The top 5 reasons that energy efficiency is incredibly exciting

Mega-inefficiency: Only 38 per cent of the coal burned at Drax actually generates power

Energy efficiency. What does that phrase make you think of? Here are a few free-association words I pulled out of my head: insulation, draught proofing, grey, tax return, boring, Germany. Yes, sometimes I do find it hard to get excited about using energy more smartly. But that's only because I'm an idiot.

When it comes to reducing our emissions and shifting to a world where we're not trashing the climate, energy efficiency is for my money more exciting than wind turbines, solar panels or even electric cars. Why? Here are my top five reasons: 

5. We are so stupendously bad at generating power efficiently, it's embarrassing

For example: When a coal power station burns coal, about one-third of the energy it produces is used - power delivered into our homes, shops or factories. The rest is wasted: Yes, about two-thirds of that coal is used to heat up the air directly above the power plant, (as if releasing a potent cocktail of greenhouse gases wasn't bad enough for the climate), or is lost when the electricity is transported along power lines. Even Drax, a 'relatively' efficient coal-fired power station, converts only 38 per cent of the energy it releases by burning coal into useful energy, wasting up to 6.5 million tonnes of coal a year. If you got 38 per cent on a school test, you'd get kicked off the course (Particularly if you were also the UK's largest point source of carbon dioxide).

There is another way. Combined Heat and Power plants, which capture and use the heat wasted, can be up to 95 per cent efficient, and by installing CHP plants at just nine existing industrial sites up and down the country would deliver the same power as eight new nuclear plants, but quicker and cheaper. And safer - unlike nuclear, nobody worries about super-efficient heat exchanger technology proliferating across unstable regions of the world.

4. Energy efficiency could make us money

The government reckon that the UK could cut energy use 30 per cent just by doing things that will save more money than they cost - actually making money. Even better, there's jobs in it. When Germany upgraded a load of their buildings to be more energy-efficient, it created or saved about 140,000 jobs. And that's only by doing things that save money in the short term. What's to lose?

3. Upgrading energy efficiency means we need fewer power stations

There are all sorts of cool stats about how much energy can be saved measured in terms of power stations. For example, if every household changed over to energy efficient light bulbs, this would save enough energy to shut down an entire large coal-fired power station. Put another way, the move will negate the equivalent emissions of the 26 lowest emitting countries combined. Result. And once we've intelligently cut the energy we use, we can more easily meet our energy needs using renewable power.

2. 'Energy efficiency' really means 'Be warm and wealthy'

Britain has the worst housing stock of any country in Europe. Worse than France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, even Malta.

When it comes to houses, 'energy efficiency' basically boils down to making your house easy and cheap to heat, light, and power. That's good for the planet, and it's also good for society, because it means that energy efficiency is a good way to tackle fuel poverty. Poorer sectors of society spend proportionally more of their income on heating their homes, so they have the most to benefit from improved housing stock. There are these buildings called 'Passivhauses' which are so well insulated they can be heated using only the body heat of the inhabitants. The actual experience of living in one is what we're after - it's warm, it's well ventilated, you're happy - but you'll never have another heating bill.

1. When it comes to energy use, more is not better

A constant refrain from those who are less... enlightened... when it comes to environmental issues, is that 'we greenies' want to take everyone back to the dark ages/stone age/age of the dinosaurs. But that's just because they're confused. They don't understand the really amazing thing about energy efficiency is that it lets us decouple energy use from quality of life.

Apart from power company lobbyists, nobody actually wants us to use more energy. We've just been sold the lie that more always equals better. But so long as we're warm, well fed and able to watch Eastenders, who cares how much power we're using?

Getting into energy efficiency in a big way would allow us to have better quality of life along with less energy use. And that's got to be exciting, right?

Got more top energy efficiency tips? Leave them in the comments.