By: Insulag

Insulag — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:35:03 +0000

Justin, I think the main difference is the climate here in the UK. Due to America’s size the climate varies from state to state as I understand it, but in the UK whilst solar and alternative energy sources are becoming more popular, the ROI I would imagine is longer. Whilst I think the figures above are probably sensationalised, I can also believe they may not be far off the mark. I house share with a friend in a small, relatively modern home and our energy bill is not far off £1,000 a year now – maybe energy prices in California are comparatively lower?
I work for a company that sells insulation of various kinds, I also happen to know several people who sit on the committee that writes the British Standards. An awful lot of homes in the UK are still very poorly insulated and this needs to change. Newly built homes are beginning to address this problem, but there are still a significant number of homes in the UK where there is less than 100mm of insulation.
The other fact is solar systems cost thousands of pounds in the UK, insulating your home can be done for a lot less. We live in a fairly low temperature climate, keeping heat in is a fairly natural place to start the energy efficiency efforts.

By: justin carlson

justin carlson — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:21:40 +0000

I don’t agree. While prices are rising the cost of utilizing energy effecient products and alternitave energy sources that are now available for the average customer how could anybody pay anything close to that. I am in the industry and there are many great products, and yes insulation is one of them but there is a point there also where the return on invewstment is not there as well. What I have seen as the largest problem with the industry is the sales approach and the salesman. There are people out there selling things way past there effective use. How much insulation can you use in your current climate before you are wasting money? The problem is that there is no one size fits all solution so you need to meet with a processional and address the issues that each building has and treat the major deficiencies first. I live in Palm Springs Ca. solar is an excellent solution, however if I lived in Seattle although it is still a good solution the return on investment would be 30 to 50% longer. Solar attic fans are great here for those who have attics with AC equipment. the temp is regularly over 170 F and way over that. Then I read about a person saying that they are a scam??? I thought what? well they live in the mountains above Denver Colorado and their house is mostly shaded from noon on. whoever sold them that item should be ashamed of themselves and whipped. There are plenty of other issues that could have been addressed for the same money. Insulation would have been a great place to start, maybe windows, or power factor correction device. I can save almost anybody 50% on their utility bills with a cost that is resonable. within 5 years at least. and I can save 20 to 30% with a payback of less than 3 years. These are very easy numbers to achieve here in my local climate, during the summer I have saved customers 30% on their summer electric bill and the cost was less than 4 months savings! They were saving almost 300 a month. and their bill was only 915.00! There are many, many cost effective energy solutions out there find your local consultant. DONT rely on the salesman that comes to your door. If you do ask him not for some figures like I just gave but ask what you can expect to save. There are always exceptional cases like the one I just gave it is a true case but I could never claim to save the next guy the same amount based on a similar job. Find an industry professional who represents more than just one or two products. Then make sure that if they say that they are going to do a survey or make a report ask for a copy of it. EVERY reputable consulting company leaves a copy of their findings.

Comments on: The average household energy bill could nudge £5,000 a year by 2020

By: Insulag

By: justin carlson