Daily Mail Tw@t$

After a long gluttonous and unfortunately carbon intensive Christmas break I am back, and what did I see before me in the Daily Mail this week. None other than a beautiful front cover on the banning on the conventional inefficient light bulb. The government must have done something right to ensure that a "voluntary ban" with the catchy headline "Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs" could out strip column inches from seriously newsworthy stories, like bloodshed in Gaza.

The editors at the the Daily Mail really pushed the boat out to desperate bulb hoarders who had been frantically searching stores for the bulbs to no avail with a 25 000 bulb giveaway, rationing this national supply to just five per reader.

But what is ridiculous is that people are hoarding bulbs in their hundreds or thousands, other than the potential ebayablity in the next few years, to other bulb hoarders wanting to boost their collection of bulbs into the tens of thousands this also shows the lack of real reasoning, that an average light bulb lasts 600hrs.

We have had a few comments on the actual price of the energy saving bulbs, which are "too expensive". I picked some energy saving bulbs up at Tesco for only 8p each, to be truthful, I picked up a few hundred, to give out to friends, family and whoever else wanted them. Not to mention the fact that they last 10 to 12 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Look and you shall find them for cheap or free. Plus you won't have to run to the shops in your car as often to buy them, saving time and fuel, and of course risking life to change the one on the landing.

People are concerned that they require more resources than conventional bulbs, and that must be more carbon intensive. However, a carbon footprint analysis by the Carbon Trust for Tesco own brand CFL bulbs showed that per hour of usage, the energy saving bulb was less carbon intensive in it's production.

Medical charities say they can trigger epileptic fits, migraines and skin rashes. To which I don't doubt that this is an extremely small minority, or as we all went to Tesco to pick up incandescent bulbs we would simply fall to the ground in a fit and burst out into a rash, not to mention the inability to function in life at all, as almost all publicly accessible buildings have CFLs.

Northern Ireland's First Carbon Neutral Home

Northern Ireland’s first carbon neutral home, has been officially opened by Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie. The five bedroom, 2,500 sq ft property has been built by Sky Developments, a specialist development company working in the field of low carbon and passive status housing. The building was constructed using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and incorporates the latest state of the art technologies to assist energy efficiency.

“I have been most impressed by what I have seen. This building showcases to stunning effect the innovative, energy saving technologies now available. All involved are to be congratulated for bringing such a challenging project to fruition.”
Margaret Ritchie, Social Development Minister

The minister took the opportunity to highlight a number of initiatives already developed by her own department to further increase the sustainability and energy efficiency of social housing.

The New Housing Agenda gives a high priority to the provision of more energy efficient housing. From April this year, a new higher Code for Sustainable Homes has applied to all new social housing, meaning that in effect homes built now are 25% more energy efficient than ever before.

Stephen McCready and Alan Johnston, directors of Sky Developments, say the 2,300sq ft home is so energy efficient that Northern Ireland Electricity will owe the householder £200 at the end of the year because it will produce so much energy it will feed the surplus back into the grid. The house’s carbon-neutral status means it has been granted an A Energy Performance Certificate. The average home in Northern Ireland are rated E.

The “green house” uses four main methods to keep costs at less than zero:

• the roof has been constructed of photovoltaic panels designed to resemble black slate tiles that harness the sun’s rays for electricity;
  
  
• structural insulated panels (SIPS) make up the shell of the house, with their superior heat-retaining ability cutting down on the need for electricity;
  
  
• an air source heat pump uses wind energy to pump out water at 37 degrees;
  
  
• quadruple glazing in each window blocks out the cold.

Sky Developments are about to start building 40 energy-efficient affordable homes in Newtownards using SIPS and the zero-carbon prototype as inspiration.

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Video: NI's First Carbon Neutral House

BBC Newsline's coverage of the official opening ceremony

What's the Best Way to Green With Your Green?

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have released a guide for consumers which offers impartial expert advice regarding the costs, potential energy savings, payback period and disruptiveness of green improvements to a property. The Greener Homes Price Guide was developed by RICS’ Building Cost Information Service to help consumers through the green jargon, and manufacture claims.

Homeowners rocked by the latest rises in energy bills are turning to green solutions to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.

By using the guide, homeowners will be able to target the areas in their homes where green upgrades would have the most impact.

This will enable them to make informed choices on how best to improve their homes, whether this is with a view to solely reduce their carbon footprint or reduce their energy bills.

Often caught between wanting to be more environmentally friendly and needing value for money many consumers are left confused over which green upgrades offer the best energy savings for the best price.

