Low carbon appliances - good for purse strings and the environment

Energy efficient appliances should be adopted by those seeking a low carbon lifestyle.

This is according to The Energy Saving Trust (EST), which has highlighted the cost savings that can be made by opting for Energy Saving Recommended models.

In addition, the environmental benefits can be huge, according to head of trade marketing at the organisation Adrian Arnold.

Mr Arnold explained that if every household replaced their old appliances with Energy Saving Recommended appliances, enough CO2 would be saved to fill over 24 million double-decker buses, or 4.5 million tonnes.

In addition, this would cut a cumulative £1 billion off the UK's energy bills, he said.

"Choosing energy efficient appliances, which use less power and are therefore cheaper to run, are excellent news for the environment - because they need less energy, they're responsible for fewer greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Arnold remarked.

He indicated that an energy efficient dishwasher uses around 40 per cent less energy than an older model.

Indeed, the EST claims that 12 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved every year if all homes switched to condensing boilers.