These days the powers that be (as well as all good citizens) are most concerned that we should cut down our use of fossil fuels, hence conserving a scarce natural resource and minimising carbon emissions. The most obvious way to do this is to put economic pressure on the motorist to use less fuel.
HOWEVER, very little seems to be done to persuade householders to use less fuel (i.e. heating oil) - and indeed, to use less heating generally, since about 75% (or so I am told) of the UK?s electricity is generated from the combustion of fossil fuels.
In my efforts to conserve fuel, I changed my driving habits in May, and have seen considerable improvement in the mileage that I am getting. I calculate that I am saving about 140 litres of fuel per year (over 14,000 miles.)
Coincidentally, a few years ago, we decided to conserve heating fuel by using our oil fired central heating less, and as a result, are saving about 1400 litres of fuel per year. The house is cooler (about 15 Celsius as I type), but it is easy enough to put on more layers.
The point is that it is easy to make huge fuel savings in homes - far more than in cars. And my house (rural detached old house in the Highlands) still uses twice as much fuel as my car.
What is the government doing about it? Well, public buildings are, almost invariably pretty warm. Our local High School is known for being stiflingly hot much of the time. There is huge potential for saving fuel and cutting emissions.
There seems to be an inconsistency here. When motoring fuel prices go up, environmentally conscious people believe that it is a ?good thing? because it forces us to be ?greener?. However, when heating fuel prices go up, we hear much agonising about ?fuel poverty?. Surely ?fuel poverty? is simply another way of saying ?people becoming more environmentally responsible because of economic pressures??
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Coincidentally a few years ago we decided to conserve heating fuel by using our oil fired central heating less and as a result are saving about 1400 litres of fuel per year.
The price of heating oil (it's 4 times what it was 5 years ago) ensures that we don't use anything more than the bare minimum.
Lucky you to be able to save 1400 litres per year ~ most years we use less than 1400 litres. Just you wait until you're retired and on a pension.
Edited by L'escargot on 01/10/2008 at 14:09
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Lucky you to be able to save 1400 litres per year ~ >>
If we had not cut down our use of central heating, we might well have been looking at bills for heating oil of approaching £3000 next year.
most years we use less than 1400 litres.
Ahh, but what is the ambient temperature in your shell? :-)
>>Just you wait until you're retired and on a pension.
It will all depend on how good the pension turns out to be! I know one gent locally who has no pension other than the basic one. He and his wife stopped running their central heating system completely last year. Other OAPs are better off than many working people.
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very little seems to be done to persuade householders to use less fuel (i.e. heating oil)
I'd guess the most-used fuel is gas - still fossil fuel, though. The Gov't has made the power companies cough up for cavity wall/loft insulation. It's a pity that cavity wall insulation doesn't help the people who have solid walled houses, though. Quite a lot is being done re. construction of new houses (as well as renovations) to help (although some requirements rankle).
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I know a geezer ... he was my neighbour when I lived up on the bodmin moor ... he's only a youngster (72) he's got no heating whatsoever and hasn't had any since he's lived in his un-converted Methodist chapel for over 12 years.
Dog.
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If you are in an area that permits the burning of wood to heat your home do as I have an install a dual fuelled stove.
You need dual fuel in case you run out of wood and you can then burn coal.
Initial outlay was £3000 (inc trailer, chain saw, log splitter, fire, flues & brickwork installation) I also had a 'smoke house' fitted in to the flue too.
So for two years I have not paid for the fuel that heats my home or the hot water other than in my time and costs to collect it.
I usually collect enough wood after spring (usually 5 or 6 weekends) and by July my log cabin is full with the wood collected drying out.
Evergreen woods are too hot though when they burn.
Just fortunate I live near to a very large coppice and I get on well with the land owner. Helps if you are friendly with a couple of the local farmers too- these always have wood available from fallen trees to old fencing.
Through the local coppice runs power lines (275kV) too so average of once a year the power company send in their machines to 'lop' the tree's right back.
Fallen or felled wood, so long as you have consent from the landowner, or it is common land it is allowed to be collected. However, even if dead and if it is standing you are not allowed (without the landowners consent) to fell it.
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If you are in an area that permits the burning of wood to heat your home do as I have .......
I can't imagine it's very environmentally (or neighbour!) friendly!
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I can't imagine it's very environmentally (or neighbour!) friendly!
When BP turn the 'flame' off at Saltend and the one at Immingham goes out as well as when the Americans stop using solid rocket boosters - then I will worry about what pollutants, carbon emissions etc., my couple of tons of burnt wood a year puts in to the air!
I have neighbours but we are all in the same boat being rural enough to the point that we understand each others needs.
Back to cars ----> Both of my cars run on LPG - how much greener do you want me to be?!!!