In addition to offering cost advice The Greener Homes Price Guide also includes practical advice on:

• what grants are available and how to apply for them
• when you need to apply for planning permission
• how to obtain builders or specialist contractors

“We all have a role to play in helping to reduce our carbon footprint, be it through changes to our behaviour or by choosing greener alternatives. The reality is, however, that most people struggle with the cost, time, and effort it takes to make these changes. The Greener Homes Price Guide gives consumers a comprehensive heads-up about the costs and effectiveness of green upgrades, whilst protecting them from being duped into changes that won’t save them money or do little to reduce their carbon footprint. Consumers need innovation and enhanced technology to help in the fight against climate change, not just a guilt trip about living in the world we have created. We encourage governments and companies not just here in the UK, but all over the world to continue to invest more in the research and development of green technologies.”
Joe Martin, BCIS, Executive Director

Unfortunately the RICS are out for their green too, and the guide is not available for free, the Greener Homes Price Guide: Organising and Budgeting for Energy Efficiency and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint, is priced £17.99 and can be ordered online or by calling T +44 (0)870 333 1600 (select option 2 for BCIS sales and quote item code 17012). Also available in all good bookshops. Publication date: August 2008. ISBN: 978 1 904829 67 6


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UK Searching For Energy Efficiency

Britons are increasingly concerned with making their homes more efficient, if their internet searching habits are anything to go by. According to internet traffic monitor Hitwise, there has been a significant increase in the amount of searches for terms such as 'loft insulation' and 'underfloor heating'.

The growing interest in methods for making a home more energy efficient reflects the fear of rising fuel and electricity gas prices.

According to Energy Saving Trust recommended supplier Anglian Home Improvements, the average energy bill is set to rise to £1,406. The drastic increase from £676 in 2005 is a major reason for the new interest, claimed Hitwise research director Robin Goad, who also noted people were looking to change their energy providers.

"Concern about energy prices has also led to more people visiting utilities websites, presumably to check prices and change suppliers. UK internet traffic to a custom category of electricity and gas suppliers has doubled over the last year."
Robin Goad, Research Director, Hitwise

The Full Blog Post by Robin Goad

As well as an increase in search terms on energy efficiency, the EST website has received a daily Alexa rank decrease to 60k from 80k, and this blog has had a decrease from 820k to 770k in the last week.

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Chimney Balloon

I just had my head up my chimney today, and when I told people I was inflating a balloon up my chimney earlier, they thought it was some kind of euphemism. Usually not one to get my hands dirty, I was right in the action with soot everywhere. I had ordered a Chimney Balloon from Flusystems on Sunday and it arrived today. I had tried to order one last year just before Christmas when I wrote Winter Warmer Ideas, you have to practice what you preach, but the company was just featured in a national newspaper (the Guardian, I believe) and they were struggling to cope with the orders they were receiving.

The device was designed in 1990 to stop chimney draughts, and has some bold claims on their website, including;

"A room with a blocked chimney needs only about half the heat compared with rooms with open chimneys, so it makes sense to fit a chimney balloon in every chimney which is not in everyday use."

The chimney balloon is made in a special laminate of three plastics to make it airtight, tear-resistant and long-lasting. It also has a special shape that allows a little ventilation on two corners to keep your chimney dry. Using a chimney balloon is completely safe, if it is accidentally heated, it shrivels and deflates.

I was slightly skeptical about the claim that it requires only 50% the energy to heat a room with one installed, so I did the non-scientific hand infront of the flue, outside there was a small breeze, and this could be felt entering the room slowly and consistently.

I placed my chimney balloon into the flue and started blowing, gently making sure that it was postitioned well as it inflated, it took a few tries as I was dubious that my inflation, angle and postitioning was, well not good.

After completion I repeated the non-scientific hand infront of the flue, no breeze, good job. Just to make sure it is functioning properly you should check it after 24 hrs to make sure that it hasn't reduced in size due to cooling of the air in the balloon, and again every month or so.

The chimney balloon is effective mainly because of one single principle, warm air rises and cold air sinks. With the chimney balloon we can stop both at once, keeping cold air from entering the room, and warm air from escaping up the chimney. Chimneys act as a funnel and pump to take warm air away. This is a good thing when your fire is lit and the warm air is full of smoke.

It did make the room feel warmer, but then again I am a nieve person that when taking placebos thinks they are working. I believe it works, and works effectively, it's a small difference, that will save some energy without even having to try, and with global energy prices still high it could pay for itself in less than one winter.

