• Set your fridge at 3˚ C. Make sure the seals of your fridge and freezer doors are intact. 
• Don’t open fridge and freezer doors unnecessarily. 
• Place your fridge and freezer somewhere cool – away from sun-facing walls and windows, and as far as possible from the stove. 
• Defrost your chest freezer twice a year and your upright freezer three times a year.
• Don’t overfill your fridge or freezer – only use 90% of its capacity.

• Keep your oven door closed until food is done cooking. 
• Match pots with stove plate sizes. 
• Avoid using your stove for small tasks – like boiling water for tea and coffee. 
• Place frozen food in the fridge to defrost – avoid defrosting food in the microwave. 
• Use your microwave to cook small to medium amounts of food. 
• Use a pressure cooker or slow-cooker for food that cooks for a long time – such as stews and casseroles.

• Wait for a full load of crockery and  cutlery before you wash. 
• Soak or prewash is only recommended in cases of burnt or dried -out-food. 
• Remove bones and large pieces of food from crockery, pots and pans by scraping it off – not rise it off. 
• Understand how your dishwasher works and make sure it is the eco function.

• Wait for a full load of washing before you wash. 
• Ensure that you set your washing machine to match the load of washing – there is no need to set the machine to its highest and longest setting if you are washing a small load. 
• Only wash clothes that are dirty. Heavier items such as jeans can be worn a few times before throwing them in the wash. 
• Cold settings are fine. Don’t use the hot water setting if clothes are not heavily soiled. 
• Understand how your washing machine works and make sure it is set to the eco-function. 
• Keep your tumble dryer off during sunny days and use the washing line instead.

Maintain it at a comfortable 23˚ C in summer – once on, all windows and doors should be kept closed. 

Otherwise, if you don’t have an air conditioner:

• Fire retardant ceiling insulation  makes a home up to 10˚ C cooler in summer.
• Insulate your home
• Install shade awnings on the outside of windows facing the sun – it reduces heat from entering your home.
• Open windows and doors to allow cool breezes to circulate freely. 

A fan heater with a thermostat is the best choice to quickly heat an average room of 3 x 3 x 2.5 meters. It spreads heat evenly and the thermostat switches it off when the room is cosy.

Replace incandescent lamps with energy saving CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and LEDs (light emitting diodes) do the same with your conventional downlights.

• Keep to a four to six-hour filtering cycle every 24 hours in winter.
• Keep to two six-hour filtering cycles every 24 hours in summer.
• Make regular pool maintenance a priority –  it will contribute to optimising your pool pumps electricity use.
• Clean your pool filter – do so at regular intervals throughout the year; a clean filter is key to better water flow.
• Brush the floor and walls to remove debris that the filter misses.
• Clean areas with the least circulation at least once a week.
• Keep your pool covered when you use it infrequently in winter – pool covers prevent leaves, dirt and debris from falling into the pool.