NIE Testing Smart Meters

Northern Ireland Electricity are to conduct a trial in to Smart Meters, and are looking for willing participants. The system will make use of accurate real time data, which can be viewed online, and tell you exactly how much electricity is being used in your home at any time.

Taking part is free and offers;

• Internet based monthly bills
• Real-time data on electricity consumption
• Accurate (not estimated) bills
• Paperless billing
• Remote readings of meter
• Email based customer support

The trial will last around twelve months. To participate you must be a NIE customer on a Home Energy or Eco Energy Tariff, paying their bills by direct debit, access to the internet, an email address, and individual meter and no arrears on their account. Numbers are limited.

For further information contact Kathryn on 028 9068 5028 or email smartmeter@nieenergy.co.uk

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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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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?

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.

Double Digit Fuel Price Rises

Energy firm Npower yesterday announced double digit price rises for both its electricity and gas customers. As the fourth largest energy supplier in the UK, Npower said that they were forced to increase prices due to soaring wholesale rates. The price rises are effective from today affecting four million customers across the UK. Other energy companies are expected to follow their lead and announce increases in the coming month.

Increases - Npower / Wholesale Rates;
Electricity +12.7% / +66%
Gas +17.2% / +60%

"Today's decision was not an easy one. We always try to protect our customers for as long as possible but sadly higher energy prices are a fact of life."
Giuseppe Di Vita, Managing Director, Npower (Residential Business)

With ever increasing fuel prices across the board, it is expected that energy prices will continue to increase or remain high throughout 2008. One way you can reduce your bill is by switching energy provider. But this is not advised until the market evens itself out, for more information check out our Q&A on is it time to switch, which also offers information on ways to reduce your energy bill without switching.

As fuel prices increase so does a poverty which currently affects 4m people in the UK, and leaves a further 3m people in a category considered vunerable, leading to charities warning that some of society's most vulnerable members may be forced to choose between food and heating as fuel bills rise.

"For many people, particularly the vulnerable, price hikes mean very real decisions between choosing to heat their home or doing without other essentials"
Jenny Saunders, National Energy Action (NEA), Chief Executive

We have just added a blog post on help available to those in fuel poverty. This is a great post for finding out what grants and benefits are available to help out with the cost of energy and installing energy saving measures.

What Help is Available for those in Fuel Poverty

With the recent price rises from Npower and other suppliers likely to follow suit, a large number of people throughout the UK now falls into being in fuel poverty. The Energy Retail Association estimates there was 4m people in this category in 2006 with a further 3m classified as vunerable, and this has been increasing year on year from 2000.

You may ask how to calculate if your household is in fuel poverty, the equation below we hope clearly shows how to calculate if you are in fuel poverty.

Fuel Poverty Ratio = ((Unit Fuel Price x Fuel Consumption) + Standing Charge) / Income

You should take all fuels into consideration (Gas, Electricity, LPG and solid fuels). Income is considered before tax and national insurance. For more information on how fuel poverty is calculated there is this very detailed document (PDF). Households are considered to be fuel poor if they spend over 10% of their income on fuel.

There is a range of assistance for those even not in fuel poverty, below is organisations and schemes that could help you alieviate the burden of fuel bills through benefits and grants;

Benefits

Winter Fuel Payments

If you are aged 60 to 79 and you are entitled to receive a Winter Fuel Payment, you will get either £100 or £200, depending on your circumstances in the qualifying week. If you are aged 80 or over and you are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment, you will get an extra £50 or £100, so you could get up to £300, depending on your circumstances in the qualifying week. You do not pay tax on Winter Fuel Payments.

For more information please visit the Pension Service: Winter Payment Website.

Cold Weather Payment

A Cold Weather Payment is paid automatically when the average temperature is, or is forecast to be, 0 degrees centigrade or below over seven consecutive days. To qualify you must satisfy the criteria for receipt. The Social Security or Jobs & Benefits office will advertise when a payment is applicable.

