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Daily Record
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Daily Record
Simple ways for your family to save water, energy and the planet
The amount of water we use each and every day isn't something we often stop to consider. But the reality is that we use more than we realise, and crucially, this tends to be more than we actually need. From brushing our teeth in the morning to making that all-important first cup of tea of the day, or from running a shower to washing the family car, the average person in Scotland will have used almost 180 litres of water by the end of today - enough to fill a whole bathtub. With Scotland currently experiencing higher levels of water scarcity, due to the driest start to the year in more than six decades, it's more important than ever for us all to use water responsibly, keeping a close eye on the amount we use each day. Sean Batty, meteorologist and TV presenter for STV Weather, commented on the recent weather: "Springs in the UK are generally becoming wetter - but when we experience a drier-than-usual spring, like this one, those higher temperatures can actually make the situation worse. "One striking aspect of this spring has been the weather pattern reversal between the UK and the Mediterranean. Spain has seen unusually wet conditions, with Malaga on the Costa del Sol recording over 250mm of rain since March 1, whereas some parts of East Lothian have had just 25mm." And though we've seen some rain lately, the problem is far from over, as Sean emphasised: "Although the recent dry streak has finally broken, in parts of eastern Scotland, the rainfall deficit dates back to June last year, with each month since then bringing either average or below-average rainfall. "River levels are exceptionally low in many areas, which will be concerning for many as we head into the summer months, and while reservoirs have more resilience thanks to their large capacity, sustained dry periods and increased water demand could still create problems if we don't watch our water usage closely." How you can help conserve water The good news is that there are lots of simple switches that can be made, making a huge difference in reducing the amount of water we consume - not only better for the planet, but our pockets too. According to a recent study by Home Energy Scotland*, taking just two minutes off your shower could save you at least £50 on your annual energy bill. Reducing your dishwasher use by one cycle per week can save up to 480 litres of water and around £14 per year - and ensuring your washing machine is full and running it at 30 degrees, rather than 40, can cut your water and energy consumption by a huge 57 per cent. Studies have shown that a family of four typically flushes the loo more than 10,000 times every year - equating to about 60,000 litres of clear, fresh water down the drain - so, maybe we don't need to flush every time. Another great way to help conserve Scotland's water supply, widely considered 'world-class' by Scottish residents, is by using a water butt at home. A small Scottish roof collects more than 45,000 litres of water each year, and a large roof can collect more than 90,000 litres per year - which is plenty to help your garden grow. Using a watering can in the garden rather than a hosepipe, a sponge for washing your car, and only boiling the water you actually need when you use the kettle are instant ways to start saving. Turning the tap off whilst brushing your teeth and fixing dripping taps and leaky loos are other easy wins. There are many things we can do to save water all year round, which is good for both the planet and your pocket.
Scotsman
23-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
How to make your home greener this summer: Top tips for an energy-efficient house to save money and the planet
Supplied Save money when the colder months arrive by getting ahead of the game and making these changes now, to create a more energy-efficient home. Find out how. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... We all want a warm, cosy home that's free from damp and easy to heat. According to Home Energy Scotland, heating and hot water can account for half of our energy bills – which is why it's so important to have a system that meets your needs. Clean energy systems like air source heat pumps and Solar PV can be a good option if you want to keep your bills down and cut your carbon emissions. Plus installing a renewable heating system such as an air source heat pump is more affordable than ever, as there's funding available to Scottish residents to help you make the switch. If you're looking to replace your old boiler, a Home Energy Scotland grant of up to £7,500 is available now to help you make the switch – and the summer is the ideal time to do it! There is also an additional £7,500 available as an interest free loan. Supplied Helping bring green energy into your home - Aira's top tips Here are some easy steps to take now to make your home warmer, more sustainable and cheaper to run. Around a fifth of the UK's carbon emissions come from our homes – and three-quarters of that comes from heating and hot water. Air source heat pumps provide an energy-efficient, low-carbon alternative to gas and oil boilers and are suitable for nearly every type of home. Air source heat pumps work by taking heat from the air outside your home and turns it into energy to heat your home and hot water – and for every unit of electricity it uses, it produces four units of heat which 'makes them a very efficient alternative to a gas or oil boiler for heating your home', according to the Energy Saving Trust. This means that air source heat pumps are four times more energy efficient than gas or oil boilers, making them a great choice for your pocket and for the environment. As well as being good news for the planet, air source heat pumps are also cheaper to run than your traditional