As well as ordering a chimney balloon, I ordered radiator reflector panels, which hopefully will arrive soon (I'm going to try a more scientific test with them), and will be installing solar thermal water heating this October which we hope will reduce our energy consumption by providing the equivalent of 1500kWh of hot water heating a year, for an energy efficiency dork like me it's mighty exciting.

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Build a Green House in a Day

A day might be a bit optimistic, but you can order these beautiful prefabricated homes and they are delivered complete. That would have been a real show stopper on Grand Designs. Yes, I did say prefab. The great thing about these homes are they are Green, they are made from recycled steel, and come complete, they can be configured to the site as required and can be built to take advantage of the climate. Decks provide shade and reduce solar heat gain, with wide doors for natural cross ventilation. Each unit is built to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification from the United States Green Building Council. Not to mention the Forest Stewardship Council certified EcoTimber flooring comes from responsibly managed sources. There is alot more to see, and too many other things to mention.



If you want one, you can snatch a cute little Rincon 5 series (1 bed / 1 bath) for $179 000, before installation. Or go to a Skyline 2.6 for just shy of $1m (including installation). Or if you want to be creative just get a custom home. If you are in love already, visit Marmol Radziner Prefab.



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When's a Green Tariff Not a Green Tariff? ...

... When Ofgem sets the guidelines for a Green Tariff.Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust has hit out at Ofgem at the weekend;

"If Ofgem's guidelines progress as proposed then green tariffs cannot make a meaningful contribution towards increased renewable energy supply in the UK. What the public needs is clear and simple information so that they can make informed choices about the energy they use. They'll end up being misled and buy something which will not have a direct impact on their carbon emissions. Welcome to Greenwash. The world needs to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80 per cent by 2050 in order to avoid dangerous climate change. Personal carbon emissions - the emissions from homes and travel - account for around 43 per cent of the UK total, or around 235 million tonnes of C02 a year. A low carbon lifestyle means using energy responsibly and efficiently - it also means choosing energy we do need from renewable, low-carbon sources. A million people each year contact our advice line for practical help in reducing their carbon footprint. We would not be able to advise those people to buy the Ofgem version of green tariffs as these will make no meaningful difference to whether the energy they buy in renewable or not."

The Energy Saving Trust & we at Energy Saving are not supporting Ofgem's expected proposals on Green Tariffs because:

1. They are misleading. Consumers presume that green means that the energy produced comes from a renewable source. A study commissioned by Ofgem shows that for most, 'green' in energy terms means the same thing as renewable energy. The study goes on to say that most expect all of the electricity included in the tariff to be from renewable sources. The Energy Saving Trust's own research shows that over one third of all households were interested in signing up to a green tariff, once the concept had been explained to them. In Ofgem's proposals, green can mean offsetting or giving cash to environmental charities which would not have any impact on energy sources.
   
   
2. No increase in energy from a renewable source. If the consumer buys a Green Tariff it does not result in more renewable energy being produced. The energy companies have an obligation to produce 9.1 per cent renewable energy anyway. Consumer demand would have to exceed this obligation for there to be an overall increase. But Ofgem are taking the decision to deny customers the chance to use their buying power to drive more demand for renewable energy in the long term. More customer demand would lead to more investment in renewable energy.
   
   
3. No transparency. Ofgem is proposing that the suppliers will not need to provide information about how much renewable energy is included within the individual tariffs they are selling. The suppliers are only required to make public their overall fuel mix eg renewable, nuclear, gas or coal. How can consumers know what they are buying? It is like if a supermarket was selling a range of sandwiches and on the labels for each sandwich was the overall mix of ingredients in all its sandwiches.
   
   
4. They are not independently certified. Ofgem has appointed the Energy Retail Association to appoint an independent certifier. The accreditation process should be fully independent from suppliers and overseen by the regulator.
   
   

Views from The Carbon Challenge blog;

OFGEM yesterday published a press release along with a consultation piece which was headed up "OFGEM Clears Up Green Tariff Confusion". Unfortunately I wish it were so, as I believe there is every possibility that if the guidelines to customers OFGEM are proposing are adopted, this could lead to even greater confusion in the market itself. There have been numerous studies commissioned, amongst them one by OFGEM, which consistently show that for most people "Green" in terms of "Green Tariff" is synonymous with renewable energy. Therefore, most customers expect that all electricity included in a Green Tariff should come from renewable sources and we know that is simply not the case at the moment.

