Energy efficiency rarely makes the headlines. But it is really important news. If you make your home more energy efficient, you save money and help the environment. So it is a win-win situation.

So starts the foreword in the Which? Guide to the Energy Saving Home. It’s a fairly substantial paperback book, over 220 pages long and its stuffed full of useful ways to check up on the energy your home is using plus ideas, hints and tips about how you can reduce your impact on the environment at the same time as improving your home.

Whether from mankind’s interference or natural changes, it’s clear that the planet we live on faces problems on a global scale. Most people are aware that the continued use of fossil fuels poses a threat to the environment. They may have even experienced the effects of this in their own lives – for example, floods in recent winters. But to many the solution seems to lie with governments rather than individual consumers.

However the potential for change though more efficient use of energy is enormous. 82 percent of the UK government’s climate change commitments could be delivered by energy saving measures alone. One reason for this is that much of the UK housing stock is over 60 years old, of poor quality, and offers considerable scope for energy-efficiency measures alone.

But the fabric of our homes is not all that causes wasted energy. As well as using energy to heat and light our homes, we consume considerable amounts running domestic appliances. These include ‘white goods’ such as washing machines, cookers fridges and freezers. Televisions, telephones, computers and kitchen appliances all take their whack too.

Fridges and freezers between them use 17 percent of the typical household electricity bill.

If you are thinking about changing household equipment or fitting out a new home you can make a substantial difference to your running costs and to the environment too by choosing energy-efficient models. Small differences in the daily energy consumption of some appliances can add up to a big difference in the running cost over a year.

But if you are not going out to kit out a home with new appliances, and most of us are not, just using the appliances we have more efficiently can help. Being aware of the energy usage of appliances can make us more discerning when deciding what to use.

It’s not just energy either, the water usage of washing machines both for clothes and dishes can make a substantial contribution to the planet’s energy use.

Which? have listed the energy consumption of typical appliances using figures taken from The Energy Advice Handbook by Energy Inform, 2003. For example:

You can work out how much 1 unit of electricity costs by looking at your fuel bill, but it is usually about 7 pence.

Individual models of many equipments are rated on the Save Energy website http://www.saveenergy.co.uk/

When comparing equipment there are a number of labelling schemes in use. One is the EU Energy Label shown here. By law, the EU energy label must be shown on all domestic washing machines, tumble driers, combined washer-driers, fridges, freezers, fridge-freezer combinations and dishwashers that are for sale, hire or hire-purchase.

The more efficient the product, the less energy it needs. The main A-G scale shows the efficiency category of the product. A is most efficient and G is the least efficient. The washing machine shown in the image shown here is category A as indicated by the large black arrow marked A. The scale is coarse with only 7 segments but it gives a good overall indication of the efficiency of the product.

Below the main scale is the Energy Consumption panel. This panel tells you how much electricity the particular model uses in standard tests. You can use this panel and the others below it to make specific comparisons between products. Different equipments use their own measurement parameters, so for dishwashers the value is in kWh/cycle but for fridges the value is in kWh/year. Between models however, you can compare the figures directly.

To work out running costs, you need to multiply the number of kWh by the cost per unit of electricity as shown on your electricity bill.

Similarly you can use the other panels to make important comparisons between products such as product performance, water consumption and noise.

The Energy Efficiency Recommended Logo is a scheme operated by the Energy Saving Trust, which was set up by the UK Government after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and is one of the UK's leading organisations addressing the damaging effects of climate change. Their goal is to achieve the sustainable and efficient use of energy, to cut the carbon dioxide emissions, which are the key contributor to global warming.

The EST uses this label to endorse the most efficient products on the market. Products that are ‘A’ rated under the EU Energy Label scheme may also display the EST label.

The European Union Ecolabel is a scheme to mark products of lower environmental impact than similar products performing the same function. It may be found on a wide range of products – much wider than the ‘enforced’ EU Energy Label group mentioned above.

The EU Ecolabel is not an enforced system but products awarded with the EU Flower symbol can give a guarantee to the public that compliance with established ecological criteria has been tested by independent third parties.

The Which? Guide to the Energy Saving Home continues for 12 more pages in the Household appliances and energy efficiency section alone, with solid advice about how to select a range of household products.

Other chapters include:

• The energy issue
• Energy production and supply
• Saving energy
• Water
• Conservation in the garden
• Recycling and waste disposal
• And a chapter on green homes, solar energy and other ‘making a difference’ issues

The book, which is available from the Which? on-line bookshop http://www.which.com for £10.99, has copious addresses, websites and other useful appendices and is a mine of tips that could save the average household hundreds of pounds a year by being more energy-efficient.

Details and sections of text by courtesy of the publishers, Which? Ltd.