I’m sure the looming energy crisis has turned many of you good readers into an eco-worrier like me? The question is, what can we all do to help address it?

Before I share with you a couple of fab solutions, here’s a little energy saving quiz for you. How much money would you save a year by:

  1. Draft proofing your gaps?
  2. Turning off standby appliances?
  3. Avoiding using your tumble dryer?
  4. Reducing your shower time to four minutes?
  5. Not overfilling your kettle and fitting a kitchen tap aerator?
  6. Reducing your dishwasher use by one run a week?

So, how did you do….?

  1. £45
  2. £55
  3. £60
  4. £70
  5. £36
  6. £14

These figures are taken from the Energy Saving Trust and are based on tariffs at the time of writing

Ham & High: Debbie Bourne has tips for saving energyDebbie Bourne has tips for saving energy (Image: Debbie Bourne)

Did any of these surprise you?

Are you keen to learn more about other energy saving tips which, when added up, can save you several hundred pounds a year: plus, equally important, lots of carbon?

If you’ve answered a resounding, hell yes, to any of the above, sign up to Think&Do’s new Energy Saving Club. It’s free. You will receive weekly tips and possibly some energy saving freebies. Email info@thinkanddocamden.org.uk.

There’s another way you can do your bit to help address the energy crisis. Power Up North London (PUNL) (powerupnorthlondon.org) is helping schools, etc to produce more of their own energy and reduce their energy bills by installing solar power. They do this by mobilising funds through community share offers, which eco-worriers like you and me can buy into. This frees up schools to use their scarce resources on teaching and learning.

PUNL also offer free advice to schools on how energy bills can be substantially reduced by simple measures, such as turning off whiteboards and computers when not in use. They have estimated that if every primary school in Camden adopted these measures, it would save £200,000 and 500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year. Secondary school savings would be much higher.

Sssshhh… don’t tell anyone, but in the next couple of weeks PUNL will be launching a very exciting share offer to install solar on a fantastically popular Camden public space… be the first to hear about it here: info@powerupnorthlondon.org.

There’s one final energy saving idea I am going to be pursuing… my next door neighbour is rather handsome. I wonder if he would like to come round and er… curl up in bed with me. It would save him using energy in his own home!

After all, we’ve all got to do our bit to address the energy crisis?

What are you going to do?

Debbie Bourne is from Think&Do Camden and also designs wild gardens: ofbutterfliesandbees.co.uk