Standby solutions save you energy
Leaving devices on standby – instead of switching them off – wastes energy and costs you money, but it’s a habit that many of us have fallen into. The Bye Bye Standby Energy Saving Kit is aimed at reducing your energy bills and your carbon footprint by simply cutting the power to devices that are plugged into it when they are not in use. The device is easy to use – simply plug a Bye Bye Standby Smart Socket into a mains wall switch and plug your electrical appliance such as a DVD, TV, stereo or TV into it. You then just make sure your remote control (included in the pack) is set to the same ‘house code’ as the Smart Socket and you can switch off your devices from up to 30m away. Working on the same principle, the Intellipanel for desktop computers allows you to plug your PC into the master socket and all peripherals into the other socket, so that when you power down your computer, power to the peripherals is cut at the same time. There is also an Intellipanel for laptops available. Another smart eco-solution – designed for both PCs and laptops – is the Ecobutton. Pressing this clever little device puts your computer into energy saving ‘eco mode’, saving you energy – and when you want to start working again, you simply press the Ecobutton and your PC or laptop is reactivated at exactly where you left off! With all of us worrying more about energy bills, as well as our carbon footprint, these standby solutions offer an easy and eco-friendly way to save energy and money.
Upgrade to a greener wash with Whirlpool Aquasteam
Washing clothes is a fairly energy-intensive and water-intensive process, but there are ways of making your wash greener. One of the most important is to select the right machine. Many modern washing machines come with a range of eco-friendly options aimed at lowering the eco-impact of your laundry. Take for example the Whirlpool Aquasteam.
This Whirlpool Aquasteam washing machine comes with an energy rating of A+, showing that it has exceeded the highest assigned energy rating standards (the scale, aimed at helping consumers choose more energy efficient products, runs from A down to G). It also offers a selection of eco-friendly options.
One of these is a variable temperature setting – so you can wash clothes on cooler settings, which not only saves energy but – as many garments are now designed to be washed at 30 degrees or lower – can also extend the life of clothes, thereby cutting waste even further.
The Whirlpool Aquasteam also has a half-load function, allowing you to wash with less water, again saving energy and reducing water usage. A quick wash setting similarly allows you to save the amount of energy you use. Over time, these can add up to significant savings – both of energy and money!
Even better, many retailers offer a recycling service, where for a small charge they will remove your old appliance for recycling when they deliver your new machine. This allows you to upgrade to a better, more eco-efficient model, without worrying that in doing so you are simply creating more waste for landfill.
First published 4 October 2009. Please note that blog posts remain live, and any offers or information may no longer be current when you view this page.
The Aladdin Auto-Bleeding Radiator Vent
Many eco-friendly products are designed to improve existing technologies that are not in themselves all that good for the environment. This is where environmental awareness meets everyday practicality, as it would be uneconomical to replace everything that is not environmentally inefficient with eco-friendly alternatives or substitutes. Of course, in an ideal world there would be virtually no carbon emissions brought about by human activity, but it is fair to say that mankind is neither at this stage nor anywhere close to it. Thus, making improvements on existing technology is sometimes the best cure, at least for the time being.
The Aladdin Auto-Bleeding Radiator Vent is one such eco-friendly product that serves to reduce environmental inefficiency. The device itself is nothing special to look at and, contrary to its name, this is no genie in a lamp. Nevertheless, a genie-like effect could be produced by using the Aladdin vent, as it aims to solve the frequently occurring problem of trapped air in radiators. Indeed, radiator cold zones are common in domestic central heating systems and they can reduce the efficiency of radiators by as much as 60%. Obviously, if radiators are performing inadequately then people tend to turn up the thermostat before they considering manually bleeding each radiator, which can be an awkward task. Fixing onto the side of radiators and costing a little over £10 per unit in most retail outlets, the Aladdin Auto-Bleeding Vent is designed to automatically regulate the air pressure in radiators. In fact, the Aladdin vent will continually bleed the radiator whenever cold zones emerge, so equipped radiators ought to run at their optimal efficiency for longer.