Under OFGEM’s proposals suppliers will be able to launch a series of options which will illustrate additional environmental benefits - such as proposals around demand management, renewable heat, or offsetting. All of these I have no problem with, but they are environmental benefits and not what people expect of a Green Tariff. The whole purpose, from a customer’s point of view, is that buying a Green Tariff should result in more renewable energy being brought to market. However, and to be fair to OFGEM they do make this clear, just re-packaging what is already an obligation under Government plans is not likely to bring forward any additional renewable energy capacity to the Grid. If these tariffs were offered as Environmental Tariffs that’s one thing, but to call them Green Tariffs means customers will not be able to exercise their buying power to drive even greater demand for renewable energy in the medium term.

One of the key reasons for the consultation and for OFGEM taking action was that customers consistently tell us they need to be able to understand the attributes of each tariff on offer. However, under OFGEM’s proposals suppliers will not need to provide information about how much renewable energy is included within individual tariffs only that they declare their overall fuel mix, which includes renewables, gas, coal even nuclear.

So how do customers know what they are buying? It’s as if Marks and Spencer were to label all of their sandwiches with the mix of ingredients contained in all the varieties of sandwich sold within its range, rather than the ingredients specific to that sandwich. What the customer wants is clear and simple information so that they can make informed choices about the sort of energy they buy. I cannot see how this scheme will deliver on that aspiration. We will not doubt see this one run and run. I am all in favour of giving the public an increasing choice around environmental benefits, but that is not the same as clearing up the confusion around Green Tariffs, far from it.

World’s First Commercial-Scale Tidal Power System Feeds Electricity to the National Grid

The world’s first commercial-scale tidal turbine, located in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough and developed by British tidal energy company, Marine Current Turbines (MCT), has delivered electricity onto the grid for the first time.

The tidal current turbine, known as SeaGen, has briefly generated 150kW of power onto the grid as part of its commissioning work, ahead of it achieving full capacity in a few weeks time. SeaGen’s power is being intentionally constrained to 300kW during the commissioning phase, but once fully operational, it will generate 1.2MW of power, supplying clean and green electricity to the equivalent of 1000 homes.

“This is an important milestone for the company and indeed the development of the marine renewable energy sector as a whole. SeaGen, Marine Current Turbines, tidal power and the UK Government’s push for marine renewables all now have real momentum. The marine environment poses a number of unique technical challenges, not least installing SeaGen in an extremely aggressive tide race, so we are delighted that Marine Current Turbines has delivered yet another world-first in this sector. It’s a major technical break-through. Our engineering team have done a fantastic job.”
Martin Wright, Managing Director, Marine Current Turbines

"This kind of world first technology and innovation is key to helping the UK reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and secure its future energy supplies. Marine power has the potential to play an important role in helping us meet our challenging targets for a massive increase in the amount of energy generated from renewables. My department has supported SeaGen from the start, granting £5.2 million in funds to take it from the drawing board and into the waters of Strangford Lough. This, and our plans to double the financial support for marine technologies, is further evidence of our commitment to making the UK one of the most attractive places to invest in green energy."
John Hutton, Secretary of State for Energy

SeaGen was installed in Strangford Lough in May of this year and commissioning work has been taking place since then, including the vital grid connection undertaken in partnership with Northern Ireland Electricity.

SeaGen is the world’s first commercial-scale tidal stream generating system by a large margin. It is more than four times as powerful as any other tidal current system, including the 300kW SeaFlow, the world’s first offshore tidal device in 2003 installed off Lynmouth on the north Devon coast in 2003.

Marine Current Turbines expects that the present testing and commissioning phase will be completed by the end of the summer and an official “switch on” will take place. Irish energy company, ESB Independent Energy, is purchasing the power generated by SeaGen for its customers in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

“We are on course to be the first company in Ireland and Britain to provide customers with electricity powered by tidal energy. This is a very significant breakthrough which underlines ESB Independent Energy’s ongoing commitment to providing our customers with a range of renewable energy options.”
Liam Molloy, ESB Independent Energy

Marine Current Turbines’ next project, announced in February 2008, is a joint initiative with npower renewables to take forward a 10.5MW project using several SeaGen devices off the coast of Anglesey, north Wales. It is hoped the tidal farm will be commissioned around 2011/2012.

The company is also investigating the potential for tidal energy schemes in other parts of the UK, and in North America.

Yes ... In My Back Garden

A new report (YIMBY Generation - yes in my back yard!) examining consumer attitudes towards microgeneration heat technologies released today by the Energy Saving Trust and Open University and funded by the University of East Anglia's Carbon Connections Fund reveals the financial, regulatory and logistical solutions that will encourage a greater uptake of microgeneration heat technologies in homes across the UK.

