 100% when you only need 20% but also as I already said spend to save money. You have to spend and invest money in efficient appliances.

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