Thursday, April 9
More massive cuts in my energy consumption!
I seem to have surpassed myself! Having been through the cold winter that should in theory have increased my energy use compared to last year, my winter electricity bill is a whopping 37.5% less than the same time last year!
My Autumn bill was 20% less than last year, so a cut of almost 40% is a fantastic winter result. If everyone could do this (including businesses), we wouldn't need any coal fired power stations and we could get rid of a few gas fired power stations as well!
This was achieved using the same basic techniques highlighted in my previous posts on saving (electricity) energy.
As stated before i'm still using the computer as much as ever and watching TV. But the key to the massive cuts is a change in how i keep warm, laundry, cooking etc. Frankly my standard of living hasn't changed a lot, just the bad habits of energy use.
4 comments:
Our gas amount of used will go down ... due to free* insulation from the government. The kids bedroom baby-monitors have thermometers built in (I have no idea how people managed in the old days) which shows that their rooms are 2 degrees Celsius warmer than prior to the insulation. Oh, and the heating doesn't come on hardy at all.
Just need to train my wife to turn the heating off if she's going to leave the doors windows open and we'll be on to a winner!
*(though prep-work to get all the loft-junk out, raise the joists, then put down new flooring cost me at least 4 days from work + £400 in wood parts and the day-rate of a joiner for the more tricky bits!) Though worth every penny as I now how room for my Scalextric. Er, I mean the kids Scalextric.
I did my mothers lost about 2 years ago. We did a similar thing, but we also had to get the wiring updated.
I used Eco-wool, which is insulation made from recycled plastic bottles.
It was easy to use, no problems with fibres and dust. I cut it with some sturdy scissors.
I had looked at other options, including wool insulation, paper insulation etc. Eco-wool was the compromise solution.
http://www.eco-wool.co.uk/
They sold it in B&Q, I assume they still do.
I'm probably totally wrong here, on an episode of 'How do they do it' with Robert Llewellyn they said that most insulation is made from recycled glass.
I forgot to mention - the warmer rooms has meant that the boys need to wear less clothes in their sleeping bags. Less of a fight to get them into their PJ's. Time saved too.
It can be made from glass, rock, minerals etc.
If the insulation is made from recycled glass, a lot of energy is used to make it, but not as much as if it was made from the raw materials.
I think insulation manufacturers have been increasing the recycled content.
I liked eco-wool because it recycles plastic bottles and it doesn't take so much energy to recycle the plastic.
You have to be careful when insulating the loft. You have to leave space around the eaves for ventilation, otherwise you can get condensation, which can lead to mould and all sorts of structural problems.
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