In light of the increase in congestion charges, Diane Willis from Grundfos UK comments on the real issues to tackle in the home if you are serious about tackiling your emissions.

British society is making a genuine effort to address its carbon footprint. Just this week, the Mayor of London announced that drivers of 'Chelsea Tractors' would face congestion charges of £6,000 per year for driving into the nation's capital. Of course, the rest of us should do our part: using canvas shopping bags; recycling rubbish, cycling to work or taking public transport. However, consumers need to look closer to home when considering their carbon footprint.

A UK survey conducted last year by Grundfos showed only 39% of Brits purchase A-labelled, energy-efficient products. Even more disturbing, the poll showed that, while people know that refrigerators and tumble dryers are heavy users of energy, some of the worst culprits have not even been identified, yet alone replaced with more efficient alternatives. For example, the circulator pump sitting within a central heating system typically uses more energy than light bulbs and washing machines and is among the home's worst energy thieves.

While light bulbs and standby buttons are important, I believe we should focus on the real bad boys of the house; the washing machines, the tumble dryers, the circulator pumps. If we all had A-labelled appliances, we'd not only see a dramatic difference in our utility bills, but would make a significant difference to the amount of CO2 we pump out of our households.

Signed Diane Willis, Grundfos UK