The Great 'Energy & MoneySaving' Hunt

[MSE Martin]

Sometimes going cheap can hurt the environment but equally, things that protect the planet can keep more cash in our pockets too.

So I thought I'd tap MoneySavers knowledge to come up with ideas on how to save money at the same time as saving the environment.

Some ideas for starters:

• Get an environmental grant. This is a main area to grab cash at the moment, as we are encouraged to reduce our impact on the environement. Energy saving heating and insulation will make your house warmer and save you cash. More info: Grant Grabbing

• Cut energy use & get a green tariff. Using less energy always cuts bills at the same time as helping the environment. Add your ideas below plus for More Info: Cheapest Gas & Elec

[Ken68]

Grow your own produce and go foraging. You will never need to go into a supermarket ever again, and if you do, repeat this mantra.........no pesticides, no fat, no sugar and minimum food miles.
And WALK there and back.

[Ken68]

The biggest single gain for the environment and your pocket at the same time is to pack up your car.
Not for everyone, especially rural workers.
£1000's to save every year plus a cleaner planet.

[Ken68]

A solar cooker will also cook water, up to 20litres a day in my case, more than can be used.
The downside is that it is a manual system, has to be put outside in the morning and emptied late pm.
But tis FREE and capital cost about a fiver. as against a roof mounted heavily sold overpriced solar water panel with integrated whatnots and pipes costing thousands.
Use the hot/warm water to soak the clothes overnight and use a quick wash in the machine as a rinse.
Another downside is nowt in the winter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cooker

[Ken68]

What could save money, Martin, and aggravation to millions of people in this country would be the introduction of unit pricing within the energy and phone industry.
The unit pricing for groceries in supermarkets must have been campaigned for originally, perhaps by WHICH or maybe from the EU.
The multiplicity of tariffs is beyond comprehension, forcing users to the comparison sites at a cost of millions.

[nij420]

Not sure how much of a difference this will make - if any at all - for both the environment and the wallet.

Recently, Before I go to sleep, I switch of from the socket the TV, video, Phone and bathroom extractor fan. Again, not sure if this will make any difference at all, but I thought it might save electricity at night, and also cut my electrical bills.

I was also thinking, does a double plug use the same amount of enrgy as a single plug?

[lovemystudentloan]

As nij420 says, not sure how much it saves, but I always charge my phone, batteries etc during the evening. That way I can switch it off when it's done without leaving it on all night needlessly. I probably heard about it on MSE! I am very worried about energy saving bulbs though. They contain mercury which IS NOT environmentally friendly so I wonder what will happen years from now when people have to throw these away. Will they go into landfill sights and leach mercury into the land?

[steam dan]

If you have to drive, drive at a sensible speed. I have found that I can increase my mpg from 48 mpg to 52 mpg ,averaged for a full tank of petrol, simply by making a conscious effort not to exceed 55mph for short journeys. Personally, I think that the environment is a strong case for reducing the national speed limit to 65mph. This, together with strong enforcement, will do more to tackle the environmental issue of motoring than simply increasing the taxes on fuel.

[zarazara]

Iwant a solar cooker. where can i buy one from please?

[Ken68]

Originally Posted by zarazara

Iwant a solar cooker. where can i buy one from please?

Put Solar Cookers into Google, Zara, and information is on the left and sellers on the right.
The Centre for Alternative Technology might help will look a link and post seperately. Payback time would be quite a bit if you bought. Can be made easy enough tho.

[Ken68]

http://www.cat.org.uk/index.tmpl?refer=index&init=1

But did a search they don't do them, but the google info should throw up a lot.

[geordie joe]

Originally Posted by nij420

I was also thinking, does a double plug use the same amount of enrgy as a single plug?

If you plug two items into a double plug they would use the same amount of electricity as they would if they were each plugged into single sockets.

[Bongedone]

Originally Posted by lovemystudentloan

I probably heard about it on MSE! I am very worried about energy saving bulbs though. They contain mercury which IS NOT environmentally friendly so I wonder what will happen years from now when people have to throw these away. Will they go into landfill sights and leach mercury into the land?

Contact your council regarding this as they should have a recycling scheme set up or in the process of setting up. The mercury will also be recycled.

The bulb has less mercury in it than the amount of mercury a powerstation pumps into the air to generate enough electricity to power a normal bulb over the same lifetime. Source: Energy Savings Trust.

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...sked_questions

Tried to put up a tiny url but it blanks it out. Weird.

[ooohshiny]

Okay gents, stop reading now! This will only freak you out!

Ladies, try a Mooncup http://www.mooncup.co.uk/

Less waste in the bin, less money spent each month and actually less chance of TSS...

Okay, the boys can start reading again now!

[m-s-m]

Originally Posted by lovemystudentloan

I am very worried about energy saving bulbs though. They contain mercury which IS NOT environmentally friendly so I wonder what will happen years from now when people have to throw these away. Will they go into landfill sights and leach mercury into the land?

The amount of mercury in Energy Saving bulbs is ~5mg (http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_li...ct.htm#mercury ). This is the same as would be emitted by burning enough coal to run a normal lightbulb for 6-9 months. (see here for long calcs: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10...htly/comments/ )

Plus most local tips now take these bulbs and recycle/dispose of them properly (as do IKEA), so they really are worth getting!

[petertwisty]

Put fresh water in your kettle immediately after you have used it. It will absorb residual heat so less energy will be needed to boil it up next time.

Test it! You will be surprised how long the water stays warm.

[m-s-m]

For extra MoneySaving once you've insulated your house and replaced all your bulbs with energy saving ones, another good product to get hold of is an IntelliPlug (e.On also sell them branded as 'powerdown') for your TV - it automatically switches off your digibox/DVD player when your TV is off. Costs £15 in the shops (or under £10 from eBay) and will save you (realistically) about £10 on electricity a year.

http://www.oneclickpower.com/acatalog/#aDSK105

[Ken68]

Put the surplus water from boiled kettle into a flask, surprising how it builds up thru the day.

[Ken68]

With heat being so expensive, it begs the question when do you draw the curtains only for the heat to escape straight to a cold window.
I have opted to draw them later in the morning, about all day so no problem, and to ventilate the house at an optimum midday.
Then shut down about 3.30pm. Heavy curtains from charity shops help, or from Freecycle even better.
Now investigating exterior window shutters made from polystyrene or Thermostor.

[chubberdog]

When I roast a piece of meat/bake a pie etc in the oven, I put the veggies in covered casserole dishes in with the roast. Obviously you need to practice to get timing right etc, but why use separate gas/electric rings for peas, 'taters and carrots when they can go in together? Small diced carrot can go in with frozen peas, chunkier carrot with boiled taters and so on!