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Chepfer
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Energy saving methods - what do you do ?With rising fuel and energy costs, it seems more relevant than ever to use as little gas, electricity and petrol as possible.
I am trialling an "Owl" a samll device that connects to your household power supply and tells you how much money you are spending per hour, the temperature/humidity of the rooms and amount of greenhouse gas you are using .....
It's quite amazing wandering around the house with this gadget, seeing how much each appliance is costing you....... from playing with it i have found using a shower, using the cooker and using the kettle it costs an absolute fortune !!!!. Up to £1.50 per hour if all were being used at the same time ..... just think ..thats £1,080 per month ... yes i know that wouldn't happen but it makes you realise how much you use ....
I have put in Energy effecient light bulbs and drive more sensibly now ........ saving pounds !...
What do you all do ?
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Clunk
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All of my lights are energy saving bulbs*.
My 2 Servers in the attic, which are never switched off, have been modified by me to have passive cooling instead of active cooling. This means instead of them having fans to cool them down, they have a very large block of finned metal.
Believe it or not, this will save me £1 per week.
I find I use my car less now, as the £10 per week I put in is enough for my 3 trips to Calne a week, and my weekly food shop. I can save enough fuel to go Underground once every three weeks.
My heating has been switched off now for 2 weeks. So my stockpiling gas for Winter can begin. (I managed to get £115 on my gas meter before winter. It is on £37 now)
*Energy Saving Lightbulbs
Did you know, that energy saving lightbulbs actually consume more energy and gasses in construction and destruction then you can save while in use? Makes you wonder 'What's the point?'
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rosco
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| Clunk wrote: | All of my lights are energy saving bulbs*.
My 2 Servers in the attic, which are never switched off, have been modified by me to have passive cooling instead of active cooling. This means instead of them having fans to cool them down, they have a very large block of finned metal.
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Yes, I did a similar thing too, switch to a couple of lower-spec, passively cooled computers and a laptop.
| Quote: | *Energy Saving Lightbulbs
Did you know, that energy saving lightbulbs actually consume more energy and gasses in construction and destruction then you can save while in use? Makes you wonder 'What's the point?' |
Indeed, I have often wondered myself. Another example is drying your hands in a public toilet - which method is actually more efficient overall of:
- hot-air dryer
- disposable paper towels
- washable towel roll
when you take into account all the environmental costs (both manufacture and usage) ? Not easy...
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Geddi
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I was always (for about 20+ years) a Greenie. I am also not one to go wasting stuff without very good cause.
Environmental audits/surveys often (but importantly not always) cover the same ground as economical audits/surveys.
I was usually blase with my mobile phone charger leaving it plugged in and switched on at the wall socket (after all, how much power does keeping a tiny green or red LED lit cost? D'oh!
I had to ask! I was told one day that in the UK alone something like 66,000 tonnes of CO2 were produced annually from that one simple thing. I was aghast. I tend not to leave it plugged in now, or if it is, it's turned off at the wall.
Things on standby are the worse kind of waste of energy as we aint even got any excuse other than laziness. Heating and baths and stuff use loads more than a mobile charger, but then these are lifestyle choices and comforts and luxuries and all that. Powering something we aren't using is just plain daft.
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Local lass
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I must admit a lot of my stuff is on stand by.
We have the energy saving lightbulbs although they last they are pretty crap.I find them dull.
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