Perhaps it is worth checking your electrical home appliances? A friend of mine recently told me that he got a surprise when he measured the actual temperature of his fridge. It was +10 degrees Celsius. Not cool!
Many old appliances will have a poor energy rating or may no longer work as well as you think. You can check the energy efficiency rating of your home appliances at :
http://www.which.co.uk/energy/saving-money/guides/energy-labels-explained/
You can check out online deals for new fridges that are both cool and energy efficient. They may not be as expensive as you think and will save you money in the long run. And in my friend's case avoid stomach ache.
Friday, 14 June 2013
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Achieving consumer expectations with the Green Deal
Tracy Vegro, DECC's recent Green Deal blog
http://blog.decc.gov.uk/2013/05/24/selling-your-home-with-a-green-deal/#comments
summarises neatly some of the challenges facing Green Deal adoption. In our experience most consumers are driven by cash savings, short payback expectations and a desire for simplicity rather than softer benefits of better comfort or carbon reduction. Selling Green Deal to consumers needs in our view to be honest and realistic in what it might offer an individual consumer.
A good example is Solid Wall Insulation. We recently helped a 1920's property owner insulate 300m2 of external wall. Quotes ranged from £30k to £40k, plus VAT depending upon scaffolding, altering pipework and the like. We delivered a price around £20k through direct labour management, imported insulation and altering obstructions first. However this approach is not recommended for an inexperienced client. This delivered price suggests a low-end rate of £67/m2 insulated wall that will be hard to beat.
A typical three-bed semi in Tracy's example might have 100m2 of external wall and cost £6,700 + VAT at the above rate to insulate. This is a payback of 25 years at her stated annual saving of £270. This assumes VAT is recovered somehow. I suggest that this is the shortest period that a consumer might realistically expect for this type of work. This may deter many consumers when faced with the challenge of getting the work done.
Our property owner was delighted with the end result; a warmer-feeling home, condensation gone, lower bills, and an enhanced external appearance. They did not do it for the payback, nor did they use the Green Deal. It feels too early to say the proportion of consumers who will feel the same way, as the differing comments to Tracy Vegro's blog highlight.
http://blog.decc.gov.uk/2013/05/24/selling-your-home-with-a-green-deal/#comments
summarises neatly some of the challenges facing Green Deal adoption. In our experience most consumers are driven by cash savings, short payback expectations and a desire for simplicity rather than softer benefits of better comfort or carbon reduction. Selling Green Deal to consumers needs in our view to be honest and realistic in what it might offer an individual consumer.
A good example is Solid Wall Insulation. We recently helped a 1920's property owner insulate 300m2 of external wall. Quotes ranged from £30k to £40k, plus VAT depending upon scaffolding, altering pipework and the like. We delivered a price around £20k through direct labour management, imported insulation and altering obstructions first. However this approach is not recommended for an inexperienced client. This delivered price suggests a low-end rate of £67/m2 insulated wall that will be hard to beat.
A typical three-bed semi in Tracy's example might have 100m2 of external wall and cost £6,700 + VAT at the above rate to insulate. This is a payback of 25 years at her stated annual saving of £270. This assumes VAT is recovered somehow. I suggest that this is the shortest period that a consumer might realistically expect for this type of work. This may deter many consumers when faced with the challenge of getting the work done.
Our property owner was delighted with the end result; a warmer-feeling home, condensation gone, lower bills, and an enhanced external appearance. They did not do it for the payback, nor did they use the Green Deal. It feels too early to say the proportion of consumers who will feel the same way, as the differing comments to Tracy Vegro's blog highlight.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
How should I reduce my water use?
A recent twitter post I received showed a manufacturer offering a beautifully-crafted combined wash basin and toilet that recycles the basin waste water through the toilet reducing the overall water use by 30%.
However the annual cost of water from this high tech idea is around £140, whilst your utility will provide you the same water volume for around £14.
So why not look for simpler and more direct ways to save water? Repair any leaking overflow or dripping tap, put a water-saver bag in your old toilet cistern to reduce its flush volume, or remember to use the half-flush feature on your modern cistern.