Cut down on your waste and your energy bills with a Log Maker
The latest gadget for those who have a slow-combustion stove or wood burner, is a newspaper Log Maker. This fantastic eco product, retailing at under £20, could provide you with an hour’s worth of heat, per newspaper!
Not for the faint hearted, or more specifically, those afraid of putting in some effort, the Log Maker is a superb way to recycle your old newspapers to generate heat for your home, in an environmentally friendly way. Yes, of course burning paper does release some Carbon Dioxide, but let’s face it, it is going to be a much smaller footprint than having logs imported from some far flung country! (Or maybe even driving to your local Log Supplier!).
The Log Maker works as such – get around twelve newspapers, tear into strips, put them in a big bucket (or bin), mix with water and leave for two days. Stir occasionally! Then, when it is all a nice pulpy mess, fill the log maker with the pulp, let the excess water drain out, then hey presto, you have a log. Well, sort of. They need about a week to dry off sufficiently (obviously, they will dry out quicker in the sunshine). Mixed with conventional fire fillings (i.e. wood logs), these Newspaper Logs should burn for around one hour each. They solve the problem of what to do with your old newspapers (and your neighbours and friends papers as well!) and they should help save you money, whilst doing your bit to save the environment.
Monitoring Home Electricity Usage the Easy Way
If there are two things the average home energy user has learned during the past few years, it is that the Earth needs saving and nobody (except high-profile bankers) has any money. Environmental concerns are growing more pressing as the effects of global warming have already begun to take their toll on the climate, whilst the credit crunch and recession have picked from many a pocket. However, the point of saving the planet is an unfortunate misconception, as Earth will no doubt survive the damaging legacy of industrialized humanity. In fact, it is humanity itself that is at risk of being destroyed. Notwithstanding this, consumers are still fairly sceptical about greener forms of energy because of the increased cost that is associated with them.
Nevertheless, consumers ought to appreciate that green energy is the way of the future. In fact, it is the way of the present, too, as many of the predicted effects of global warming are transpiring earlier than
anticipated. Therefore, switching to green energy is important for everybody, although the financial concerns ought not to be discounted entirely. Indeed, in a world in which fuel poverty has become a social norm, there is every reason to think carefully about energy costs.
The Maplin Electricity Monitoring Meter, which is available for under £30, enables customers to monitor their electricity consumption by simply clamping the device around a mains cable. With a capacity to store data for 2 years, the Maplin device is perfect for assessing the energy usage of all appliances in the home – even those on standby.
Monitor & Conserve Home Energy
Environmentally aware folks understand the importance of doing their bit on a daily basis. That does not necessarily mean attending save the planet concerts, being chained to trees or protesting outside Downing Street, as being kind to the planet is something that can start at home. Moreover, if everybody did their bit to waste less energy, increase recycling and reduce their carbon footprint, the planet would be in a much better condition. Furthermore, an eco-friendly way of life will usually double up as financially rewarding.
However, aiming to reduce the energy consumption of a household is not entirely as easy as the Government would have you believe. Whilst turning off standby buttons on frequently used domestic electrical appliances such as televisions, computers, DVD players, Sky boxes and hi-fi equipment undoubtedly saves electricity, it is unclear precisely how much. Indeed, it is actually very difficult to keep track of electrical consumption despite the fact that energy bills usually provide a breakdown of usage. However, this breakdown is invariably lacking in detail and it can, therefore, be entirely useless in helping individual consumers understand their usage trends.
This is where the Wattson Energy Meter steps in to save the day. It allows home energy consumers to view their electricity usage in real time, by displaying energy usage numerically and graphically. This makes the Wattson Energy Meter ideal for viewing exactly how much electricity is being consumed at a given time, and enables consumers to objectively assess how and where savings can be made. Furthermore, the meter provides 4 weeks of downloadable usage history, so trends can be monitored constantly over the year.
