The Bond Beter Leefmilieu (the Flemish umbrella association for a better environment) has an excellent campaign called "klimaatwijken" for citizens to act themselves and meet the European Kyoto goal. Starting each year on 1 November, households can commit themselves to cut 8% of their energy consumption in 6 months time. Participants can get advice of energy masters. For more info have a look at www.klimaatwijken.eu/be

Many of us are wasting money and energy because we have not set the right temperature for our fridge and/or freezer. The recommended setting is between 5 and  7 °C for the fridge and about -18 °C for the freezer.

December, dark mornings, early evenings, winter weather, holidays – It is the season of illumination! Whether an evening at home or inviting family and friends to a festive party – illumination brings atmosphere, comfort, and essential lighting. Illumination via electrical sources also brings increased cost to your pocket and the environment. Can you still light your home festively and be kinder to your pocket and your planet? Absolutely! A few tricks and changes and you're on your way.

Here is a test of the image gallery:

Did you know that you easily can get a green supplier for your energy in Belgium? Green electricity in Belgium is derived mainly from wind power, but also is generated from bio-gas (from fermentation), bio-mass (burning agricultural waste without releasing CO₂), hydraulic power and solar power. Electricity itself cannot be more or less “green”, but using a green supplier makes sure they will invest part of their profits in renewable resources.

Energy Performance Certificates

Starting from 2009, you can ask for an Energy Performance Certificate when buying or renting a house. Such a certificate gives you an idea of how energy-efficient your house or apartment actually is. Taking into account things like insulation, heating, design of the building and ventilation, the certificate gives you a precise idea of how high your future energy bill will be when you actually live in your new dwelling. Energy performance certificates are valid for ten years, unless renovations are made before the date of expiration, which would make an earlier revision useful. The certificate is handed over to each new owner and a copy of it is provided in case you let.

If you live in the Brussels Capital Region, have a look at your house seen from the sky with a thermal camera measuring the efficiency of your roof insulation. The Brussels Environment Institute website shows you just how much heat you're wasting... available in Dutch or French. Subsidies for roof insulation are available in all regions of Belgium - learn more in our article on the topic.

You want to do something about the energy efficiency of your house? But where to start? Solar panels are very popular, but are maybe not the most efficient first step in your personal energy investment program.

First of all, you need to get the picture of the current status: an energy audit would be a good start. Optimizing your insulation and in door ventilation would be wise areas to investigate first.

In general, the biggest electricity consumers are the water boiler, air-conditioning, aquarium, oven, tumble dryer, halogen spots, TV, and - if they do not have energy saving labels - your fridge, freezer, or dish-washing machine. In Belgium alone, 79 million of electrical equipment is sold every year, or on average 17 products per family a year.

All products also have a hidden consumption of energy. There are two kinds of hidden energy: the energy needed to produce a product and the energy your product consumes without you noticing it.