To receive a cold weather payment you must be receiving Pension Credit / Income Support / Jobseeker's Allowance (Income based) for one day in the period of cold weather and be receiving one of the following premiums:

• Pensioner Premium
• Enhanced Pensioner Premium
• Higher Pensioner Premium
• Disability Premium
• Severe Disability Premium
• Disabled Child Premium
• or have a child under the age of 5

£8.50 when the average temperature where you live is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below, over seven consecutive days during the period from 1 November to 31 March. Specified Meteorological Office weather stations are used to obtain this information.

More information can be found at DirectGov

Grants

Warm Front (England)

Warm Front provides grants of up to £2,700 for heating and insulation measures in low income and other vulnerable households. The maximum grant for an oil central heating system is £4,000. Grants are available to owner occupiers and people who rent their homes from a private landlord. To qualify householders must:

• be in receipt of designated income related benefit or tax credit and have a child under 16, or
• be in receipt of a designated disability related benefit or Disabled Person's Tax Credit, or
• be aged 60 years or over and in receipt of an income related benefit.

Grants are also available to women who are in receipt of a maternity certificate (MATB 1) as well as a designated income related benefit (or their spouses).

The national telephone number for Warm Front in England is Freephone 0800 952 0600
Recent changes include:

• Central heating measures are available for all eligible clients (not just over 60's).
• Eligible customers not connected to mains gas may qualify for oil central heating.
• Clients who have previously received a grant from the Warm Front programme can re-apply to the Scheme Manager. However, they will not receive the same measure again. They will have a new balance, minus the value of all works previously completed under Warm Front.

For further information contact the designated Scheme Manager:

Eaga for enquiries from the West Midlands, South West, London, South East, North West and North East: Freephone 0800 316 6011 or Freephone Minicom 0800 072 0156.


Warm Deal (Scotland)

The Warm Deal in Scotland provides grants of up to £500 for energy efficiency measures and energy advice for those in receipt of one of a range of benefits. A lower level of grant can be claimed by householders aged 60 and over who do not receive these benefits. For more details visit the Scottish Executive or Scottish Gas

There is also the Central Heating Programme, which provides a central heating system, insulation measures, energy advice and an optional benefits check to people aged 60 and over and to tenants of local authorities and housing associations. Claimants must live in a home without central heating or where the existing system is broken and beyond repair.


The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Wales)

HEES in Wales provides grants of up to £1,500 for energy efficiency measures and energy advice for those in receipt of one of a range of benefits who have a child under 16.

HEES Plus offers grants of up to £2,700 for heating and insulation improvements to householders who are 60 or over and to lone parents with a child under the age of 16. In both cases claimants must be in receipt of one of a range of benefits. A lower level of grant can be claimed by householders aged 60 and over who do not receive a qualifying benefit. For more details contact HEES Wales: Freephone 0800 316 2815 or Freephone Minicom 0800 072 0156.

The Warm Homes Scheme (Northern Ireland)

The Warm Homes Scheme offers grants of up to £850 for insulation and heating improvements for owner occupiers and those who rent their homes from a private landlord. Claimants must receive one of a range of benefit payments and have a child under 16.

The Warm Homes Plus Scheme offers grants of up to £4,300 for an enhanced package of heating and insulation measures, including central heating. Claimants must be aged 60 and over and be owner occupiers or tenants of a private landlord. For further information contact Eaga Partnership: Freephone 0800 181 667 or Minicom 019 1233 1054

Energy Saving Trust

There is financial help available if you're planning to make energy saving improvements to your home. The Government, energy suppliers and local authorities all provide grants to help you implement energy saving measures in your home. To search for grants visit their grants finder or you can call them on 0800 512 012. There is also information on simple energy saving tips which could save you several hundred pounds annually

Local Councils

Your local council may also offer assistance, as this varies across each council area, you should contact your local council for more information and advice on the help they offer. To find your local council contact details visit DirectGov

Advice Service

Citizens Advice Bureaux

In 2005-2006 Citizens Advice Bureaux in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received 27,000 general enquiries about problems with fuel plus 45,000 enquiries about fuel debt. Following the prolonged series of fuel price rises we are beginning to receive evidence of CAB clients struggling to pay their bills. They can help you too, you just need to ask for advice.




