This blog was originally posted on the River Cottage website.

Posted on Feb 12, 2010 at 11:18 AM

Last year River Cottage joined forces with Good Energy, the UK’s 100% renewable electricity supplier, to help us generate our own renewable power and cut energy consumption at RCHQ. Since then, the results of our energy audit have come in and we’ve started the journey towards making Park Farm a zero carbon site. Here are some of the steps we’ve taken so far…
 
With the help of the Good Energy Shop team we’ve swapped old-style light bulbs for low energy alternatives, including new LED spotlights. We’ve fitted a timer to our immersion heater so it’s only on when it needs to be and we’re using our log burner more instead, calculating exactly how many locally-sourced logs we’ll need in a day so there’s no wastage.
 
A typical Good Energy customer uses about 10% less electricity than the national average, and the experts from Good Energy will be visiting Park Farm to give us some everyday energy-efficiency advice too. From how to use our new boiler to the most efficient way to fill our freezers and cold rooms, we’ll be making these simple, practical solutions part of our daily lives.
 
We’ve got lots more exciting improvements planned, so keep an eye out for our regular energy updates.
 
If you want to help support River Cottage and over 1,000 pioneering independent renewable generators like them, sign up to Good Energy.