With 75 per cent of all household CO2 emissions coming from water and space heating, the Energy Saving Trust believes that microgeneration heat technologies could make a significant contribution in helping to meet the UK's carbon reductions. The UK Government is expected to set ambitious targets of up to 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050.

"Currently the microgeneration market is niche, yet our own research has identified the barriers and proposes solutions that would make far greater numbers of householders install microgeneration. Also, and based on the Growth Potential for Microgeneration report (also supported by us and released today), we would urge Government to set targets for microgeneration and put in place the right combination of policies to achieve these targets. We are now ready to work with Government and industry to put in place a raft of measures to help achieve these targets and make the purchase of microgeneration a viable and desirable option for every household in the UK."
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust

The YIMBY Generation report summarises the responses to a survey of over 900 households who were considering or buying microgeneration heat technologies. The Energy Saving Trust and Open University found that people, in the past, have been put off from purchasing microgeneration for a range of reasons: the price and pay pack period, practicalities e.g. lack of space, and perceptual e.g. lack of confidence in the technology.

The report identifies the following five key solutions, which the Energy Saving Trust and Open University believe would help to encourage and stimulate a greater uptake of microgeneration heat technologies across the UK.

1. Independent advice and support. Respondents cited difficulties finding installers and with the installation process, something that the Energy Saving Trust will address through their new advice centres being rolled out across the UK. These provide people with a 'one stop shop' (Act on C02) advice service for information on energy efficiency, low carbon, transport, water conservation and waste. However, more funding is needed to give the detailed advice many people will need on microgeneration.
   
   
2. Dealing with up front costs. 53 per cent of those surveyed identified an annual reduction in council tax after installation as a financial measure which would encourage them to purchase microgeneration heat technologies. In addition, long lasting incentive schemes, like feed-in tariffs which enable people to sell excess electricity back to the grid at a premium price or the extension of the Government's Renewables Obligation to explicitly include microgeneration and renewable heat, would help encourage people to take up microgeneration. For example, if payments for energy generated by the microgeneration system were paid up front to the consumer this would allow them to use this money towards the capital cost of their microgeneration technology and thereby making it far more affordable. In policy terms, up-front payments are also more cost-effective: they can lead to up to five times more renewable microgeneration installed.
   
   
3. Improving usability of the systems. 37 per cent of respondents who own a microgeneration system said that they were uncertain how best to operate the system and its controls to make most efficient use of the fuel or energy. The Energy Saving Trust is helping by carrying out trials of how new technologies work when they are installed in a domestic setting.
   
   
4. Developing regulations. 80 per cent of respondents supported an obligation on gas and electricity suppliers to offer subsidised low carbon energy systems, in a similar way to the current insulation schemes. In addition, 'compulsion' could be a very effective way of bringing microgeneration uptake. For example, by mandating that boilers are replaced with microgeneration heating technology at time of boiler replacement and that solar thermal, wind or PV are to be made mandatory at time of roof repair, up to 9 million microgeneration technologies could be installed in the UK by 2020, at low cost to Government.
   
   
5. Need for independent monitoring / demonstration of microgeneration technologies to boost consumer confidence.
   
   

Full Report

EPCs Extension to Northern Ireland

From 1st July, all homes being sold in Northern Ireland will be required to provide an Energy Performance Certificate. Following on from legislation in England and Wales, the certificate is an indication of how energy efficient a home is, with a rating from A - G, with A being the most efficient.

The Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland has said from next week, it will run public seminars to explain the new requirements which begin in just five weeks time.

For More Information on Home Information Packs.

Video: Government Retreat on Free Home Energy Monitors

SDC Chair, Jonathon Porritt, gives his views on the recent decision by BERR (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) not to give the go-ahead to a plan which would have seen power companies providing every home with a free device able to display electricity use in real-time.

The Food We Waste

In the UK we throw away 6.7 million tonnes of food every year, roughly a third of everything we buy. Most of this avoidable and could have been eaten if only we had planned, stored and managed it better. Less than a fifth is truly unavoidable – things like bones, cores and peelings.

Nearly one quarter of the 4.1 million tonnes of avoidable food waste is thrown away whole, untouched or unopened. Of this, at least 340,000 tonnes is still in date when thrown away. A further 1.2 million tonnes is simply left on our plates. This all adds up to a story of staggering wastefulness.