There is also information on how to reduce your energy bills on the following blog posts;
Is it Time to Switch Energy Providers?
Winter Warming Tips
10 Things to Reduce Energy Use
Cavity Wall Insulation Grants
General Energy Saving Tips

Is it Time to Switch Energy Providers

Npower has just announced double digit rises in fuel costs for their electricity and gas customers. Below is a Q&A on should you switch.

Should I look to change providers?

Not necessarily. Before the price rises, Npower was seen as one of the cheaper providers. The independent watchdog Energywatch has said that, given other firms are likely to also raise their prices, it may be worth waiting to see what Npower's competitors do. If you switch to a cheaper supplier today, you may well find that they too put up their prices, as all of the companies have to buy gas in exactly the same international market.

So switching is a waste of time then?

Not quite. The argument goes that savings can still be made, especially if you have never switched before and are still with either British Gas or the company that took over from your regional electricity board. In those cases, you are likely to be on their highest tariff. So you may still be able to achieve a significant relative cut in your bills.

How common is energy switching?

The full figures for 2007 are not yet available, but in 2006 about 4 million households changed their gas or electricity supplier, according to the energy regulator Ofgem. In April 2006, when wholesale energy prices were last at very high levels, and price increases were starting to bite, a record 900,000 customers changed supplier. However about 50% of UK households have never taken the opportunity to switch their provider and it is these people who are likely to have the best opportunity to make hefty savings.

How do you switch energy companies?

In theory, it is relatively easy to switch your energy supplier - and should certainly be less arduous than changing, say, a mortgage provider. Regardless of where you live in the UK, there are several suppliers to choose from. You can opt to have separate firms supplying your gas and electricity - or choose one company to supply both, commonly known as dual fuel. The most common and effective way is to firstly identify the company which can offer the cheapest deal is to use a price comparison service. Energywatch has approved 13 companies providing price comparison services both via the internet and on the telephone. These are;

• www.moneysupermarket.com
• www.energylinx.co.uk
• www.ukpower.co.uk
• www.saveonyourbills.co.uk
• www.homeadvisoryservice.com
• www.theenergyshop.com
• www.uswitch.com
• www.simplyswitch.com
• www.unravelit.com
• www.confused.com
• www.energyhelpline.com
• www.moneyexpert.com/energy
• www.switchwithwhich.co.uk

Most of these companies will deal with your new supplier on your behalf, and also contact your old supplier to organise the switch. It does not cost the consumer anything - with the firms receiving a payment from the energy company which has won the new business. However if you would rather go it alone, you can talk with the firm you want to be your new supplier and agree a contract. Then you tell your existing provider that you wish to end the service - usually having to give about one month's notice.

What if I use a pre-payment meter?

You too can also change suppliers. People using pre-payment are often on low fixed incomes and could really benefit from moving to a less expensive provider, Energywatch says. But despite this, industry figures suggest that just over a third of pre-payment gas users and four out of 10 electricity customers have changed supplier. This compares with more than half of those who pay by direct debit and monthly bills. How much can I save by switching This depends on how much you are currently paying and on your personal circumstances - for example where you live and your level of usage. Firms often offer discounts if you buy both gas and electricity from them. But the industry regulator Ofgem has said that households changing their supplier for the first time can save an average of £100 per year.

Besides switching supplier, how else can I reduce my energy bills?

