Energy Efficiency

1. Turn down your central heating by 1°C

It could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. If you feel it’s too cold, just pop on an extra layer of clothing like a T shirt under a shirt or a jumper or cardigan. 

 2. Don’t leave appliances on standby
How often do you leave the TV on standby when you go to bed? That TV, DVD player, HiFi, video recorder are all munching electricity - so turn them off.

3. Unplug mobile phone chargers
It’s handy to leave your mobile phone charger plugged into the wall, but if its switched on even without the phone attached it will be using electricity.

4. Set your hot water to 60°C
For most people, setting the cylinder thermostat at 60°C/140°F is fine for bathing and washing.

5. Don’t overfill your kettle
It’s easy to over fill a kettle, but try and only boil the amount of water you need (Always remember to ensure you boil the minimum amount for the safe use of the kettle - see your kettle’s user guide if in doubt).

6. Turn off lights when you leave the room
Always turn lights off when you leave a room and adjust your curtains or blinds to let in as much light as possible during the day.

7. Use economy mode on the dishwasher and 30°C to wash your clothes
Try and use low temperature programmes, and ensure you wash full loads.

8. Draw the curtains
Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows - even in rooms you’re not using.

9. Take a shower not a bath
Water requires a lot of energy to heat it up, and a typical shower uses just 20% of the hot water a bath uses.

10. Put a plug in it!
Always put the plug in your basin or sink. Leaving hot water taps running with it removed is akin to washing money down the plughole.

Read other Useful Articles

“within ten years every new home will be a zero-carbon home“
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister.

If we are to achieve a truly sustainable future and halt the effects of global warming there must be a move towards zero carbon housing – that is homes which do not contribute to global warming because they do not emit any CO₂.

In 2007, Gordon Brown announced the Government’s intention to move towards zero carbon housing by 2016 and as an added incentive waived stamp duty for all zero carbon homes under £500,000.

The Code for Sustainable homes has been developed in conjunction with the Government and the building industry and provides a road map to get there by 2016.

Zero carbon homes include a range of energy efficiency measures from thicker insulation to water conservation, renewable energy generation from photovoltaic cells and solar hot water to more efficient appliances and ventilation systems.

Cut energy demand by 20% with Insulation

Buy Loft insulation with Earthwool

The government should make insulation compulsory to cut UK energy usage by 20 per cent, according to a specialist.

Achieving a 20 per cent reduction in the UK’s energy consumption will require the government to legislate for insulation to be installed in all homes, according to a renewable energy specialist.

Angela Gallacher’s comments follow the recommendations from the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union for energy consumption to be cut by 20 per cent in order to meet renewables targets.

Noting that the UK is far from meeting the target of generating 15 per cent of energy from renewables, the committee urged renewable generation to be accompanied by attempts to reduce energy use through “aggressive demand reduction policies”.

The report pointed out that 41 per cent of the UK’s energy use goes on heating and cooling.

Ms Gallacher, of the Renewable Energy Centre, said that the reduction target could be met provided the government implemented legislation.

She said: “The government needs to legislate about loft and cavity wall insulation, ensuring that every household in the UK, by law, has to have these measures put in place. This will not only reduce the demand for energy but also help to reduce the carbon footprint UK wide.”

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldeucom/175/17505.htm#a1

1. Insulation

The Prime Minister said one way to tackle unemployment and climate change at the same time was to train people to install loft insulation.

He said: “We are training large numbers of additional people to do that work in insulation and that will become one of the unemployment programmes that will grow over the next period of time. So the need to meet climate change goals and cut people’s gas and electricity bills will create work.”

2. “Green” credentials.

Gordon Brown ended the freeze on fuel duty and doubled the tax for air travellers as he sought to establish his “green” credentials.

Delivering his 10th - and almost certainly his last - Pre-Budget Report, Mr Brown promised that the extra funds raised would be used to fund the Government’s priorities such as public transport.

3. Green incentives

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised China £50 million in aid for “green” technology as he seeks to switch the focus of his visit to the country to climate change.

The Prime Minister has promised at least that sum will be handed out to support investment in energy efficiency, so-called “clean coal” and carbon capture in the booming Chinese economy.

Green Energy Plan

A new £100 billion green energy strategy is a huge opportunity for investment and creating new jobs in Britain, Gordon Brown said.

The Prime Minister described the programme to boost renewable energy such as wind and slash carbon emissions as a “green revolution in the making.”

Speaking at a Low Carbon Economy Summit in London today he said the scheme would secure energy supply, tackle climate change and form the “basis of future prosperity for our country.”

