One of the loveliest things about Christmas is all the sparkly, glinting Christmas lights on trees inside and out. It really gets you in a jovial and seasonal mood. But it’s not so heart-warming when you realise that an ‘extravagant light display’ could be responsible for producing 400kg of carbon dioxide, according to the Energy Saving Trust. What to do?

Well, the solution is to get your hands on some LED lights like these energy saving decorative lights from IKEA, lights that are powered by solar power or rechargeable batteries, or install an energy-saving bulb to offset the energy usage.

And here are some tips from the Co-op on how to stay eco-friendly this year:

1) Plant a rooted Christmas tree in your garden to help offset CO2 emissions
2) Turn Christmas lights off overnight or when you’re not at home
3) Turn the thermostat down by just one degrees to cut as much as 10 per cent off your heating bill
4) Don’t leave your TV, video and hi-fi on standby. Turn them off completely at the set when you’re not using them
5) When cooking Christmas lunch, keep lids on your saucepans - your sprouts will cook quicker and you’ll be saving energy too
6) Avoid keeping the oven door open when checking the turkey. It is better to remove the turkey to check it and close the oven door, saving heat in the oven and energy as well
7) We always cook too much at Christmas - ensure all spare food has cooled before putting it in the fridge as this will help save energy
8) Christmas dishes can be a nightmare but waiting until you have a full load in the dishwasher and using a low energy or economy programme will help keep costs down
9) Boil water using a kettle instead of on the hob
10) At night, draw curtains to keep heat in the room

With this year’s Energy Saving Week soon upon us (22-28 October) that venerable institution that is the Women’s Institute is getting all geared up to promote their WI Carbon Challenge with the help of Marks & Spencer. The WI, in conjunction with Café Direct, will be holding a Women’s Day on Monday 22 October and WI federations all over Britain will be helping set up farmers’ markets to promote the Carbon Challenge – the aim of the Challenge is encourage and help individuals to reduce their carbon footprint by 20 percent a year. The markets will also be attended by EST energy doctors from local Energy Efficient Advice Centres who will demonstrate carbon saving measures and offer advice and information.

In its 11th year, Energy Saving Week, held by the Energy Saving Trust, challenges eight communities, known as the C8, to encourage members to adopt energy saving practices in order to reduce their C02 emissions. A recent EST report, the Green Barometer Report, found that while 80% of people believe climate change is having an impact on the UK right now, 40% of them are doing nothing to reduce their energy usage.

As well as the WI, the C8 includes Royal Mail employees, families, gadget enthusiasts and home improvers – so if you’ve been thinking about making changes now’s the time to get motivated and get involved. Sign up online for the WI’s Carbon Challenge at www.theWI.org.uk and for more information on Energy Saving Week, visit www.est.org.uk.

House maintenance is just one of those ongoing annoyances that is constantly lurking in the back of your mind but which is so easy to put off! Well, the next time light bulbs need replacing or heaven forbid, the dishwasher, have a quick think about getting in some more energy efficient products. Energy saving light bulbs are an easy and cheap place to start. These days they come in a wide range of fittings and because they use up to 80% less energy than regular bulbs will save you money too – up to £7 year says the Energy Saving Trust. There’s a good selection of bulbs on www.ebulb.com. Another easily do-able option is switching to our energy saving eco kettle. The eco kettle has a special feature that ensures you only boil the exact amount of water you need – Radio 4’s John Humphrys has been doing this for years apparently, much to the amusement of his colleagues! And why not get your Today fix with our handy little wind-up radio?

Commiserations if you need to shell out for a new boiler or dishwasher, but look on the bright side, you’ll be helping cut down on the massive £3 billion worth of electricity used to power electronic products in UK homes every year. When you’re choosing a new boiler, dishwasher, fridge or washing machine look out for the Energy Saving Recommended logo, find out how much energy the product uses when on standby and whether it has energy saving feature automatic standby (this powers the product down when it’s not in use). It’s also worth looking out for integrated appliances like an integrated digital TV – fewer products mean less electricity consumption.

Energy efficiency and your TV

• Around 8% of UK TV energy consumption is from standby alone
• Large flat screen TVs can cost up to three times as much to run as traditional TVs
• DVDs and VCRs consume more than £200 million of electricity a year, mainly because they are left on standby
• Set-top boxes use £285 million worth of electricity a year
• The latest computer games consoles use up to 180W of electricity – the equivalent of three 60W bulbs and potentially adding £160 to your annual electricity bill

Source: Energy Saving Trust