Energy usage has always been important to me, growing up in a large family has made me conscious of everything I do which uses energy. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and I remember frequent power cuts with a seemingly endless supply of candles, being told to put on another jumper if I was cold (and the fire wasn’t on) and also being ferried around in a blue mini-bus. On reflection the transport was probably expensive, when the minibus died several Volvo cars followed which inevitably resulted in multiple trips to get all of us to where we were going (not very efficient).

Moving away from home meant sharing energy with others and highlighted the differences in how we used energy. Getting the bills was a shock, especially when I worked out what it meant in real terms and knowing how little I had used but still having to split it equally. The result of that meant I thought it would be more cost-effective to live with a sibling instead! As I now lived in a city getting a bus or walking were viable options. I didn’t see the need to learn how to drive as other options were available which ultimately would also be cheaper.

Though I was already conscious of energy, working for an electrical retailer really opened my eyes to how wasteful people are and how materialistic society is. Every morning all the TVs, computers, laptops, sound systems, radios and demo items had to be turned on. All the cameras and camcorders had to be charged, essentially everything that could be turned on was turned on. Of course people need to see something working and envisage how it will fit into their life and their home but the amount of energy wasted – especially on days when snow hit or in the height of summer when people embraced the outdoors – meant business was slow to non-existent. All the energy used that day was wasted.

I do really love technology and am always using a device of some sort be it my computer, laptop, smartphone or games console. Having one of these devices on all day does bother me at times however I reassure myself that I use very little energy compared to others as I walk to work, rarely fly anywhere and minimise my heating. Since moving to Wales I enjoy living alone and knowing there wont be a nasty shock when the bills come round.