Yes, these new house energy rule thingies as mentioned. We had a letter some time this year advising us of pending visits by the local council.
My back up heating system is a gas fired combi dual flue'd balanced (whatever that means...) boiler fitted (Mmmmmm not fired it up for ages - job to do there!) so I do have a get out clause here!
So long as they don't look in the sheds outside...
...all that wood? Oh, it is there so the wild animals can winter over in it - Honest!
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I can't imagine it's very environmentally (or neighbour!) friendly!
On the contrary, wood burning stoves are very efficient and the fuel is renewable.
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"If you are in an area that permits the burning of wood to heat your home do as I have an install a dual fuelled stove"
I am told that modern wood-burning stoves are compliant with smokeless zones, owing to their very high efficiency level.
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The Govt. does provide information, its just that they are not very vocal about it:
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
Then there are the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), not having an impact yet, but they could in future. Currently part of the HIP required when selling your house, "to give buyers an idea of likely annual energy costs".
But the idea is that it will become mandatory for every home, and all commercial premises, to have an up to date certificate. Your home is inspected by an approved assessor and rated A-G for efficiency and also for CO2 output.
snipurl.com/3zohf [www_homeinformationpacks_gov_uk]
The Govt. will soon be required to report to the EU (every 5 years?) on the %age energy efficiency improvment of the UKs housing stock.
At a Building control seminar I attended, one speaker suggested the ratings will be used to help target grants for energy saving home improvements.
Another speakers suggestion, his own speculation, was that once every house has an EPC, at some point in the future the Govt. could abolish Council Tax and instead tax us based on energy efficiency of our homes (with its neat banding system, like road tax).??
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"I can't imagine it's very environmentally (or neighbour!) friendly! "
Burning wood is about as friendly as it gets - especially if it's only been carted a couple of miles. All the CO2 released is the CO2 that was trapped in the growing of the tree, so it's carbon neutral.
Since most chimneys are 20' or more above ground, there's no reason why the neighbour's washing should get dirty.
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Since most chimneys are 20' or more above ground there's no reason why the neighbour's washing should get dirty.
We live between two wood burning neighbours and many's the time we have to shut the windows to keep out the stench.
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we have to shut the windows to keep out the stench.
Wood is still green come too wet or is non deciduous if you are getting the stink.
This is really bad because you get tar & soot deposits build up. This (tar) is what ignites in chimney fires.
Ask them what they are burning and when was the last time they had Mr Sweep in?!
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>If you are in an area that permits the burning of wood to heat your home do as I have an install a dual fuelled stove.<
I envy you Tron - you live the life I truly desire!
Another m8 of mine (deceased) used to live in an isolated cottage on the bodmin moor, he never owned a motor vehicle in his 69 years, but he had an old rusty wheel barrow that we used to take out onto the moor and pick up dead wood, mostly gorse, to burn in his Rayburn ... it didn't do his flue a lotta good I might add.
I've been thinking for the past few years actually, of buying a plot somewhere and putting a log cabin (proper one) on there, complete with multi fuel cooker ... log cabin ... multi fuel burner - you must be as warm as holy ghost!
Dog.
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"Back to cars ----> Both of my cars run on LPG - how much greener do you want me to be?!!!"
I run my car on waste veg oil that I collect very locally. I think that's even greener than your LPG!
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Then there are the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) Your home is inspected by an approved
assessor and rated A-G for efficiency and also for CO2 output.Another speaker's suggestion (his own speculation) was that once every house has an EPC at some point in the future the Govt. could abolish Council Tax and instead tax us based on energy efficiency of our homes (with its neat banding system like road tax).??
Ingenious!
Yes, I can see it coming. Don't forget folks, you read it here first!
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">> we have to shut the windows to keep out the stench."
Agreed - the wood is unseasoned. If they were burning seasoned apple wood you'd be opening the window to let the smell in - lovely aroma!
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Govt. could abolish Council Tax and instead tax us based on energy efficiency of our homes
Sorry that last bit should have read:
"tax us based on energy efficiency and CO2 output of our homes".
Yes it seems highly plausible to me too..
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What is the government doing about it? Well public buildings are almost invariably pretty warm. Our local High School is known for being stiflingly hot much of the time. There is huge potential for saving fuel and cutting emissions.
The other day as I checked books out at the local library, the lady at the desk remarked how warm it was; on asking whether the heat could be turned down I was told "there is no heat on - unless it is really cold the lighting, PC's and the people in here seem to keep it warm without any heat".
I seem to remember the average human emits 80 to 100 watts, so I suppose 60 people + 20 PC's would be about 5 1/2 kilowatts and then there are lots of lights.
Can any heating engineers (or with better physics skills) confirm that this may be why so many shops and other public buildings are so warm?