The report of the ground-breaking study that provides, for the first time, reliable information about the nature, amount and origin of food waste produced by UK households. The purpose of the report is to assist WRAP, government, retailers and the food industry to develop policies, advice, tips and tools to help us all reduce the amount of good food we buy but don’t eat.

You can download the full report here.

Every day we throw away:

• 5.1 million whole potatoes
• 4.4 million whole apples
• 2.8 million whole tomatoes
• 7 million whole slices of bread
• 1.3 million unopened yoghurts and yoghurt drinks
• 1.2 million sausages
• 1 million slices of ham
• 0.7 million whole eggs
• 0.7 million whole bars of chocolate and unwrapped sweets
• 0.3 million unopened meat-based ready meals or takeaways
• 0.3 million unopened packets of crisps

All this wasted food is costly; in the UK we spend £10.2 billion every year buying and then throwing away good food. That works out at £420 for the average UK household. And for households with children it’s even more - £610 a year.

Local councils then spend another £1 billion collecting our food waste and sending most of it to landfill.

Food waste is also harmful to the environment. The food we throw away needlessly is responsible for the equivalent of 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year – that’s the same as the CO2 emitted by one in every five cars on UK roads. It’s not just the methane that’s released when the food goes to landfill that’s the problem, but also the energy spent producing, storing and transporting the food to us. Put another way, every tonne of food we throw away needlessly is responsible for 4.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.

Food waste is an enormous challenge, not least because most of us don’t yet recognise the amount we all produce. But it is also a massive opportunity – to reduce waste, save money and minimise our impact on the environment.

We can reduce our food waste by taking simple free measures;

• Sort your cupboards
  
  • Arrange your cupboards, fridge and freezer to ensure that you have no food which is past its "use by" date.
  • Arrange food by type and place in date order with the most recent date to the front.
  • You may find that you can survive without visiting the supermarket for a few weeks.
• Plan your meals
  
  • Plan in advance meals over a week, you do not need to physically write this down but mentally take note.
  • Be creative you can create some wonderful combinations from the scraps you find in a fridge.
• Plan your purchases
  
  • Plan in advance what you need from the supermarket.
  • Don't be tempted to buy items through special offers which you may not need or use within the use by date.
  • Do not buy items which you have multiples already.
    
  • Only purchase enough pershiables which you can use within the dates.
  • Do not go to the supermarket with "Eyes Bigger than Your Belly" and an empty stomach.
    
• Composting
  
  • Any food which you do not consume by the use by date can be added to a compost heap.
  • Packaged foods excessively past their best before date can be removed from their packaging and composted and the packaging recycled.
    
  • Compost bins can be purchased relatively cheaply and some local councils offer free compost bins.
    
  • Find Your Local Council Contact Details.

For more information on how to reduce food waste, visit WRAPs new site Love Food, Hate Waste.

The study, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, consisted of a detailed survey of households and a physical analysis of their rubbish. It was designed to not only quantify the amounts and types of food waste being produced but to make links between this and the attitudes displayed by and disposal options available to the household.

A representative sample of 2,715 households in England and Wales was interviewed in July-October 2007, and several weeks later the waste from 2,138 of them was collected and analysed. These households were all within a group of 11 geographically representative local authority areas chosen to reflect a range of collection systems, including food waste collections. Participants were asked about their perceptions on a range of issues concerning household waste, focusing on food.

Households were informed that as part of the research their waste would be collected for analysis, asked for their signed consent, and given the chance to opt out if they chose. Bin analysis was only carried out with those who consented, which was the vast majority. A period of four weeks then elapsed before their waste was collected for analysis to ensure that any temporary behaviour changes as a result of increased awareness of the research had dissipated.

We used industry standard waste analysis techniques to sort and categorise the waste. We then defined the food waste as either: avoidable food waste – where the food has been thrown away because it is no longer wanted or has been allowed to go past its best. Examples include an
apple or half a pack of cheese; possibly avoidable food waste – where the food waste could possibly have been avoided but incorporates food items that can be eaten but that many choose not to. Examples include bread crusts and potato skins; and unavoidable food waste – where the food waste results from food preparation and includes foods such as meat bones and hard vegetable or fruit peelings such as melon rind.

After analysis, the waste was disposed of safely on the same day, with the assistance of the local authority or their contractor. Where facilities existed – in just under half the authorities involved – the food waste was sent for composting. The result of this detailed survey and physical analysis is a comprehensive analysis of how much food we throw away, who is throwing it away, and what it costs society.