If you and I reduce our water use following these simple changes, we might just avoid a hosepipe ban when summer finally hots up.
Richard, domigo Happy Home Guru
However the annual cost of water from this high tech idea is around £140, whilst your utility will provide you the same water volume for around £14.
So why not look for simpler and more direct ways to save water? Repair any leaking overflow or dripping tap, put a water-saver bag in your old toilet cistern to reduce its flush volume, or remember to use the half-flush feature on your modern cistern.
If you and I reduce our water use following these simple changes, we might just avoid a hosepipe ban when summer finally hots up.
Richard, domigo Happy Home Guru
Why won't my room stay warm?
Everyone loves a cosy house to come home to and this unwelcome cold snap's playing havoc with our heating bills.
If your house was built before 1980, there's a strong chance that it was built to lower insulation standards than today's.
Why not check your loft insulation? If it is less than 150mm thick, or is worn and showing gaps, you might want to upgrade it - 300mm is the standard these days.
Stopping the heat from leaking out means cosier homes - something we could all do with while we 're waiting for spring to arrive.
Richard, domigo Happy Home Guru
If your house was built before 1980, there's a strong chance that it was built to lower insulation standards than today's.
Why not check your loft insulation? If it is less than 150mm thick, or is worn and showing gaps, you might want to upgrade it - 300mm is the standard these days.
Stopping the heat from leaking out means cosier homes - something we could all do with while we 're waiting for spring to arrive.
Richard, domigo Happy Home Guru
The best ways to save water are the most straight-forward
Innovation is admirable as highlighted in a recent twitter post of a manufacturer offering a beautifully-crafted integral washbasin and toilet that recycles the basin wastewater.
In their words, "Cost is comparable to luxury wall-hung WC, cistern, frame, basin, tap & all fittings but has added benefit of water-saving." Compelling?
But at £3,000 (including VAT) the price tag probably consigns this design to a luxury niche, meaning its overall water-saving contribution is minimal.
The reality is that the annual water cost of this idea is £140, whilst your water utility can provide you the same amount of water for around £14.
If you wish to save water then it is better to find a more effective way to do so. Avoiding water leakage, using a saver bag in an old toilet cistern, or remembering to use the half-flush feature on a normal toilet are all more likely to have a greater water-saving impact than this idea.
On the other hand if you want a beautiful toilet then I know a manufacturer who will sell you one.
In their words, "Cost is comparable to luxury wall-hung WC, cistern, frame, basin, tap & all fittings but has added benefit of water-saving." Compelling?
But at £3,000 (including VAT) the price tag probably consigns this design to a luxury niche, meaning its overall water-saving contribution is minimal.
The reality is that the annual water cost of this idea is £140, whilst your water utility can provide you the same amount of water for around £14.
If you wish to save water then it is better to find a more effective way to do so. Avoiding water leakage, using a saver bag in an old toilet cistern, or remembering to use the half-flush feature on a normal toilet are all more likely to have a greater water-saving impact than this idea.
On the other hand if you want a beautiful toilet then I know a manufacturer who will sell you one.
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Long term thinking will help you to survive the freeze
Does it feel like minus 5 degrees C in late March? How mad is that? More seriously is this a climate trend that we might expect to recur; along with more extreme temperature swings? Does it follow also that we might get more cooler weather given our latitude in future years?
What we do know is that many of our homes were not built for these colder periods. Pre-1980 homes were built to lower insulation standards.
As a result of this simple fact, you may be finding that your utility bills are going literally through the roof, it feels hard to keep your home warm and wondering what to do about it?
Symptoms of poor insulation are not only high bills, but large swings in room temperature that you find hard to control leading to a feeling of poor comfort.
You can check yourself to see how poor your home is insulated by asking a few basic questions:
Qu 1: is your loft insulation less than 150mm, crushed or showing gaps?
Qu 2: do your external walls have internal or external insulation? They will sound hollow when tapped if they do?
Do you have wall cavities? Older homes are likely to have uninsulated wall cavities unless they have been treated. (If treated you will see a line of small holes low down along the outside walls )
Qu 3: are your windows single glazed, solid frames with no thermal breaks and draughty?