No stamp duey on Green Homes

Green homebuyers who opt for zero carbon homes will be exempt from stamp duty from next year.

Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced an ambitious plan to make Britain the first country in the world where every new property was a zero carbon home within a decade.

The Government has been warned that unemployment could spiral to three million after the biggest jobless rise since 1991 left 1.79 million people looking for work.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to do all he could to keep people in jobs, pointing out that unemployment was higher in America, Germany, France and Italy than in Britain.  

The Prime Minister said one way to tackle unemployment and climate change at the same time was to train people to install loft insulation.

He said: “We are training large numbers of additional people to do that work in insulation and that will become one of the unemployment programmes that will grow over the next period of time. So the need to meet climate change goals and cut people’s gas and electricity bills will create work.”

” Mr brown you are becoming so much gree now

Here I am taking initative and giving you a website that can help you DIY loft Insulation by yourself.

• http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk/diy-installation.htm (step by step guide)
• http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk/installation-video.htm (installation Video)
• http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk/how-much-insulation-do-i-need.htm (step by step guide)
• http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk/diy-insulation-products.htm (learn about insulation products)

BBC News

An extra 250,000 UK households will benefit from the government’s cut-price insulation scheme this year, an industry body has said.

The National Insulation Association said the annual number of homes it can work on would increase to 1.5 million.

But the extra capacity will see less than 2% of the 15 million eligible homes insulated.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week announced free or half-price insulation for all homes.

It was part of a £910m package to combat soaring fuel bills.

Average household electricity bills are expected to increase to more than £500 per year by 2010, and gas bills to around £900.

Other measures in the package included an increase in cold weather payments from £8.50 to £25 per week and a freeze on fuel bills for 500,000 poorer households.

Loft and cavity wall insulation should save households around £275 per year.

Some pensioners and low-income families qualify to have the work done free, while all households can expect a 50% reduction in the cost.

The government made clear the measures were part of a long-term strategy but many people have been frustrated at the length of time it will take to get the work done.

The industry initially said it only had capability to insulate 150,000 homes this winter but now says it can increase that number.

Neil Marshall, chief executive of the National Insulation Association, told BBC Breakfast it was important for people to get their applications in quickly.

“The quicker people contact us or their energy suppliers, the quicker they can get their work done,” he said.

Under fire

Last week, Mr Brown came under fire for announcing that all pensioners would get the free insulation.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesman later clarified that only those over 70 and some on benefits were eligible. Discounts are available for others.

Defra expects the work to be completed by 2020.

news source: Guardian

Gordon Brown’s long awaited measures to help people struggling with soaring gas and electricity bills may have been derided as a bit of damp squib, but at least there are grants out there to help you insulate your home.

At the heart of the scheme is the plan to restore funding to the existing grants scheme - the government’s flagship Warm Front programme, which suffered a £83m-a-year cut to its budget last November. The government restored £34m a year and this week’s plan will now see each of the big six energy companies contribute an extra £50m a year to fund home improvements.

The package’s key points are:

· If you are 70 or over, earn less than £15,460, and receive one of a number of benefits, your power company will pay for cavity wall and loft insulation. Contact your power firm to confirm your eligibility.

· For the first time the power firms will be “encouraged” to top up existing loft insulation for the most vulnerable, although this is not mandatory.

· The power firm will also offer to pay 50% of the cost of loft and cavity wall insulation for all other households regardless of income.

· On top of the help offered directly by the power firms, Warm Front is still offering grants to help the over 70s and to those on benefits of up to £2,700 to install a new central heating boiler. Critics of the plan claimed that figure should have been raised to cover the entire cost of a new boiler. Anyone aged 65-70 will still receive £300.

· Cold weather payments, triggered after seven consecutive days of temperature below 0C, have been increased from £8.50 a week to £25 for pensioners, disabled people and unemployed families with children under five.

· The government has ordered a freeze on this year’s bills for the 600,000 poorest consumers and promised action to end the financial discrimination suffered by the those forced to use prepayment meters.

Within hours of the announcement phone lines to Warm Front (0800 316 2805) and the government’s helpline (0800 512 012) were jammed by consumers keen to know if they would benefit from the measures.

Ministers said the government’s aim is to insulate of all Britain’s homes, where practical, by 2020.

However, critics seized upon the plan as devoid of “ambition”.

Friends of the Earth pointed to the fact that these measures are likely offer little for the third of all homes that are classified as hard to improve with cheap energy measures.