Changing your method of payment is one way that you may be able to save money. If you can afford to pay by direct debit rather than by cash or cheque, this typically can knock about £40 off your annual bill. But you should regularly send meter readings to your energy company to ensure that they are taking the right amount of money each month. The other key thing to think about is reducing the amount of energy you use, for more advice please see the following blog posts.

Winter Warming Tips
10 Things to Reduce Energy Use
Cavity Wall Insulation Grants
General Energy Saving Tips

Winter Warmer Ideas

With the continued rises in the price of oil, gas (up 14% on September), electricity (up 18% on September) and coal (up 100% on June), and the predicted bleak cold winter ahead. I have come up with a few ideas on how to make your home a little warmer, even this late in the year and save you some cash.

Cavity Wall & Loft Insulation
Insulating cavity walls and lofts in your house is the best way to save and stay a warmer this winter. Both measures can save up to £250 a year in energy costs and two tonnes in CO2 emissions. Measures cost from as little as £350 each. With grants available for £150 for each measure installed, and in London an extra grant of £100 is also available for cavity wall insulation.

You may also be entitled for free insulation if any person living in the house is in receipt of certain benefits, credits or allowances. This is known as 'Priority Group Funding' because the government and utility companies consider these householders to be a priority. Qualifying benefits include:

* Attendance Allowance
* Income Support
* Council Tax Benefit
* Disability Living Allowance
* Housing Benefit
* Child Tax Credit (household income under £15,050)
* Working Tax Credit (household income under £15,050)
* Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
* Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance
* War Disablement Benefit
* Pension Credit

In some areas, 100% grants are also available to the over 60s and households where there are children under the age of 16.

If all homes that currently are not insulated implemented these measures, nationally we could reduce CO2 emissions by 14.3m tonnes. For more information on the grants available call 0800 512 012 or check the EST grant finder.

Chimney Balloon
Chimney's can be responsible for up to 15% of heat lost from a room. You can prevent this with a chimney balloon (or old newspaper, however less safe and effective). The balloon is placed into the chimney and inflated preventing cold air from entering the room. Cheap at around £20, easy to install and should last up to four years.

Draftproofing
Draftproofing your house can also provide significant savings of up to 20%, and some grants are available.

Draw Your Curtains
Drawing your curtains at dusk can help prevent the escape of heat through windows, acting almost like an air pocket. Ensure however that the curtains are placed behind radiators to allow heat to better circulate rooms.

Heat Reflectors
Placing heat reflectors behind radiators can significantly improve the efficiency of your heating system ensuring that heat does not get absorbed into the walls. These can be purchased from DIY stores for around £20 - £40 (for enough for your entire house) and can be installed by simply cutting to size and sticking to the wall immediately behind the radiator.

Condensing Boiler
As the current lifespan of a boiler is around 15 years, choosing a heating system with a high efficiency condensing boiler with the correct heating controls can make a huge difference to your heating bills over time.

A high efficiency condensing boiler works on the principle of recovering as much as possible of the waste heat which is normally wasted from the flue of a conventional (non-condensing) boiler. The best high efficiency condensing boilers convert more than 90% of their fuel into heat, compared to 78% for conventional types. Typical savings are about a third, £175 to £220 a year. Grants are available in some areas and cost can be recouped in about three years.

Blankets & Jumpers
Staying warm does not always require the use of burning fuel, a comfy blanket or extra jumper can work wonders providing instant warmth and reducing your energy bills.


If you have any other winter warmer ideas feel free to add them to the comments section.

HIPs Extended to All Properties

The government announced on Thursday, from 14 December 2007 all properties sold in England and Wales will now require a Home Information Pack. We have followed the roll out from initially being required for four bedroom houses in August, to the inclusion of three bedroom properties in September.

Included in HIPs is an energy performance certificates (EPCs) will give homes an efficiency rating of A - G. To date the average EPC rating has been an "E". Buyers whose homes score badly will receive extra help from the new Green Homes Service announced this week by Gordon Brown.

