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How much do you spend on heat and power?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 26th January 2009 at 10:42 am
Gas and electricity bills gobble up a significant chunk of income for most of us, but do you know how much you're spending week to week? I didn't, until a few months ago, when I discovered imeasure. By just putting a weekly reading into the site, I can find out how much I spent last week on gas…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Support for solar hot water in Warwick
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th May 2009 at 10:18 am
Doubling the number of solar hot water systems installed homes in Warwick District is the aim of a great new project to support homeowners. The Solar 300 Challenge was launched last week by Action 21, a social enterprise which helps people live more sustainably. Their aim is to encourage more p…
Posted in: General, Solar heat & hot water
Insulation is free for everyone in Kirklees
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th June 2009 at 11:37 am
You don’t read much that’s complementary about our elected representatives at the moment but at last week’s Ashden Awards I met a councillor for whom I have enormous admiration. As leader of Kirklees Council, Councillor Kath Pinnock persuaded her fellow councillors to invest £9m in Kirklees W…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
The case for secondary double glazing
Posted by Tim Pullen on 21st August 2009 at 12:08 pm
I recently helped a lady refurbishing a typical 1960s three-bedroom semi with energy efficiency issues. A quick heat loss calculation gave a peak heat load of 8.5kW which should have equated to a use of about 10,000kWh of gas per year. Her actual gas consumption was 15,000kWh p.a. which was used…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Warm homes, greener homes: the government's vision for 2020
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 3rd March 2010 at 9:32 pm
Reduced energy use, savings on energy bills and more comfortable homes in cold weather are the benefits claimed by government of its household energy management strategy, Warm Homes, Greener Homes launched on Tuesday at Ecobuild by Ed Miliband. Its aims are that: Every home, where practic…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
How much loft insulation is enough?
Posted by Tim Pullen on 19th April 2010 at 10:22 am
Everyone understands the need to insulate the loft but few people know how much is enough. The loft is second only to the walls in terms of the proportion of the heat lost at 25%, but it is by far the easiest to deal with. I often get told that the house is “super-insulated” as …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Insulation is king - part 2
Posted by Tim Pullen on 3rd April 2009 at 8:20 am
A question I am often asked at exhibition seminars is should cavity walls have cavity wall insulation. Almost invariably the answer is yes. The typical cavity is 50mm (2 inches) wide and 50mm of foam insulation will reduce the heat loss through the wall by around 75%. As 35 per cent of the total hea…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Keep warm; spend less
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 24th October 2011 at 5:28 am
Being cold is miserable. Yet, as energy prices rocket, lots of people will be cold this winter. The dominant narrative about how to get round this focuses on knocking the big six energy companies, and urges us to swap supplier to find a lower price. While I don't argue with this, it's also a grea…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
DIY double glazing solves chills in a Victorian semi
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th December 2011 at 9:33 am
'My wife and I moved into our new home with baby and toddler in tow some six years ago,' writes Dan Saniaszek. 'I say “new”, but in reality it was a late Victorian semi. Thankfully, not a draughty and cold horror story, but still a long way from being energy efficient. Over the years…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Secondary glazing for sash windows cuts cost and increases comfort (Revised)
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st December 2011 at 2:50 pm
Winner of our Keep Warm: Spend Less competition 'I bought my existing house in 2009 and, although the walls had been well insulated in 1994 by the developer with 100mm expanded polystyrene fitted between the studs, there were improvements that could be made,' writes Brian John Griffiths, o…
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Act now: insulation will never be so cheap again
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 19th January 2012 at 9:03 am
Loft and cavity wall insulation have been heavily subsidised for years now, but this year, the carbon emission reduction scheme (CERT) comes to an end, to be replaced by a loan scheme (the green deal). Insulation is the number one thing that will make your house warmer and more comfortable - and red…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
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