I am grappling with the thorny problem of saving energy by reducing the energy used by lights in the house to try to cut our electricity bill which rivals the national debt in trajectory. For a start I did buy the early energy efficient bulbs and we sat around in the gloom peering at each other. That rather stopped the spread of energy efficient bulbs for a while except in rooms we rarely used (sensible idea that). However, recently I have started to replace our downlighters with LED bulbs and they are fine = more expensive with fancy electronic components, but longer lasting I believe. I have also bought a spot lamp with a LED bulb that shines over my shoulder when I read so we don’t need to put on more room lights. Actually for us I think we will initially save much more electricity by just switching lights off. We do tend to look like Blackpool illuminations at night. A light for the stairs and hallway; lights under the kitchen cupboards shining onto the worktop as they are fluorescent tubes hubby says “better to leave them on”. I know this is true but for 4-5 hours or when he goes to bed ? We also leave on at least one lamp in the living room whether someone is in or not. Part of this is about security and letting folks with nefarious ideas know there is someone about but mostly it is about lack of thought.
Chill out when your fridge goes down
A friend of mine came round and was appalled at the amount of ice that had built up in the freezer section of my fridge. Before I could stop him, he had taken a large kitchen knife and had started to chip away at it. Yes, you’re ahead of me, after only a couple of large hacks with the knife, he had punctured some sort of section that had gas in it.
That was in the days when fridges used chlorofluorocarbons (better known as CFCs). It was later phased out because they discovered it was making a whole in the ozone layer. Anyway, “I’m glad that happened” he said. “You needed a new fridge anyway”.
These days an enormous amount of money can be lost when your freezer or fridge breaks down. Food is inedible, wine goes warm and you can’t even make yourself a cup of tea because the milk’s gone off. So, it’s imperative to get a dedicated manufacturer engineer on the scene as fast as possible. Rest assured you don’t have to buy a brand new item! If the processor or fan has become noisy, the thermostat or temperature gauge is not “on point” or there’s that high build up of ice, the problems can be rectified.
My advice is to go online and find a company that offers fridge repairs with a “no fix no fee”policy, fast attendance service, with a good, reliable quote upfront. Their website will detail the brands of appliance they repair and, indeed one of the best firms will probably be partners with the UK’s top kitchen appliance brands. That’s going to give you complete peace of mind.
Spend time not money to get your fixed price energy deal
We’ve all heard the shocking news that energy companies may well be making £125 profit on every single customer in the UK, during 2011. The Prime Minster recently summoned all six Energy companies to a Summit meeting to discuss and solve the problem that’s facing Britain. Cold comfort so far. Were there clues though that this was on the way some time ago, that so many of us ignored? We were invited to go for fixed price energy schemes that could have kept our individual bills down. Many of us also felt daunted by the Comparison websites and pushed it to the back of our minds. [Read more...]
Meals on wheels, the upmarket way!
Cookers, ovens and microwaves use a considerable amount of the world’s energy. Most people on average cook once a day, if not more. Whether you’re into tracing your Carbon footprint or just keen to cut down bills, it could make sense to consider a whole new way of feeding you and your family! Delivered diet meals! Before you freak out, give it serious consideration. Cooking, heating water (and heating your home) via Gas might be drastically reduced to a bit over 6MWh for the whole year … a reduction of as much as 10MWh per anum. [Read more...]
Save Energy with Double Glazing
All homes lose a significant amount of heat through the windows and one way to avoid this is to install double glazing windows. Double Glazing windows are typically made of two pieces of glass with a small gap between them. This gap acts as a barrier which provides an insulting barrier. This barrier can make significant savings to the amount of heat lost through windows and are put into categories according to just how effective they are. If you are considering having double glazing installed do ask for the energy efficiency rating, A being the best you can get.
Your Future Home Will Be Ecologically Friendly.
Why Help The Environment by Recycling? We should do something right away. We are now short of resources like coal, natural gas, petrol, for example. With fuel costs and resources beyond reach, we are able to make out how much lack there’s of resources. This lack can be met only if we all shake hands and make a joint effort towards helping the environment. These EPA-certified stoves also direct heat better, improve air quality and are engineered to make chimney fires a thing of the past. [Read more...]