"Hips and EPCs are already helping consumers to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills. All home buyers will be able to benefit from energy efficiency advice, with those receiving low green ratings of 'F' and 'G' especially targeted for support and grants"
Yvette Cooper, Housing Minister

This is the completion of the roll-out of HIPs and I am glad to see that this has been efficiently rolled out in a period of less than six months, as I feared back in august it was going to be a drawn out process lasting in excess of a year. The final 40% of the housing stock affected results in a further 8.4m homes requiring a pack should they be going on to the market. The launch of the Green Homes Service will compliment EPCs, as owners seek to improve their homes efficiency. The inclusion of homes with one and two bedrooms will also be a positive move to reducing the emissions from homes as these are most likely to have a higher footprint per capita.

Gordon Brown Outlines Climate Plans

Download the Speech (MP3)
Read the Speech
Watch Some of the Speech

Gordon Brown has outlined his plans for the British fight against climate change, fronted by a "green hotline" to advise people on how they can reduce their impact on the environment. The new Green Home Service, a website, telephone hotline and advice centres will be a "one-stop-shop" for advice and information on a range of issues including reducing waste and saving water.


In essence this seems like a government funded carbon copy of the independent Energy Saving Trust, and whilst I'm sure the Green Home Service will provide a competent and worthy service to the public on a range more diverse than currently captured by the EST. It still remains that people will need to seek advice before they change their habits, rather than implementing legislation, funding nationwide initiatives, or implementing voluntary agreements with retailers which forces change. Within his speech he cited that a third of households in the UK will be offered assistance to make carbon reductions in the next three years, equivalent to about 2.2 million homes per year. Potentially leading to reductions of 6m tonnes of CO2 per year by 2010, or 1.1% of total UK CO2 emissions.

"I believe it will require no less than a fourth technological revolution. In the past the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, the microprocessor transformed not just technology but the way our society has been organised and the way people live. Now we're about to embark on a comparable technological transformation to low carbon energy and energy efficiency and this represents an immense challenge to Britain, but it is also an opportunity."
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, United Kingdom

In addition to the new information service, there was also plans to further co-operation with other countries including Japan and the US to establish a new "funding framework", to help developing countries adjust to low carbon growth, adapt to climate change and tackle deforestation.


In recent months the government has come under increased scrutiny over reports published regarding its commitment to, and likely failure in meeting targets regarding renewable energy. Currently approximately 5% of UK energy is provided by renewable energy sources, however Gordon Brown hit back at these critics stating Britain was absolutely committed to meeting our share of the EU's 2020 renewable energy target, further suggesting it could mean the UK will have to produce between 40 and 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. An exceptional target which almost seems pie in the sky to some. BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said this would be "staggering", but he said that the government was seeking to negotiate down the EU target.


However this part of the speech will be seriously considered tomorrow as Gordon Brown's government reveals whether consent has been granted to a new coal fired power plant in Kingsmill, Kent (beside an existing inefficient coal-fired power plant). The existing power plant provides up to 7.5% of the UK's current electricity demand by burning 750 tonnes of coal per hour. The proposed new power plant from electricity company E.on would improve efficiency by 20%, equating to carbon emission savings of 2m tonnes a year, however if the proposal is rejected the existing plant will need to close as it will not meet with legislation regarding emissions. This is a scenario facing half of UK coal fired power stations. With the closure of nine nuclear power plants over the next ten years this will result in a reduction in production of electricity of 30%. Eyes will be carefully watching the news tomorrow to hear the result.


There was many other initiatives mentioned in the Climate Change Bill regarding consultation with the British Retail Consortium to phase out plastic bags, a major expansion that will see five million more homes offered discounts of up to 100% on cavity or loft insulation, and another three million offered cheap or free low-energy light bulbs and other appliances. Over the next decade, every household will be offered a smart meter that shows people the true extent of their energy use, encouraging frugality.