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Down near Freiburg they're very proud of their new super-effeicient housing developments.
I read one article (in the Deutsch Bahn train mag I think) that said you could heat the house with the equivalent of 6 candles-worth of power.
Apparently if you have people over for a dinner party you have to open the windows, the house gets too hot.
No wonder the Germans are so unsociable (joke)
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I think houses will be the future green tax depending upon how energy efficient they are - which is a BIG problem for the majority of Britain's ageing Victorian and Edwardian houses which often are single skin brick build construction and very inefficient heat wise.
I am renting at the moment - a new house which is cheap to heat - and when I buy in the next year or two it will be a new build house because I do think that big taxes are coming on houses in the years ahead.
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I seem to remember the average human emits 80 to 100 watts
I'm not a heating engineer but figures from CIBSE are as follows:
"Average values of heat output for an adult are:
basic metabolic rate ? 60-90 W
sedentary office work ? 110-130 W
light bench work ? 140-160 W
heavy factory work ? 200-300 W
walking at 3 mph ? 300 W
very heavy work ? 500-750 W."
At university our lecture theatres only used to be heated on the coldest days in winter, for the same reason.
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It may surprise some how much difference changing a few habits can make:
* Shutting doors
* Keeping all unoccupied rooms shut and unheated
* Heavy-duty curtains
* Draught excluders on doors
* Wearing woollies
* Turning the central thermostat down
* Recognizing that the south-facing side of your house will always be distinctly warmer than the north-facing side and, within reason, adjusting your habits accordingly.
All this before structural insulation, etc., which itself is not without risks (see Jeff Howell's site and column in the Sunday Telegraph), payback periods aside.
Back to motoring . . . if there really were a nationwide drive in this direction, the environmental impact would surely be greater than almost anything you can do with vehicles, short of ceasing to use them.
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We live in a draughty old place - we use oil, we've cut down though this year by putting the hot water on a timer (it used to be on 24/7) - Mrs P is actively researching geothermal heating as a supplemental supply, this may come off if we stay here (which is likely). In fairness to HMG they are promoting insulation - I have, as part of another interest, visited some new build Housing Association houses, the level of work that now goes into homes to save fuel (note not making them "greener") is phenomenal - I visited one site where together with solar heating, ultra efficient insulation and geothermals you're looking at around a £100.00 a year to heat.....!
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"I visited one site where together with solar heating, ultra efficient insulation and geothermals you're looking at around a £100.00 a year to heat.....! "
A local rugby club has just had a new clubhouse built which uses ground source heat pumps and other energy saving devices. Despite being on two storeys having a bar large enough for a 500 person sit down function, 10 changing rooms, over 100 hot showers, gym and various other offices they expect the running costs on energy to be half the cost of an average 3 bed semi detached.
With the alternatives available there's now no reason for any new build house to have a wet central heating system.
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Interesting thoughts, but to me it all seems a little academic. Does anybody else find that their home energy costs are dwarfed by their car fuel costs? I, like many people I expect, am more motivated by saving money than saving fuels. How enthusiatic would you be for any of the ideas in this thread if they all cost *more* money?
My car fuel bill is 8 to 10 times the size of my home energy bill each month. Any changes I might make to my home energy costs are lost in the noise compared to changes I can make to car fuel costs. Admittedly, there's just the two of us - I don't have a family, and by all accounts fmailies are pretty energy intensive things, but I'm not the only one. For me, home energy efficiency savings hardly register on the scale of "most important bills to optimise". One thing that would raise it higher up my list of priorities I suppose would be if home energy were taxed to the same extent as petrol and diesel, which is a scary thought.
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"My car fuel bill is 8 to 10 times the size of my home energy bill each month. "
tinyurl.com/4dtudx (in The Telegraph) says that the average annual is now (and the article was written in Jan 08) £1,000 pa. Are you using £8,000 of fuel pa (which could be about 50,000 miles pa) or do you have a relatively small fuel bill?
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tinyurl.com/4dtudx (in The Telegraph) says that the average annual is now (and the article was written in Jan 08) £1 000 pa. Are you using £8 000 of fuel pa (which could be about 50 000 miles pa) or do you have a relatively small fuel bill?
By the looks of it I guess I have a below average home fuel bill then, although I didn't realise it was by quite that much. And some of my mileage is done in the weekend car, which wasn't exactly chose for economy. I know I'm not up at the top of the list in terms of home fuel use, with no family and both of us out all day most of the time, but I'm sure I'm not unique. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people coming up with ideas for saving energy, but for me, and if my assumption is correct then for other people too, the car outweighs the house by quite a lot and so I can easily wipe out significant home savings with a bit of lead-footed driving.
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