Qu 4: do you have suspended timber or concrete flooring? In older homes this will likely be uninsulated. If so, floor temperatures will drop as low as 5 to 8 deg C in winter and will feel cold to walk on barefoot, even if there is carpet.
So what should you do, if many of the above apply to your home?
There is no escaping the fact that you should improve your home insulation where you can, as this is tackling the root of your problem.
The benefits are two-fold.
- Of course it will reduce your bills, but the payback is still likely to be many years.
- As importantly, it will greatly improve the comfort of your home, making for a Happy Home. People who have insulated their home comment on how much better they feel. Room temperature swings are much less and temperature is easier to control leading to greater comfort. It is also better for the home itself, reducing condensation risk and the potential damage to woodwork.
So what are your solutions?
For Lofts: 300mm or more of loose roll is needed. Or where you have a room in the loft, a good quality 75mm or greater slab panel insulation on the underside of the rafters.
For Walls: insulate the cavity if there is one, or seriously consider internal or external insulation. It is not as hard as you think. Believe me. I have done it.
For Windows: get a quote from a FENSA-approved contractor. Modern uPVC will make a big difference to your comfort if you have old windows.
Hardest to treat in my view are ground floors. But not impossible, if you are planning a refurbishment, such as a new kitchen or extension. It is important that you don't miss such an opportunity to make this long term improvement. Planning is everything.
But it all costs money? Well the Green Deal is at hand with incentives and help. So shop around.
I will blog on some of these points in more detail later. In the meantime, let me know if this sparks any thoughts or questions that you would like me to answer.
domigo Happy Homes Club is here to help.
What we do know is that many of our homes were not built for these colder periods. Pre-1980 homes were built to lower insulation standards.
As a result of this simple fact, you may be finding that your utility bills are going literally through the roof, it feels hard to keep your home warm and wondering what to do about it?
Symptoms of poor insulation are not only high bills, but large swings in room temperature that you find hard to control leading to a feeling of poor comfort.
You can check yourself to see how poor your home is insulated by asking a few basic questions:
Qu 1: is your loft insulation less than 150mm, crushed or showing gaps?
Qu 2: do your external walls have internal or external insulation? They will sound hollow when tapped if they do?
Do you have wall cavities? Older homes are likely to have uninsulated wall cavities unless they have been treated. (If treated you will see a line of small holes low down along the outside walls )
Qu 3: are your windows single glazed, solid frames with no thermal breaks and draughty?
Qu 4: do you have suspended timber or concrete flooring? In older homes this will likely be uninsulated. If so, floor temperatures will drop as low as 5 to 8 deg C in winter and will feel cold to walk on barefoot, even if there is carpet.
So what should you do, if many of the above apply to your home?
There is no escaping the fact that you should improve your home insulation where you can, as this is tackling the root of your problem.
The benefits are two-fold.
- Of course it will reduce your bills, but the payback is still likely to be many years.
- As importantly, it will greatly improve the comfort of your home, making for a Happy Home. People who have insulated their home comment on how much better they feel. Room temperature swings are much less and temperature is easier to control leading to greater comfort. It is also better for the home itself, reducing condensation risk and the potential damage to woodwork.
So what are your solutions?
For Lofts: 300mm or more of loose roll is needed. Or where you have a room in the loft, a good quality 75mm or greater slab panel insulation on the underside of the rafters.
For Walls: insulate the cavity if there is one, or seriously consider internal or external insulation. It is not as hard as you think. Believe me. I have done it.
For Windows: get a quote from a FENSA-approved contractor. Modern uPVC will make a big difference to your comfort if you have old windows.
Hardest to treat in my view are ground floors. But not impossible, if you are planning a refurbishment, such as a new kitchen or extension. It is important that you don't miss such an opportunity to make this long term improvement. Planning is everything.
But it all costs money? Well the Green Deal is at hand with incentives and help. So shop around.
I will blog on some of these points in more detail later. In the meantime, let me know if this sparks any thoughts or questions that you would like me to answer.
domigo Happy Homes Club is here to help.