With the suggested measures it seems difficult that these will equate to a faction of the 60% reduction in CO2 emissions proposed by 2050.


The reactions to the speech have been varied with quotable regular Philip Sellwood, Chief of the Energy Saving Trust commenting on his blog;

"This Green Homes Service will form the first genuine one-stop-shop for citizens to access advice on all matters 'green' - whether that is energy efficiency, renewable energy, travel, water efficiency and waste reduction. At a time when both Government and particularly Defra's budgets are under such pressure, credit must go to Defra for holding out for this additional funding over the next three years. Sorry if this sounds a bit like I'm being a cheer leader for Hilary Benn, but sometimes even the Government gets things right! I know that's not a very fashionable view these days, but let's at least give a small round of applause on this dark, grey and wet Tuesday!"
View Greener Homes Are In Sight!

Other Reactions to the Prime Ministers Speech;

"Six months in the job of prime minister, and Brown has finally got around to talking about climate change. Whilst I welcome plans to consider tightening the 60% target, the government is playing catch-up - and asking another committee to look at the figures won't help. To make real headway on curbing our emissions, we need to act now. We do not have time for yet more commissions and reviews, for more political delay. Today's speech was sorely lacking in real measures to reduce our emissions."
Caroline Lucas, Green Party


"In March, Tony Blair committed the government to an EU target for 20% of Europe's energy to come from renewables. Since then the government - and particularly the dinosaurs in the DBERR (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) have tried to wriggle out of it. It is good to see Gordon Brown recommit to this and get the renewables revolution back on track."
Keith Allott, WWF UK


"It's good news that the government will not renege on its EU renewable energy targets. But we need to look at the small print to see whether Mr Brown is really prepared to meet 20% of our energy from renewables without counting nuclear power as the French are doing. The government blithely talks of the opportunities created by green industries yet refuses to promote fledgling initiatives properly. Boasts of a new Green Home Service seem shallow when recent cuts to the New Millennium Grants will dissuade many homeowners from installing energy saving measures in their homes."
Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrats


"After a summer of lobbying, wriggling and confusion, the government's apparent change of heart on renewable power is fantastic news, but will only be credible if new policies emerge to actually meet targets. Britain lags a long way behind most of our European neighbours on renewable power, despite having the greatest wind, wave and tidal resource in Europe. We should be able to contribute our fair share of the EU-wide renewable energy commitment and source at least 20% of our energy from renewables by 2020."
Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth


"It's positive that the prime minister has raised the bar ahead of the Bali conference by talking about an 80% cut in UK carbon emissions by 2050. Oxfam believes that only an 80% cut in rich countries' emissions will be enough to stop the worst impacts of climate change. The world's poorest people - already hard hit by climate change - depend upon rich countries like the UK moving first and fastest to set a clear course for a low carbon economy."
Phil Bloomer, Oxfam

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Energy Saving Tip # 2 - Boiling the Kettle

I'm sure you all know that boiling more water than you need wastes energy. But how much energy are we all wasting?

In the United Kingdom tea drinking is a national institution, we down a scalding 1909 cups of tea every second, 6.8m every hour, and 165m every day, according to figures from the UK Tea Council. This unsurprisingly uses up alot of energy, a kettle uses up to 3kW of electricity. In an article in by the Times Online blog using a 2.2kw kettle it took 100 seconds to boil. This equates to about 1.68m kWh in electricity consumption to boil the actual water used in cups of tea.

But 67% of people boil more water than is actually required for their cup of tea. I have not been able to find actual statistics for how much they overfill the kettle by other than from a few sites which claim we on average use twice the amount of water than is required. This would mean that we are wasting around 1.68m kWh a day from our tea addiction. Adding in coffee drinkers this extends to 2.33m kWh per day or 1056 tonnes of CO2 a day from electricity use, the equivalent to about 149 000 cars, or an annual 6.36kg of CO2 per capita.