Belfast Telegraph in Energy Saving Bulbs Giveaway

Following suit with mainland newspapers, such as the Sun who carried a similar campaign, which saw newspaper sales increase by 408 000 copies, taking the daily circulation to almost 4m. The Sun turned half of its front page green for the promotion, which offered the eco-friendly lightbulbs to readers who bought the paper at more than 4,000 independent newsagents and stores including Tesco, Asda, WH Smith, Sainsbury's, Somerfield and Morrisons.

The Belfast Telegraph campaign runs in a similar way with many newspaper outlets giving a free bulb with the purchase of a paper today (Wednesday 16 April). The campaign hopes to give away enough bulbs to reduce Northern Ireland CO2 emissions by 500t per annum.

Adding her weight to the campaign the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland backed the campaign adding how she hopes to help further reduce energy consumption in the province, which has the highest CO2 emissions in the UK.

"The less we use today, the more will be available for future generations. From April, I will increase my Department's spending on fuel poverty by a further £0.5m bringing the Department's commitment to tackling fuel poverty to £35.4m. Alongside this, I will future-proof all new social houses against fuel poverty by ensuring that those built from this month will be required to meet standards that will mean that they will be 25% more energy efficient. My department will continue to examine the potential for extending innovation partnership arrangements with Northern Ireland Electricity and others to speed up the replacement of Economy 7 heating systems, targeting those with particular health needs and piloting renewable energy technologies as a means of tackling rural fuel poverty."
Margaret Richie, Social Development Minister

Do Prisons Hold the Key to Reducing Carbon Emissions?

Prisons may not be the ideal place to live, but could aspects of prison life help to adapt and influence change, reducing CO2 emissions, and kickstarting a low carbon economy?

With our prisons at breaking point, and new "super-prisons" planned to make up the shortfall, one aspect of prison life that provides inspiration to the world of green is that communal living and working, can help reduce CO2 emissions, eliminating the need for commuting, providing an increased efficiency of energy use, and reducing the initial energy expenditure per capita in construction of the building.

The Prison Service's population as at 22nd February, was 82,068 in England and Wales, exceeding its own "operational capacity" by 96. However, they clocked up a carbon footprint of 97 923 tonnes last year, up 0.14% from 97 784 tonnes in 99/00, not bad considering the increase in prison numbers. Or an average annual emission per prisoner of 1.2t of CO2, or 3.27kg per day. Whilst this figure does not take all emissions into consideration, such as from the production of goods or food, the emissions per capita of the population is substanially lower than those of the national average.

Whilst it may be hard-pushed to find a situation where communal living and working could co-exist as a single entity opposed to the totally separate entities that they currently fulfill in our lives, but could some of the solutions of prison life be implemented into our own current lives, such as working from home. If each of the ten million office workers in the UK were able to work from home, the reduction based on the average commute of 8.5 miles, could potentially see 119m miles of commuting via car removed from UK roads, and reduce CO2 emissions by 7m tonnes annually. In addition to this, it would also save car commuting office workers 2.6 billion hours a year from travel.

"Drivers would rather sit in their cars twice as long than change jobs, move house or change their work base"
Edmund King, RAC Foundation

The blame for the rise of CO2 emissions over the past year were partly attributed to the increase in the number of prisoners having access to "solo showers", whilst this increase is significantly modest it certainly is not an issue for contention, unlike that of showers at 30 000ft.

Could you live with the people you work? Or is communal living destined to fail?

Lifestyle Green 2008

After a massive success with their first environmental focused exhibition at the Kings Hall in Belfast in September 2007, LifeStyleGreen will be back for their second environmental show on Saturday and Sunday the 13th and 14th September 2008 at Castle Espie, Comber, County Down. Exhibition space is limited, and already some big local brands have signed up, some returning for the second year. Exhibition space is available from £20/m2, for the two day event.

How Much are You Paying for Electricity or Gas?

New research out yesterday revealed that 80% of people do not know how much they are paying for their electricity or gas. In addition to this the survey of more than 1200 people across the UK contacted by telephone in January 2008 by Drummond Madell, the majority believed that energy bills were the most difficult to understand.

The findings suggest that smart meters, may be able to reduce our energy usage and reduce CO2 emissions. Basic visual displays will be available free on request from energy suppliers from April.

Smart meters have been trialled in countries ranging from Sweden to the US but are not widely available in the UK yet. These trials have shown that householders who use smart meters can reduce their energy bills by between five and 10 per cent.

Based on savings of five per cent the Energy Saving Trust estimates that if everyone in the UK switched to smart meters British householders could save £1.2bn a year and the equivalent of 7.4 million tonnes of CO2.

