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Table 2 Personal energy-saving checklist

From: Greening critical care

Switch to energy-saving bulbs

Turn off appliances and lights (stand-by is not as energy efficient as off)

Wash your clothes at 30°C or lowera

Turn down your thermostat: for every 1°C you lower your thermostat, you will not only cut your carbon emissions by an average of 330 kg/year but could also save on your heating bill

Insulate - walls, floors, loft space, tanks, windows, and so forth

Install energy-saving appliances

Switch to a green energy provider: one that uses renewable sources such as solar, wind and wave energy

Generate your own energy: solar panels, solar photovoltaic cells, ground source heat, and so forth

  1. aFor work uniforms, this may need to be altered to reflect local infection control regulations. Washing with detergents at 30°C will remove most Gram-positive microorganisms, including all methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; and a 10-minute wash at 60°C is sufficient to remove almost all microorganisms. In tests, only 0.1% of any Clostridium difficile spores remained. Microbiologists carrying out the research advise that this level of contamination on uniforms and workwear is not a cause for concern [34].