To what cost you may ask; a cool £91m a year.

After computing my back of an envelope figures I found a report by DEFRA on the same topic which suggested a daily energy saving of 3.42m kWh (1547 tonnes per day).

So what can you do to reduce your impact;

• The Eco Kettle
  The innovative Eco Kettle has a unique double chamber that gets you to measure out exactly how much water you want to boil, saving electricity, water, money and time, making it better for the planet... and you still get to have a great cup of tea. That's smart thinking - making the eco kettle one of our favourite eco products, and an essential for any eco friendly kitchen or workplace. Using a kettle to boil more water than you need is the equivalent to powering 300 CFLs unnecessarily.
  
• Referring to the measure on the side can help you to accurately determine the amount of liquid necessary
• Measure how much water you require by filling the cup or saucepan you are planning to use and then pour this water into the kettle, remembering to add a little bit extra to compensate for evaporation
  
  

Voluntary Bulb Ban Initiated

The highest wattage incandescent bulbs will no longer be available on the shelves of some high street stores across the UK from early next year as part of an effort to reduce energy use and 5m tonnes of CO2 emissions (0.9% of UK CO2 emissions).

The voluntary initiative is being backed by leading retailers, (ASDA, B&Q, The Co-operative Group, Home Retail Group (Argos and Homebase), IKEA, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, Tesco, Waitrose, Wickes, Woolworths, British Retail Consortium, Association of Convenience Stores and the British Hardware Federation) and energy suppliers as part of their activities through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT).

“Retailers are committed to reducing their carbon footprint and play an active role in helping consumers reduce their own environmental impact. This is just the latest in a number of initiatives in which retailers are helping to shape consumer habits through the promotion of energy saving products. We look forward to working closely with Government and manufacturers in the lead up to the 2011 deadline to ensure the supply of energy saving light bulbs matches demand, and that they become a viable alternative to conventional light bulbs for consumers of all incomes”
Kevin Hawkins, Director General, British Retail Consortium

“We fully support the idea of phasing out inefficient lighting in favour of energy efficient light-bulbs. In most homes, lighting accounts for 10 – 15% of the electricity bill and UK households currently use £1.8 billion worth of electricity every year on lighting. An energy saving light bulb can last up to 10 times longer than a non-efficient version. Just one energy saving bulb could save up to £7 a year, fit all the lights in your house with energy saving bulbs and you could save around £600 over the lifetime of the bulbs. If everyone in the UK installed three energy saving light bulbs, we would save enough energy to power all the UK’s street lighting for a year.”
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive, Energy Saving Trust

The government has proposed, as an illustrative schedule for the phase out of inefficient lamps, that retailers are suggested to follow:

• By January 2008, cease replacing stock of all inefficient (General Lighting Service, GLS) A-shaped incandescent lamps of energy rating higher than 100W (predominantly 150W lamps).
• By January 2009, cease selling all inefficient GLS A-shaped lamps of energy rating higher than 60W (predominantly 150W lamps, 100W lamps, plus some 75W lamps)
• By January 2010, cease selling all GLS A-shaped lamps of efficacy of energy rating higher than 40W (predominantly 60W lamps)
• By 31 December 2011, cease selling all remaining inefficient GLS A-shaped lamps and 60W "candle" and "golfball" lamps. (predominantly 40W and 25W A-shaped GLS bulbs, and 60W candles and golfballs).

Each house in the UK currently has on average 23.5 light bulbs. Lighting accounts for 19% of electricity use worldwide, and using the most efficient lighting, such as CFLs or LED lighting can reduce electricity use through lighting by up to 90%, potentially saving £120 a year per household.

