Green Houses

While cutting the carbon emissions of big industry may be a priority, it is still sometimes good to know that across the world changes are being made to ensure that the average household can do their bit to reduce energy bills and switch to cleaner renewable sources. There is no global blueprint in this respect, but perhaps by looking at the bills, legislation and habits of different countries we can pick up a few ideas to make sure our homes are as green as possible;

                                                                                     Photo Credit: Filomena Scalise

Homestar Energy/Cash for Caulkers (USA)
This proposed $6 billion plan to retrofit existing houses so that they are more energy efficient, saving money on utility bills and creating new jobs, is intended not just to reduce the emissions of the average household, but also to stimulate the economy at a time of recession. Renovations and changes on offer include wall insulation, window replacement and geothermal pump installation. For more information on who and what qualifies, check out this article by Neal Huston, giving a more detailed breakdown.

ISIS Solar (England)
Following the recent introduction of the Feed In Tariff, ISIS Solar now offers home owners with a clear southern facing roof, the chance to have solar panels installed and maintained free of charge. On the agreement that the owner commits to a 25 year placement of ISIS equipment, they could benefit from reduced energy bills of up to £300 a year.

Scandinavian Homes Ltd (Republic of Ireland)
Galway based company, taking inspiration from Swedish property design techniques and traditions, Scandinavian Homes build new houses with an emphasis on energy-efficiency . High levels of insulation and an airtight building envelope, in addition to ventilated heat-recovery systems and triple glazed, low-emission-argon filled glass, are employed to ensure that homes are kitted out to be low energy users and heat retainers from the start. Since 1991 the company has built 265 homes with this design ethos in mind.

Goodbye Standby

No matter how resourceful you are, there are times when you need to buy new. For me this can mean shopping around to see if I can upgrade some of my defunked equipment to something a little more energy saving, or if it's something I've never had to buy before, ensuring that the make or model I pick out is as Eco friendly as possible. With the wee man on the verge of walking and exercising his right to grab, pull, shake and destroy everything that dares to get in his way, we've had to start thinking hard about how we manage space and protect our stuff from his wrath.

As I've mentioned before my husband is quite the hoarder, and while sometimes I speculate as to why a 31 year old man might have a fledgling collection of tradition dripping pots, his mountain of second hand stuff does come in handy sometimes. For example the Beef dripping pot now holds our toothbrushes and we're never at a loss for various things to keep other things in. One area though where we've had to get something new is for our wires and electrical equipment, the toy de jour for my son (what is it with wires that make them such an attractive play thing?).

Now we're not really a gadget ridden household, but like most people we have a TV, computer and what I suppose you could class as our one indulgence, the Nintendo Wii (bought with the Wii fit in an attempt to shift the last of my baby weight). So in one of our recent attempts at re-organising we've bought some wire tidies and have introduced an Energenie Multi Plug Automatic Standby Shutdown. These are great things to have in the house because not only to they offer you a multiple pug extension lead, they also have a handy infrared sensor that works from you TV remote to shut down all appliances placed on standby. There is also an extra plug that can be left on once in a while say if you're recording something through the night, which is a bonus.

Leaving things on standby used to be one of things we were occasionally guilty of, simply because we'd done such a good job of hiding the plugs and wires from the Shugmeister that we could barely get to them ourselves, at least not without some Olympic style maneuvers and bumped funny bones (which simply aren't funny). And yes, sometimes we left them on because we're lazy. So hopefully those days are behind us. Certainly it's proved to be a lot easier to be energy saving since we got this, and while we'll have to wait until the next electricity bill to see if it has saved us money, it stands to reason that we will over the space of a year.

So if you're looking for an effective way to hide your plugs and wires, without falling into bad standby habits, I'd recommend this product. At £15.99 including VAT and postage it's a good investment considering the savings could last for years. If you go the Energenie website (click on the widget below) you'll also find other products at a range of prices, including a Power Saving Meter that lets you know which of you appliances is using up the most energy.

Summertime, and the living is easy...

Well yesterday saw the summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere and together with friends and family, we celebrated by spending the day in the beautiful Ormeau Park. There was face painting, picnics, music, ice-cream (lots of ice cream) and a few games of football. All in all a fantastic day and one that got me thinking about how we value the very simple and of course free resource that is natural light.

Most people will be aware of value of light as a means to harnessing solar energy, but natural light can be an asset, even when taking solar power out of the equation. Just think about what a little bit of extra light in the evening does, from giving the kids that little bit more time to run around outside, to simply prompting you to be more active by making that walk home from work more tempting than the bus. In the summer time energy bills are significantly lower. Much of this is of course down to lower heating bills, but when you consider that you don't need to switch your lights on til very late (if at all) and certainly don't need their assistance in the morning, it does make a big difference.

Today therefore, I've decided to do a bit of a natural light inventory, going round the house to see if there are any places where light is inhibited or lacking, and seeing what can be done. For example, the pully on the blinds in the front room has been broken for a couple of months now, meaning that they don't move up and down properly. It's no big deal, we usually just pull the curtains across when we need to and have left the blind roll hanging where it is, with about 10" of cover - but I'm taking them down today to see if that makes a difference. I'll also be trimming back some shrubbery that is starting to infringe on the windows and giving them all a really good clean. In the bathroom there is only a very small window, that gets little sunlight in the evenings, meaning that even in the summer months, we sometimes have to switch the light on when giving Shuggie his bath. Obviously there is not much I can do about the size of the window, but I've been thinking about maybe giving the room a fresh lick of lighter paint (it's black tiles and grey walls at the moment) and moving some mirrors around to see if that helps bounce some of the light around.

Around the house you can also find different ways to add some some interesting filters. Simply by filling colored glass bottles with water and placing them on a window sill (away from little hands), you can generate some gorgeous patterns and shapes, that move around floors and walls as the day goes on. And of course, for those people planning to add some night lights to their garden, what better way to do this than by having solar lights charging up by day to illuminate at night. Of course, it always best to remember when buying solar lights, to consider products made with recycled plastics or minimal materials, or even those that double up as plant pots or other garden items (see this weeks recommended product) or maybe try your hand at making your own solar lamp.

These are of course just little alterations and suggestions that will hopefully save a little bit of energy. Anyone else any good tips of there own?

Earth Hour - 27th March 2010, 8.30pm

This Saturday at 8.30pm is Earth Hour, a mass switch off of electrical equipment and associated technologies, organised by the WWF.

Earth Hour first started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 with 2.2 million households taking part and is now a marked by countries, businesses and individuals across the globe. While it is difficult to determine the actual impact the switch off has on energy production (see the linked articles and discussions from Treehugger at the end of this post for more details), what it does do is highlight our reliance on modern technologies, demonstrate a commitment to reducing carbon emissions and is a symbolic means of taking a stand against climate change.

Depending where you are in the world, you'll see the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, the Brandenburg Gate, Empire State Building and Big Ben all switch off their lights for 60 mins, with the research team at Davis Station's Scientific Outpost, Antarctica, also taking part to make this year's event a truly global one.

Households can also take part by various means such as having a candle lit dinner party or by taking an evening stroll, making sure that all appliances are switched off (and that can include mobile phones if you're feeling brave). If you're a bar or entertainment venue, why not organise an hour of unplugged music while your customers relax by fire or candle light, or even by dimmed house lights if the other options aren't feasible.



http://www.earthhour.org
TreeHugger: Does Earth Hour Make a Difference?
Earth Hour Facebook
Earth Hour on Twitter