"While the Energy White Paper outlined the need for energy suppliers to make better displays available to households free of charge on request, we would like to see the Government act more boldly and offer the support necessary to enable smart meters to be rolled out across the UK.

Smart meters are better than clip-ons because they offer two-way connectivity with the energy supplier - not only for electricity but also gas too; this means that the energy cost displayed would exactly match what you owed the energy supplier. You would also know the carbon cost of what you are doing.

In addition, smart meters offer the opportunity to track usage over a set period of time, meaning householders could identify when consumption is highest and therefore where energy savings are possible. And the energy supplier would also be able to see this information and offer solutions."

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive, Energy Saving Trust

Other smart meter benefits identified in the Energy Saving Trust's report include:

• Frequent data on energy consumption (both gas and electric).
• Time of use data; historical use data.
• Differential tariffs based on time of use.
• Greater control over peak demand.
• Ability for the energy suppliers to send energy saving tips to consumers based on their usage.
• They monitor the energy renewable energy sources installed in the home, such as solar panels and wind turbines, are using and producing.
• The ability to switch between credit and pre-payment functions.

You can download the Green Barometer IV report here.

Interestingly I note that those in Northern Ireland, which is serviced by only one electricity supplier, were substainially less interested in having a smart meter installed, and the benefits of this were of little interest. The highest proportion of people who found it uneasy to understand their energy bill also came from this region, and likewise the least people knew which energy tariff and the price they pay for electricity.

As NIE are one of the contributors to the Energy Saving Trust, Im sure they have been informed of the report. It would be interesting to see if they will implement changes to try to rectify these issues. However, being an NIE customer, I find my bill easy to understand, and know the unit price and tariff that I am on.

Picture: Zero Carbon City

Masdar City will be constructed in the desert on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi. The aims are to use only renewable energy sources, and to eliminate 99% of the waste stream. This artist's impression shows wind turbines on the edge of the city and public transport links running through. The six-square-kilometer city designed by Foster and Partners, will be capable of housing 47,500 people, who are scheduled to start moving there in 2009. Construction is expected to take 10 years.

The city will be placed to take advantage of the cool sea breezes, while a perimeter wall around the entire city will protect buildings from the hot desert air and noise from the nearby Abu Dhabi airport.

No cars will be allowed in the city. People will get around through an electric light-rail system that will be linked to the center of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

efergy Energy Monitor

I previously wrote about how in March 2008, all households will be entitled to gain an energy montior from their electricity firm to monitor real time how much energy they are using, as they use it. These devices have their critics and plaudites, with various international studies recording reductions in energy use by 1 - 11%.

Having come across the efergy energy monitor, many months ago, I decided to buy it last week on impulse after seeing it in an email newsletter. The device is available for about £35 - £45. I got mine from ecohamster, ordering at lunchtime and having it the next day. After a two minute installation, I was able to watch my electricity consumption real time, and with the wireless display able to run around the house turning everything off to see the noticeable change.

The device also records the amount of electricity used each day, and you can view daily, weekly and monthly consumption rates.

To alert you to impending emissions nightmare, you can set an alarm when your consumption goes above a set level, which if you are me is triggered by everything from the kettle to the washing machine.

Since installation on Thursday, in four full days we have seen our usage reduced by about 33% (from the daily average from our last electricity bill), through better management of how we use electrical devices and becoming more aware of when to switch things off, especially the high powered devices and things we have forgotten about. At night before bed or leaving the house it also serves as a method for acceptablity, if the reading is high, then we go around the house to ensure all appliances are switched off that need to be off.

These are great devices, and serve a truely important purpose, if used and monitored on a regular basis. If not it is likely that you will not see savings on your electricity bill. Should we keep up our energy monitoring at current rates, we should save about £200 annually, not to mention reduce our CO2 emissions too, even though we are on a green electricity, someone else can use those green units instead.

How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?

As part of a new series of posts, we will be testing a variety of household electrical items to quantify the amount of electricity used by those devices and publishing this information so that you can hopefully make better choices of how you use your electricity.

We will add a link to each new post here;

Apple iBook G4
Apple iPhone 3G
Dell 19" LCD Monitor
Dell Dimension C521 PC
Energizer Battery Charger
GHD Hair Straighteners
Hotpoint Freezer
Netgear Wireless Router
Nintendo Wii
Russell Hobbs Kettle
Russell Hobbs Toaster
Sharp 32" LCD TV
Sony PS2
Sony PS3