“Britain is leading the way in getting rid of energy-guzzling light bulbs and helping consumers reduce their carbon footprint. Choosing energy saving light bulbs can help tackle climate change, and also cut household bills, with each bulb saving up to £60 over its lifetime. I am delighted that major companies have said they are prepared to help deliver this ambitious timetable and offer products which will help their own customers play their part in combating climate change. But there are many more energy hungry gadgets on sale in shops that waste too much energy. That’s why I want to see today’s initiative widened. I want to see more retailers, manufacturers and service providers taking action to phase out the least efficient products from their ranges, for example, certain set top boxes and TVs, and so help offer greener choices to their customers.”
Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment

This voluntary initiative will be an effective curb on carbon emissions from the home for the near future, and could potentially lead to an annual reduction of CO2 emissions of 5m tonnes (0.9% of UK CO2 emissions), equivalent to taking 1.8m cars off the roads. The benefits of this will be felt by all parties, with the negative impact being felt only by those who oppose energy efficient bulbs for whatever ideology (Matt Wright explains the most common excuses). There is one important factor to consider for the future and that is the disposal of the bulbs as they contain mercury. They are now covered under WEEE, but educating the public of the need to recycle could be a greater task than having previously asked them to buy energy saving bulbs in the first place.

The benefits far outweigh the potential negatives and could not only reduce emissions but improve the quality of life through reduced air pollution, government from the reduced adverse social impacts of power stations will also benefit financially. Energy companies and government will also be able to effectively increase renewable energy rates in percentage points in a short period of time, and as more renewable energy farms are built they will provide a greater proportion of total national usage than they would have previously. It's only a shame they didn't phase it in faster. Goodbye Bulb!

Planet Relief Big "Switch Off" Switched Off

The now defunct Planet Relief and its predecessor Live Earth, had both planned for a big switch off. The idea that thousands of households around the country would switch off simultaneously in a grand gesture to save the planet. Cameras positioned in prime aerial city locations around the UK would watch as the UK switched off and the ensuing blanket of darkness would cover the UK, saving energy, CO2 emissions and well the planet for a few minutes. Or so that was the plan, in reality such actions are like playing Russian roulette with the countries energy supply, and may end up doing more harm than good. The plans even had the National Grid nervous.

The reasoning, that the unpredictable demand for power could lead to households losing power, and wasted energy, resulting in a likelihood, more emissions being created than saved. Not to mention the irony, a television station asking viewers to switch off.

Surges of electricity are not uncommon for the National Grid, but a mass exodus of power consumption is. Surges often range from 300MW, 60 times the maximum output of the RePower 5MW wind turbine, to in excess of 3200MW. These are normally down to what are known as TV pick-ups. The National Grid faces a constant challenge. It must provide enough energy, and not too much, and it must keep the frequency at 50hz.

"The way to think about it is to imagine you are in your car and your challenge is to keep the car at exactly 50 miles an hour. You press on the accelerator as you go up the hill, and you ease off on the other side. A TV pick-up will give you anything between 200-400 [extra MW] if it's not a major storyline; for a main character being killed or a wedding with a lot of hype 700-800. If the analysts' predictions are more than 300MW out, the incident might be investigated. We can't store electricity in any great quantity, so we have to forecast second by second, minute by minute. You base that on what did it do yesterday, what did it do last week, can you identify a day with exactly the same weather. There is a demand-forecasting computer program that looks at the corresponding five weeks over the past five years. And better still there is an analyst who tackles the TV listings every day and tries to predict the spikes. There will be somebody now looking at this evening's television schedules and forecasting what the control room should expect. Saying we want to switch off everything now is not going to be sustainable and is very, very unpredictable. You would create far more carbon [emission] than what you would actually save."
Alan Smart, Operations Manager, National Grid

Whilst I am somewhat happy to see the demise of Planet Relief, I truly believe whilst the intention was good, the show would have entered into the shady saturated genre of TV appeals which have become all to familiar, added with the likely outcry of hypocrisy, again. But more to the point the likely reason it was scraped was the miserable viewing figures for events like Live Earth which were also broadcast on the BBC and the public desire for factual programming to disseminate the information.