Age Concern, which last year received 5,000 complaints about Warm Front, said yesterday’s measures did little for the poorest groups who apply for a grant for a new boiler but are forced to drop out because they can’t afford the extra £200-£2,000 demanded by the installer.

For more information on Insulation visit http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk and http://www.earthwool.co.uk

news source: timesonline

The biggest beneficiaries of Gordon Brown’s energy measures look set to be loft laggers, double-glazing installers and other home-insulation specialists. The package offers the prospect of windfalls for the tradesmen and companies that make a living in this growing sector.

But it is a godsend, too, for the poorest households who will have the work done free. The better-off, who may have to contribute, will benefit from lower heating bills.

Loft insulation is a good starting point. It prevents 15 per cent of heat loss through the roof, by trapping heat inside the house. A 270mm layer of insulation costs £500 to install but average savings are £155 a year. DIY insulation costs about £250, with payback after two years.

Insulating cavity walls can save one third of heat loss from a home and reduce bills by 15 per cent or £120 a year. Only homes built after about 1920, however, were constructed with two layers and a cavity. Installation costs are about £500 and payback takes about four years. Older houses can be fitted with solid insulation: either a weatherproof extra external wall or an extra layer of plasterboard inside. External work is expensive. The average cost for insulating a three-bedroomed semi is £4,500. Annual savings will be about £380, so it takes 12 years before payback. Internal insulation works out at about £42 a metre, saving £360 a year.

Double glazing is not to everyone’s taste but can cut heat loss from a room by 50 per cent. Costs vary from £300 to £1,000 a window depending on size. Experts advise starting with windows in rooms that are most expensive to heat. Savings are about £110 a year.

For more information on Loft and Cavity Wall Insulation visit http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk

news source : thisislondon

Every household in Britain is to be offered cheap deals on a range of measures to save energy and cut fuel bills.

Pensioners and the poorest families will have wider access to free loft and wall insulation, draught-proofing, heating systems and double-glazing.

And, in a surprise move, Gordon Brown will also announce today that discounts will be available to any homeowners who wish to apply, regardless of income.

Ministers have secured an extra £800million for energy efficiency measures from the ‘big six’ power giants in return for not hitting them with a windfall tax.

The package will focus on two existing programmes - Warm Front, where pensioners and those on some benefits can get heating and insulation improvements, and the carbon emissions reduction target (CERT), where utility firms pay towards energy-saving schemes in homes.

Around four million poorest households will be eligible for free loft and cavity wall insulation, modern central heating systems and lagging for hot water tanks.

Almost 20million more will be able to claim discounts for the same measures and also receive items such as cheap energy efficient lightbulbs. Grants would not be meanstested, sources said last night.

The major energy suppliers - Centrica, EDF, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern, E.ON and npower - have agreed to increase their contributions to the CERT scheme by 20 per cent over the next three years. There may also be cash from power generators Drax, British Energy and International Power for the first time.

Mr Brown insisted yesterday that the measures would give people the chance to cut their bills every year rather than one-off help for this winter.

But his £1billion package - part of an autumn fightback - sparked renewed demands for immediate cash help for the worst off and union calls for price caps.

Joe Harris, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said: ‘Energy efficiency schemes won’t help them pay their bills this month and neither will they prevent over 20,000 pensioners dying from the cold this winter.’

Kate Green, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: ‘The immediate crisis is in family pockets, not wall cavities.

For more information on Loft and Cavity Wall Insulation visit http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk

PARIS (AFP) - France will offer interest-free loans from next January 1 to encourage energy efficiency in the home, government sources said on Tuesday.

The loans can be used for thermal insulation and heating systems, with a ceiling of 30,000 euros (43,500 dollars), ecology ministry officials said, confirming a report in the financial daily Les Echos.

The measure, whose details have yet to be hammered out, is the latest in a series of initiatives by France to lower its bill for imported energy and its emissions of greenhouse gases.

Previous moves include a bonus system for cars in which taxes are increased or lowered according to the vehicle’s carbon pollution. The system is shortly to be extended to televisions, light bulbs and other household gadgets.

France already offers tax credits of up to 50 percent on the price of new-generation boilers and double-glazing.

For the zero-interest loan, a homeowner would need to apply to a bank for the money needed for the work and reimburse the sum over seven or eight years. The government will pay the bank the interest due on the loan.

At Thinkinsulation you can request for a survey and quote by calling them at 08700 612 216 or by visiting their website http://www.thinkinsulation.co.uk.