Feeling Virtuous

[stevieannie]

After a discussion with Tim, we have managed to save a huge wodge of money from our power bills with some really easy actions:

When Green and Frugal Collide

Also cleared a great percentage of my In Tray this morning and am generally feeling a lot more on top of things.

Hurrah!

Comments

[miniosiris.livejournal.com]

According to a posting on the Living History Forum, dimmable energy saving light bulbs to replace candle bulbs can now be bought. Check out http://www.ebulbshop.com/acatalog/Smooth_Dimmable_Energy_Saving_Candle_Light_Bulbs.html

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, it's not the dimmable issue - one of the lightfittings is for a room with a very low ceiling and is essentially a shallow glass dish - it takes the small size of normal candle bulbs, but the eco ones are just a couple of millimetres too long and maybe one mm too wide to sit in the fitting, which means that the connection isn't good inside the fitting, and it tends to cut out repeatedly if it works at all :-( It's not a light fitting that I would have put in myself, as it is impractical AND ugly.

[aunty_marion]

I know that feeling... My bedroom lampshade (and the one in the hall!) are shallow but wide cylinders, with a diffuser grid that fits into the bottom. I've had to take the grid off the one in the hall because otherwise the door to the Glory Hole just catches when I open it! And I've had problems fitting energy-saving bulbs into either of them because they're so shallow - I don't want the door hitting the lightbulb in the hall, and in the bedroom, I can't get the diffuser on.

So I was rather glad when Tesco (yes, I know...) started stocking the more compact spiral 20W eco bulbs - they're barely longer than standard bulbs, so they fit into the shades perfectly! And I can have enough light in the bedroom to see what I'm doing that way. I put an 11W one in the hall, but it plugs into a Fire Angel smoke alarm which adds some depth to the fitting. Good thing the 11W compact spiral bulbs are even smaller, isn't it? (And yes, I'm keeping the lampshades. I like them. Besides, anything else would probably be deeper, so not suitable in the hall anyway!!)

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

Yup, that fraction bigger is big enough that they don't fit into our stupid light fitting.

Grrr... Come the glorious revolution new house completion, we shall have sensible low-energy lighting!

[armb.livejournal.com]

I think http://www.capcarbon.co.uk/prod_info.asp?prodid=223 are the most compact candles I've come across. But still a little bulkier than a standard bulb.

[(Anonymous)]

Where did you get the meter which shows you the power consumed in the house? The only ones I've seen sit in a mains socket and only monitor what is connected directly to them.

SP seemed to be the best when I looked at electricity prices, and would save me about the same. There are cheaper ones but not 100% green (or not stating that they are green at all).

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

We're taking part in a "lower your footprint" program as part of our local council's green initiative. The meter is on loan from them. It's this one:

http://www.efergy.com/en/

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Hmm, 47 quid including postage. That compares favourably with the price of the plug-in ones. So if I understand their site you just clip a sensor round the wire near the meter, no actual wiring involved? That sounds like a good buy. (Oh, they take credit (and debit) cards and PayPal. That's a clever move...)

(The site is not good in FireFox unless you have scripts and Flash, though. It was actually easier to use in lynx...)

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

It was pretty much a done deal for us - to lower the ROI and embedded energy in making these things, the council are lending all the participants one for a couple of months. I'm almost tempted to ask if I can buy it off them, as I'm using it every day and having it sitting on my work counter makes me very aware of what energy I'm using, and where I've left things on...

[armb.livejournal.com]

I'd considered buying one, but wasn't convinced it would pay for itself. The plug in ones do a single outlet, these do the whole house including permanently wired connections, so it's a different job.
I do have a multimeter with clamp on current reading, maybe I should try that.

I did just get a free "when your computer switches off, switches off your peripherals" adaptor free from the Energy Saving Trust at B&Q. It's not an Intelliplug, but it might be the same thing with different branding. I might use it on the computer, or I might see if it will turn off the DVD and video when the TV is turned off.