gas boiler or electric heaters so you could save hundreds of pounds on your annual heating bills. Good for your pocket and the planet, and you will never pay a gas heating bill again! You can even combine them with other renewable technologies like solar panels, which can generate the electricity needed to power a heat pump, cutting your energy bills (and carbon emissions) even further. Supplied Keep the heat in Proper insulation and draught-proofing can dramatically cut heat loss, making your home feel warmer and more comfortable. It's also an effective way to reduce your energy bills and shrink your carbon emissions too. Options include: Loft and roof insulation Insulating your loft is crucial because hot air rises; uninsulated lofts can lose up to a quarter of your home's heat. Provided they're easy to access, most lofts are quick and easy to insulate, which will rapidly reduce your heating bill when it gets colder. Invest in the latest tech Heat pumps help to keep heating bills down and are kinder to the planet - a real win-win, and with grants and funding available, there's never been a better time to explore your options. Cavity wall insulation In an uninsulated home, about a third of the heat generated can escape through the walls. Houses built from the 1990s onwards have wall insulation to keep the heat in, but homes built between the 1920s and the 1990s generally have 'cavity walls' made up of two walls with a gap in between. These can be insulated by injecting insulation material into the hollow from outside. Solid wall insulation Older homes built before the 1920s usually have solid walls, but these can still benefit from insulation (which is installed either on the inside or the outside) which can lower heating costs and make your home more comfortable. Deal with damp and condensation Issues with black mould and damp in homes regularly make the headlines and for good reason – it can affect our health as well as damaging property. It's also crucial to properly manage condensation at home. Easy steps to take include: ● Move furniture away from walls so air can circulate ● Cut the amount of moisture produced inside your house: keep lids on pans when cooking and dry your clothes outside whenever you can ● Ventilate properly so that any humid air created can leave the house – this means using the extractor fan when you're cooking, showering or bathing, and making sure vents in windows stay open. Why summer is the ideal time to transform your home Summer might seem like a strange time to think about heating systems – but it's actually the best time to embrace clean energy in your home. The warmer months are perfect for installing an air source heat pump because you don't have to live without heating for a few days, plus it'll be all up and running as the colder weather begins again. And with grant funding of up to £7,500 available from Home Energy Scotland, as well as an additional £7,500 interest-free loan on offer, there are plenty of reasons why you should make the switch this summer. To find out how to make your home more energy-efficient, call Aira today to book a free home energy assessment with their Clean Energy Experts on 0330 828 1111 – lines are open from Mon–Fri: 8am–8pm, Sat–Sun: 9am–6pm. For more information, visit
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Government will simplify heat pump grant process
But the stand-out new pledge has been the plan to simplify the Home Energy Scotland process and it has been welcomed by both heat industry and fuel poverty, net zero and energy efficiency campaigners. Head of Aira heat pump manufacturer in Scotland, Nicola Mahmood, for instance, described how the challenges of the system was causing customer loss in confidence. 'The current timeline of three months or more to navigate the complex HES application process is unacceptable. These delays are leaving households in limbo.' What does the programme promise for heat in buildings? Yesterday first minister John Swinney presented a programme which highlighted, and which said that it was 'committed to decarbonising Scotland's buildings in a way that does not penalise individuals but does help tackle the climate emergency, rising energy bills, and fuel poverty'. Among its intentions is that it will support '20,000 households to save up to £500 on energy bills per year, by investing £300 million in 2025-26 to help households and other building owners install energy efficiency and clean heating measures'. The figure, roughly in line with the Scottish Budget, is no surprise. It has also committed to introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill, which will set 'targets for installing clean heating systems by 2045 – giving a clear signal to home and buildings owners to act when upgrading their heating system' and 'including provisions to support development of heat networks. Making it simpler for homeowners The notable new promise in the Programme for Government is that it will improve 'public-facing schemes' by simplifying the application process and 'ensuring that Home Energy Scotland is recognised as a single access point'. Responding to this, Robin Parker, sustainable future mission manager at the think tank Nesta Scotland, said a simplified application process could "help boost uptake". "Heat pumps," he noted, "are the most efficient low-carbon technology for keeping homes warm. The independent advice service Home Energy Scotland provides is critical support for achieving Scotland's decarbonisation goals - so it needs to be as easy as possible to use for homeowners." In my coverage of heat pumps and energy efficiency over the past year one of the key complaints has been the battle with the bureaucracy and difficulties with the system. Homeowners have described the struggle to get estimates from installers, the lack of support and the time-consuming nature of the process. Earlier this year, at Glasgow's Retrofit Summit, housing and energy