The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow sought stronger international agreement on actions to cut emissions, reducing fossil fuel usage and increasing the pace of rollout for household renewables.
We've heard a lot about what nations must do to help tackle climate change. It can feel like a huge undertaking, where the power for change is in the hands of leaders and not ordinary people.
But there are ways we can all help reduce our home and personal carbon footprint, as part of the effort to tackle climate change. Technologies like solar panels, renewable heating systems and electric vehicles are not only changing how we use and think about energy, they will enable us to reduce energy costs and allow individual households to play a role in helping to decarbonise the UK electricity network.
In order to do this to its greatest potential, we will need to upgrade our energy system. The integration of smart meters will help maximise the benefits of renewable energy systems and help us be more intelligent about how the UK generates low carbon energy to meet growing demand.
Having a smart meter installed in my own home was an easy decision. The in-home display, which comes with the smart meter, shows my energy use in near-real time in pounds and pence, encouraging me to make small changes to avoid wastage – helping to reduce my personal carbon footprint and save money.
However, this is not just about saving individual households energy and money. In the future, an upgraded energy system will help to balance demand on the electricity grid. For example, we might see the option of pausing electricity usage in appliances that aren’t being used or the batteries of electric cars being used to power home electrical appliances in the evening, when electricity is in high demand, before fully recharging on cheap electricity overnight.
While you might think that a single home has a limited impact, once combined with other households the positive impact quickly adds up. A smarter system means real-time usage data, and that means demand can be more easily managed, more renewables can be used in the system and a more cost-effective system for individuals and the nation.
There are many other steps that need to be taken to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees, but a smarter energy system must be an integral part of it. The good news is, getting a smart meter installed is a step that pretty much everyone can do from the comfort of their own sofa, at no extra cost, and also something an individual can do that will actually make a big difference. Put simply: the UK just will not achieve its net zero target without them.
Ten tips to help tackle climate change in your home
In addition to having a smart meter installed, here are ten other tips from Smart Energy GB, who Dr Nina Skorupska is working with, on how you can be smarter with energy use to help tackle climate change:
1. Turn your TV off rather than leaving it on standby, and turn your mobile phone charger off instead of leaving it plugged in and turned on with no phone charging in it
2. Ask your electricity supplier to switch you to a green tariff - this means more renewables will be used in the energy system
3. Replace any incandescent or halogen bulbs with LEDs – they use around 90% less energy and last around 15 times longer
4. Keep your household appliances clean – if dirt and dust build up, they may have to work harder (for example: clean the filters in your washing machine and tumble dryer and wipe down the coils on the back of your fridge every six months so the fridge motor doesn't have to work harder to keep your food cool)
5. Turn your thermostat down just one degree – you won’t feel the difference but you will save energy and save yourself around £60 a year
6. Check the energy rating when buying appliances like fridges and freezers, and only buy the most efficient
7. Don’t overfill your kettle - using just the amount of water you need instead of overflowing it, saves you energy, as well as money
8. Using a slow cooker is a great alternative to the oven for stews, tagines and curries, which need time for flavours to develop. Batch cooking dishes like this saves energy, as a slow cooker uses little energy
9. Use draught excluders around windows and doors to keep more heat in your home
10. Choose smart appliances, like lights that only turn on when someone’s in the room and turn off when you leave
Dr Nina Skorupska CBE FEI is chief executive of the Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technologies, the UK's largest renewables and clean technology trade association, and Smart Energy GB supporter
