Save Energy in the Garage

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Out of sight it often out of mind, but depending on what you do in your garage you might find some good Carbon saving opportunities that you never realised.

Take a look and see just what’s plugged in.

 

POSITIVE STEPS:

 

 

  Lights:

Most garages have a light, but the trouble with them is that unlike in the rest of the house you don’t necessarily notice if they’ve been left on. It’s so easy to shut the door in a rush and forget to switch off. The only question then is how long will it be before you’re next in there and notice it. 12 hours, three days, a week ?

If it’s a 100Watt bulb, that’s adding 2.4 kWh and 1.2 kg CO₂ to your totals each day.

Admittedly it’s not quite as bad as leaving the loft light on, which can stay in for weeks / months, but double checking saves pointless consumption and Carbon emissions.

Alternatively if you want to avoid the problem altogether, there are some nice solar-power ones that work completely off-grid. Charged up by the sun these illuminate with either LEDs or fluorescent tubes. They’re actually pretty good value and all you need to do is fix the solar panel to face roughly south and you’ll be in Carbon-free lighting for life.

Being off-grid you can use them anywhere – eg: a shed, or dark pathway. Some come with motion sensors to light up when you walk by.

 

  Power tools:

The other main source of consumption in the garage is rechargeable things, usually power tools. Just like any other device, leaving them plugged in will only draw unnecessary power ultimately making CO₂ in some distant power station.

Also rechargeable things tend to exhaust the battery sooner if left continually charging.

See what you can unplug and chalk up another few Watts saved.