Would you care if it took 8 seconds longer to make a cup of tea?

[Harriet Jackson]

Slightly lowering the voltage of energy grids can save energy without the customer noticing and cut energy bills, an experiment in north England has found.

Lowering the voltage towards 220 V (normally grids are between 220-240V) means a kettle (important for British people like me 😊) takes 8 seconds longer than previously to boil, but customers didn’t notice until they received their energy bills and noticed the decrease. Read more here. 

This type of ‘almost unnoticeable’ energy efficiency measure is great for saving carbon without harming user experience, or even requiring the consumer to make a conscious effort.

Lights that respond to movement sensors are another ‘almost unnoticeable’ example. Do you know of other such examples that could be financed by your bank?

 

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