Top 10 green living myths – 5. What they tell you: Use more efficient appliances
What they don’t tell you: Choosing highly energy-efficient appliances is one good way to ensure that routine tasks such as dishwashing and laundry don’t create more carbon pollution than necessary.
But there are other ways, too, such as simply running your machines at night. In the daytime, when electricity consumption is at its highest, the dirtiest, least efficient power stations are rolled out to help meet peak demand.
At night, when demand is lower, these power stations can be switched off, which means that each unit of electricity has a lower carbon footprint.
Turning your washing machine and dishwasher on before you go to bed therefore shaves a little off your carbon footprint by “spreading the load” on the electricity grid – though the difference isn't as huge as some websites have claimed.
via Top 10 green living myths | Duncan Clark | Environment | guardian.co.uk.
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