This section shows the importance of conserving energy for a better environment and shows you how to save electricity.

Suggestions are made to help you reduce electricity consumption in your household.

Click here to download the brochure on how to use electricity

The need to save energy is twofold: the first is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases particularly carbon dioxide which is the result of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. The second is to save money on your energy bill.

The effect of Carbon Dioxide on climate
The effect of carbon dioxide in warming the earth is known as Global Warming or The Greenhouse Effect. Its consequences are now recognized to contribute to significant climatic changes which in turn can have far reaching effects on the environment.

When we burn oil, gas and coal, we retrieve the energy stored by plants millions of years ago and preserved as fossil fuels. In doing so we release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing the proportion of the gas to increase slightly. This accumulation of carbon dioxide acts as a filter that traps the sun’s rays in the same way as glass does in a greenhouse. This causes the average temperature of the atmosphere to rise. Predictions vary as to the likely rise during the next century but figures ranging from zero to 4.5  have been suggested. This small change can cause semi-arid lands to become deserts, glaciers and icecaps to melt. Water in the oceans will expand causing sea levels to rise, and greatly increasing the risk of flooding in low lying areas.

As we use more and more energy at work and at home, we burn increasing amounts of fossil fuel, and thereby release thousands of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.