Meet my hallway. This photo shows how we inherited it a year ago, replete with four typical IKEA halogen bulbs, each sucking up 80W every time I came home. While I swapped out the rest of the house's lighting for low energy alternatives, I procrastinated with these ones because they have those pointy MR16 fittings and I couldn't find any compatible mini-sized CFLs (what we all tend to call energy-saving bulbs). I then had a look for the other green alternative: LEDs. After some laborious searching, I ended up ordering some £4.49 ones from the ever-useful energy-saving site, REUK.
Continue reading "Swapping MR16 halogens for greener LEDs" »
As well as such hedonistic pursuits as insulating the loft, I've recently being going wild with other draught-bashing and heat-saving tricks. Here's the verdict on radiator foil (to keep the heat in) and thermostatic valves (to keep the heat from getting excessive).
Continue reading "Insulation lessons learned: radiator foil easy, thermostatic valves tricky" »
In case you missed starter's orders, Energy Saving Week is underway, and this year's big theme is communities. Which is the most influential - the church? The WI? Local towns? My main green community is online: this blog, other blogs, on forums, Facebook, on my Delicious links and elsewhere. Here's a big list of links to green communities I like, after the click-through.
Continue reading "A list of top green communities (please add your own!)" »
Saw your own breath this morning? Yep, it's nippy out, which is why I headed over to B&Q last weekend to pile up on insulation bric-a-brac for the house. The Heater Wars have already begun at Chez Vaughan, with my wife and I alternately turning it on and off, so I've decided to try and trap as much heat as possible. I'll extrapolate on the radiator foil, thermostatic valves, foam stuff and other such scintillating hot products soon, but for now I want to talk loft insulation. Specifically, the eight bags I bought of B&Q's new cheapo green option, Eco Wool.
Continue reading "My fling with Eco Wool insulation" »