Energy Saving Trust Q&A Centre

cepheus

You will never guess what someone has suggested on another thread

Health warning, this might cause any environmentalist to have a heart attack!

Berger

carbonsaver wrote: »

Voltage optimisation reduces electricity used (and CO2 released) by reducing the voltage supplied from the mains (variable but maybe 245v) to the voltage that equipment is designed to run at (probably 220v).
Voltage optimisation has been available for some time for non-domestic 3 phase supply e.g powerperfector but now it has started to appear for domestic electricity supply.
The level of saving would be different for different kinds of electrical device - but maybe about 10% overall.
So far I have only found one supplier for domestic installations - vphase and indeed their website says that their product is the
only one for the UK domestic market.
Are there any others and has Energy Saving Trust or anyone else done independent assessments of them? Has anyone had experience of them?

Sounds great in theory - but it would take 10 years to make back the cost of the installation in my case (est. annual saving £25, cost of VPhase £250) - as we're looking at moving within a year, it doesn't make sense - maybe in the new house

Energy_Saving_Trust_company_representative

cepheus wrote: »

You will never guess what someone has suggested on another thread

Health warning, this might cause any environmentalist to have a heart attack!

Yes. This is not the greenest suggestion we've seen - not the most practical!

Energy_Saving_Trust_company_representative

Samalan wrote: »

Where do I post specific questions?
Is it on this - even if I am not replying to anyone??
Samalan

Hi,

all you need to do is post a new message (or reply to this should you wish) and we'll try and answer your question.

Thanks...

peat

When are details of the Renewable Heat Incentives now due to be announced?

PennyForThem_2

Hi

I was an early adopter of cwi - had it 20 years. However as had repairs done and double glazing installed I know that some of it has been lost as the beads fell out or got blown away.

How would I go about getting top-up? I assume it should be the same type of cwi. The company that did it has long since gone.

Thanks

savemoney

I noted on EST web site you can now get discount for solids walls although the costs is still prohibitively expensive ie $1585 for the outside walls internal using sematap plsu you have added costs of decorating

Good news. An offer may be available to make your home more energy efficient!
Offers are split into grants and discounts. This is due to the range of offers available. A grant is a sum of money that is given to you to contribute to the cost of getting a measure installed. Discount offers have already had the grant taken off of the full price and outline the price you should pay. We have highlighted [COLOR=#5DB604 ! important]grants in green[/COLOR] and [COLOR=#0882C5 ! important]discounts in blue[/COLOR].
We have ranked the offers by price with the cheapest offers are at the top.
And remember - selecting an offer does not commit you to buy! You will have the option to request one of our experts to call you back and talk about the offer in more detail. They will also answer any questions you have and - should you wish - explain how you can proceed with the installation. You can also opt for a no-obligation free quote from your provider of choice.

zeupater

Energy_Saving_Trust_company_representative wrote: »

There are a couple of ways to check your house to find out where heat is escaping.

Firstly you could pay for a thermal image of you home, this will identify the areas where heat is escaping and will let you focus on tackling these sources of heat loss, such as fitting more insulation. It is best done on a cold day and you should ensure the heating system has got the home up to the usual temperature.

The other option is to have a pressure test done. This is usually done when properties have too much structural ventilation which subsequently causes excessive heat loss. A pressure test is performed by sealing points of deliberate ventilation (e.g. trickle vents, extractor fans etc), then at one of the doors a fan is attached to create higher air pressure within the property. Then the assessor goes around the property with a smoke vessel to observe how it escapes through gaps in the fabric. This will then lead to measures such as draught proofing and sealing in order to block these gaps.

Both can be expensive but are easy to find if searched for over the internet. I would advise you to get quotes from multiple sources and weigh up the benefits of doing it. However we unfortunately cannot direct you to specific companies as this will compromise our impatiality.

Or the low tech version ......

After it's snowed, or a very heavy frost, take photographs of where the melt starts first. Repeating this a few times whilst the melt continues will give a good idea of the areas which need to be looked at ......

I'm surprised that someone from the EST wouldn't have recognised that this was a moneysaving site and posted the moneysaving solution .... perhaps this could be included on the EST website (that's if it doesn't offend any thermal imaging company relationships ) as the most suitable and cheapest option ..... :rotfl:

HTH
Z

grahamc2003

Hello, Not sure if this question has been asked. I'm waiting for the details of the RHI to be announced before deciding on updates to my heating system. I'm sure I read that some updates were due before the end of thye year (last year!), but I haven't read any further info for quite a few months.

Do you know the latest thinking on the RHI, and when the final details will be announced?

A particular question which has cropped up is whether an ASHP system replacing an off-peak electric heating system will qualify or not. Has that been decided yet? If not, what is your view?

Thanks.

zeupater

CathyDebenham wrote: »

Hi Zeupater

There is a much cheaper solution: Black and Decker do a thermal leak detector (£49.99) which you just point at the walls, around the windows and doors, at skirtings etc etc, and it shows up changes in temperature by changing the colour of light. Really simple to use, and really good for showing up the things that are worth addressing first (my back door for example).

I was given one by B&D and have reviewed in the YouGen.co.uk blog. I think that there are other makes available too, but I haven't tried them, so can't tell you how well they work.

Thanks Cathy

Not quite a cheap as watching the snow melt .... but loads cheaper than a thermal image survey ...

I acually borrowed & used a similar device a number of years ago .... I found that it's not a very quick way to conduct a survey & suppose that things haven't changed much (?), except the price of the units.

Z