Easy steps to lower your carbon footprint

Did you know that some times of the day are more environmentally friendly than others to use electricity?

We want to help our customers to use energy wisely, so we’re testing a new service which lets you know the most environmentally friendly times to use electricity.

We hope this information will encourage you to plan the best time to turn on some appliances, like your washing machine or dishwasher, so you can lower your carbon footprint.

The best times, and worst times, to use electricity will vary daily. That’s because the amount of power the UK gets from renewable resources depends on the weather, and more electricity is taken from less clean (more carbon emitting) energy sources at the times people tend to use more.

We’re hoping this pilot, with simple alerts, will help you plan the best times to switch on, or off, some appliances, like tumble driers, washing machines or your electric heating. It might also help you think about better times to charge an electric car.

Even shifting a few hours forward, or backward, or setting a timer, could help lower your household carbon emissions.  

We’ve tested our new service with a small group of customers, who signed up to get daily email updates. Now we’re sharing this information on social media as the next phase of our trial. Please let us know your thoughts – we’d be happy to hear from you, or to answer any questions, if you email talktous@bluelab.edfenergy.com.The above times are based on average UK national grid data. Individual day timings are based on the latest available forecast.

During the festive period the recomended best times, and worst times, to use electricity where safe to do so are based on an average of weeks 1, 2, 52 and 53 in 2017-2019.