campaigners even called for network of 'one-stop shops' to help the nation electrify its homes and move away from harmful fossil fuels. Dr Jane May Morrison had a heat pump fitted at her tenement with the help of Loco Home Retrofit (image: Colin Mearns)Back then, Gillian Campbell, co-director of Existing Homes Alliance called for "an evolution of the current Home Energy Scotland scheme, so homeowners can access the kind of advice and support they need to upgrade their homes" and a "register of one-stop-shops, providing advice, technical expertise and access to financial support has been shown to work in countries across Europe.' Today, Aira Head of Scotland, Nicola Mahmood, welcomed the simplifying, saying, "The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grants and Loans Scheme is overdue for reform, and we welcome First Minister John Swinney's commitment to simplifying the process for households. Aira, alongside many industry partners, has been campaigning relentlessly for action—and now is the time to deliver it. As well as leaving households struggling, said Mahmood, delays are also 'creating serious cash flow concerns for smaller businesses trying to work within the scheme'. 'Installers are facing frustration, and consumers are losing confidence in a system that should be enabling - not hindering - Scotland's net zero transition.' Mahmood called on the Scottish Government to follow a series of 'necessary steps' to change this and 'rebuild public trust'. The first, she says, is that ministers should 'commission an independent audit to identify system bottlenecks and set clear, enforceable timelines for grant approvals The second is that the Scottish Government should 'publish end-to-end customer journey data, including the average time from application submission to grant award.' Thirdly, they should 'release monthly reports detailing how many applications are received, processed, and approved. Mahmood said: 'These are not administrative tweaks, they are critical reforms. Without them, the generous scheme risks falling short of its potential to tackle Scotland's most urgent challenges: the climate emergency, rising energy bills, and persistent fuel poverty.' Last year I visited a heat pump installation with Chris Carus, CEO of Glasgow-based Loco Home Retrofit, a community interest company that already provides a one-stop shop. Responding to this week's announcements, he said, 'Insulating our homes and electrifying our heating has huge benefits for people in terms of comfort, bills and health. So we welcome the commitment to simplify the grant and loan scheme. The existing process is deterring both households and contractors. 'Heat pumps can provide greater comfort and significant cost savings. There is no 'penalising' homeowners, provided that contractors have the right skills and households have good independent advice. 'We also encourage the Scottish Government to signpost households to local one stop shops such as Loco Home which provides expert independent surveys and insured, bespoke advice in Glasgow and west central Scotland.' READ MORE: Bill welcomed by industry and workers Campaigners and industry also welcomed the confirmation that the Heat in Buildings Bill will be introduced before the end of the current session. Arran Donald, installation manager at IMS Heat Pumps Ltd in Perth, said: 'We know that cleaner heating, such as heat pumps, can cut bills, and we know that stronger action from government on standards and training will really help more households to benefit. The Clean Heat Bill is a big opportunity to make renewable heating the easy, obvious choice for more people across Scotland.' heat pump installation (Image: PA) But others drew attention to the fact that the bill has been a long time coming. Mike Robinson, chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said: "With the legislation already overdue and watered-down, major questions remain over how it will accelerate the positive impacts on our health, bills and planet that are so urgently needed.' Chris Carus of Loco Home Retrofit described the bill as a "retreat", saying, 'It's good to see the Scottish Government repeat its intention to introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill. However, the new proposals are a disappointing retreat from the quite sensible proposals they put forward for consultation in 2023. Those proposals centred on upgrading heating when moving to a new home - the best time to make a change. 'Removing fossil fuel heating by 2045 is far too late and does not fit with our international climate justice obligations. Telling homeowners they don't need to act for 20 years means there is no new stimulus for the market today. As a social enterprise in the green economy, we're facing an uncertain future while households receive mixed messages from the government about the need for action. A hostile, unstable climate will be the real penalty for slow action on climate change." Still others warned that lack of certainty was already affecting the industry. Gillian Campbell of EHA said: 'We still do not have any clarity on whether the Bill will give industry the certainty they need to invest in the skills and jobs needed to upgrade Scotland's homes. Unless we get that soon, Scotland runs the risk of missing out on significant economic growth resulting from the creation of new jobs in manufacturing and installation.' 'This Bill is also an opportunity to make our homes warmer and healthier through improved energy efficiency – improving comfort, reducing costs, whilst also cutting carbon emissions. With the eyewatering levels of fuel poverty in Scotland, we can't afford to let this slip any further.' 'This Bill has been a long time coming and what we need now from the Scottish Government is a Bill that gives clarity, along with a robust delivery plan that sets out a clear route map to energy efficient, zero emissions homes well in advance of the 2045 deadline.'
