Save money and help the environment

Draught-proof your house with some simple changes you can make yourself:

• make a draught excluder with old pillowcase or pair of tights filled with stuffing
• rent a thermal imaging camera from the Library of Things to help you find those draughts

Get more from your heating with some simple changes:

• save £65 per year by turning down your combi-boiler flow temperature to 60°C
• stop heat wastage by putting specialist foil behind a radiator that's on an external wall
• use radiator thermostats to keep rooms at comfortable temperatures

Do not leave your heating on low all day when you're out as it will waste energy. Instead, use a timer to set the heating to come on about 30 minutes before you get home. 

Check you're getting the most out of your heating controls.

If you're struggling to afford food, you can get help accessing food.

Food waste is responsible for around 10% of global greenhouse emissions. In London, 70% of this food waste happens in our homes. 

Most of the food we waste is edible, yet less than 1% of this edible food is shared or re-used.

Try these tips to make savings:

• if you have a microwave, use it as it uses less energy

• buy just what you need to avoid wasting food

• adopt simple food habits to remove a lot of the stress around food, and to save time and money

• store your food smartly to make it last longer, to avoid throwing it away too soon and having to buy more

For example, keeping your apples in the fridge could mean they last an extra month. Find more food storing advice on Food Savvy's website.

Leftover food can also be a way to save money, or share excess food of your own. You can do this by:

• downloading the Olio app to enjoy free food from your neighbours that would otherwise get binned

• asking local shops, cafes and restaurants that often have lots of food going to waste at the end of the day 

• using Too Good To Go which lets you buy leftover food from cafes, shops and restaurants for a fraction of its usual price

• donate, share or enjoy food from your nearest community fridge

Community fridges bring neighbours and local food businesses together. We have 6 fridges running in different community spaces in Southwark, with more on their way. 

Check the Southwark Food Action Alliance's food map to find one near you.

Canada Water's Library of Things rents out items affordably to help you save money and reduce waste. Items include:

• drills
• sound systems
• sewing machines

Save energy and costs by:

• not leaving devices in standby mode to use electricity

• switching the lights off every time you leave a room

The Energy Saving Trust estimates this could save you £50 a year.

Other energy and cost saving measures include:

• swapping a soak in a hot bath with a shower which uses a lot less hot water

• filling up your washing machine and dishwasher to save water and electricity

• using the most efficient settings on your washing machine to reduce the cost

• try washing at 30 degrees instead of 40 or 60 – modern detergent cleans well at lower temperatures

Find out more in Which?'s machine temperature guide. You might even be able to wash as low as 20 degrees if your clothes are not stained.

An easy way to save money on fuel and parking costs is to walk or cycle for local journeys.

See our Cycling in Southwark guide for cycle route maps, cycle skill courses, and guided rides.

On average, lighting your home makes up 11% of your electricity consumption.

You can save money by replacing your lightbulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs.

We partnered with London Southbank University to form The Energy Advice Centre.

At the centre you can get free advice on:

• changes you can make to save energy around your home
• grants and funding for green home upgrades, like solar panels or air source heat pumps
• retrofit measures to your property (including double-glazing and loft insulation)

An expert advisor can help identify which measures are best for your home. From making simple switches to LED lightbulbs, to upgrading to an air source heat pump.

You just need to give them basic information about your home and how you want to make it more sustainable.

The student-led service cannot recommend contractors or installers for home upgrades.

Visit the Energy Advice Centre on Thursdays between 10am and 1pm at:

Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation
126 London Road
Southwark SE1 0AE

You can also get free energy advice from them online.

Get online advice