Thursday 22 November 2012

Energy saving tips

It is amazing how much energy some people waste! You would think in these days of high energy costs, everyone would be switching things off at every opportunity, and insulating everything in sight!

10 ideas for energy saving

1. Lights off when you don't need them! Same goes for the TV and other electrical appliances - one of the neighbours seems to leave the TV on all night!

2. Drive slower, I drive at about 60mph now on A roads and motorways, and now get about 550 miles to 50 litres of petrol (car is a 1.6l Scenic). The way you drive is also a factor, steady not zooming around from junction to lights etc

3. Turn the heating down - adjust the timer for the times you really need it, and turn down to 16 or 17 deg C, plenty warm enough apart from in really cold snaps. Heat the rooms you are in.

4. Close the curtains at dusk, make sure windows are shut when the heating is on.

5. Change energy supplier - I have just changed and will save about £100-150 a year all being well. Look at your energy use in cooking, electric rings stay hot for a while after switch off, food will still cook with the remaining heat, switch off the kettle before the end, it's boiling quite a bit before it switches off.

6. Look at your appliances and central heating - I went from a G rated back boiler to a A rated combi, most appliances are A or even A+ rated nowadays

7. Keep doors shut - retain the heat in the rooms. Make sure visitors do the same when they come in!

8. Look at renewables if you have the spare cash to invest, and can justify the payback time. User solar or wind up chargers for phones and radio etc.

9. Grow your own - better for you (if organic), better for the environment (massive food miles by supermarkets), buy local

10. Insulate - loft grants are still available, as are cavity wall ones. If you don't have cavity walls, put a layer of loft insulation on a bare wall, with wooden slats between the lengths, then tongue and groove panel over the top to give a nice insulated wall, and it stops damp as well on cold walls.

Above all, just think about what you do, and what you can do to save energy!

Long time, no blog!

It's been a while since I last posted, time seems to have gone so quickly. Now it's November and the allotment is going into shutdown mode (cue Windows (tm) chime...)

There are still plenty of parsnips growing, in fact there's two rows, one for eating and one for wine making, that's assuming I can get another demijohn, a sterilised bucket and all the other associated bits and bats before January. There's leeks as well but that's really about it apart from the fractal cauliflower (below) which, now picked, I am told tastes like broccoli.


So, much of the work has been digging over the ground ready for next year, though there's some winter broad beans gone in and some winter lettuce and cabbage. I have got some manure (a local farmer drops some off for the allotment holders to share each year), so that's around where the peas and beans will go, and I have mulched around some of the fruit trees. I need to stake out the pears as they are growing a lot now.