Saturday, 23 February 2013
UK energy supply is looking stretched
Outgoing chief executive of Ofgem, Alistair Buchanan, sparked a media discussion this month by stating that:
“It’s horrendous serendipity that just at the time we have a squeeze on our power station capacity and turn to gas, the global markets may have a squeeze on their LNG”
This led to headlines such as in the Daily Telegraph "UK's energy reserves 'on a downhill ride - fast" and the Sunday Times "Running on Empty". So we are heading for a power supply crunch and a spike in energy pricing.
The reasons are complicated and beyond the length of this blog to debate. However factors include:
- EU legislation requiring mothballing of coal power stations
- expiry of our existing nuclear power stations by the mid-2020's
- planning and local protests against and slowing new build capacity
- our increasing reliance upon imported gas; used in the splashily named 'dash for gas' gas-fired plants
- changes in energy policy
- costs associated with renewables and Green Deal measures.
The
solutions to this problem are pressing but not simple. Anyone telling you that
we can rely upon the abundance of shale gas, wave and wind, or nuclear probably fails to
understand the economics of energy and the time required to develop new
infrastructure in a mature economy. The solutions will be varied and, in my
view, depend upon ourselves as much as government and the energy companies.
There is significant distrust in UK energy suppliers, as highlighted within a recent uSwitch survey "half of consumers don't trust energy suppliers"
which suggests that consumers will need to rely at least in part upon their own initiative to manage their energy bills.
So what can we do?
In part much depends upon our changing our energy expectations and consumption behaviours.
The Green Deal is likely to require us to accept longer paybacks for conservation and improvement measures. And to think about conservation in non-monetary terms rather than how much money we can earn through such things as a solar tariff.
It will also require education regarding our consumption patterns and the changes that we might make in our daily lives that do not materially compromise our living standards and comfort but lead to more efficient home living.
What do you think?
Let me know if you what your thoughts areSunday, 10 February 2013
How to upgrade your gas meter
The regulated private gas industry has become fragmented from a consumer's standpoint. The grid pipeline and metering is managed by National Grid (Metering), but the consumer deals with the energy companies. There are wholesale gas suppliers and installing companies who sit within the supply chain. This means that you may see either one or a number of different companies in one transaction.
Question: how many companies does it take to move and upgrade a gas meter?
Answer: it all depends. (In my case the answer was three)
You may have an older diaphragm meter that reads in ft3, dating from the mid 90's. The gas companies are reluctant generally to change meters that are less than 20 years old. You may be offered a gas calibration check, but it is unlikely to be worth spending this money unless something is clearly wrong.
An older gas meter, such as the ones below, might last 30 years if it is refurbished.
I know of someone who had their meter moved two years ago, but the gas company installed a different ft3 refurbished meter dating from 1995, rather than install a new meter. This practice is accepted by OfGEM.
Contact your utility gas provider. They should be willing to do an exchange as a 'Customer Requested Change'. This should cost less than £100 including VAT and take 2 to 3 weeks. An installer will contact you and the charge gets added to your next
bill.
It is metric, with easy display dials. It can be easily remote monitored via a pulse output (reed switch insert), making it accessible to logging devices that are appearing.
In contrast the older meters (R5 U6) may or may not have an accessible reed switch, might have a silvered 0 on the lowest digit that can be read by an optical monitor, or alternatively may have no easy way to link to a remote monitor.
Diaphragm valves are generally reliable over long periods of time (unlike analogue electricity meters) so the benefits of a modern meter really come into their own in conjunction with a real-time monitoring unit.
How to install a secondary water meter
Purchase
a suitable water meter that has an integral reed switch for remote monitoring. It needs to be WRAS approved and is likely to be DN20 fitting to avoid restricting the
domestic supply.
Your selected meter should include a relay and cable connector. We
attach an example, which can be purchased online for less than £100 including VAT.
You will need to arrange
for a plumber to install the meter on your incoming supply. This is usually a
simple task that should not take longer than 1/2 hour. If you are feeling brave and competent enough then some people may do this installation themselves.
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