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Make Your Home Energy Effecient 1st
Burnsybhoy
Posts: 1 Newbie
in Energy
I work as an energy expert and note that many people are looking for the best Gas and Elec tariffs.
Its right to switch to the cheapest tariff but if your home is not energy effecient then you are only going to be paying your new provider more.
1st make sure your home is insulated - LOFT and
CAVITY In traditional built homes ( Brick outside -cavity - brick/block inside) Then the cavity can be insulated (Cavity Wall Insulation)
If you are over 70 or on some benefits you can get either free . You need to have less than 3 inches in your loft to get a top up in the loft. (Ofgen regulation)
If you are not on benefits , the major energy suppliers are now offering this a set price under their CERT obligations from the government.
British Gas are offering any existing gas or elec customer, 1 measure for free!
Other companies, local installers will also offer insulation services at a reduced cost.
Look out for leaflets from Local Authorities as the Energy Savings Trust are joining up with many - to offer insulation schemes often with BETTER deals for everyone irrespective of benefits etc.
If you have a boiler more than 12 years old consider replacing if you can afford it. New boilers are A Rated like other electrical equipment. They operate at around 90% + effeciency, an older boiler will be at 60-70% which means a 20-30% saving.
You can check your boiler effeciency at
Boilers.org
There is no need to go to great expense just common sense can reduce energy use, i.e. draughtproofing ,
turn off lights etc
(replace tungsten bulbs with energy effecient bulbs ) Some people dont like the dullness of EE bulbs , you can spend a bit more and go for LED's for a whiter light.
If buying new EE bulbs - Staple the reciept to the box - Sounds extreme however most EE have a guaranteed lifetime. The longer the bulb lasts the more cost effective they are.
GET AN ENERGY MONITOR !! -- These show how much electricity you are using -- They DO make you change your habits . They cost around £20 . Some Utilities will give them out free but only if you move to a higher tariff.
Either just pay the £20 or use it as a bargaining tool to stay with or move to a new provider!
If you have a smartphone a lot of companies will have corresponding APP to sych with the monitor.
Watch out for Smart Metering this is the next stage of Monitors which will include Gas and be hard linked into your Utlities. More info at
DECC /Smart Meters
Its right to switch to the cheapest tariff but if your home is not energy effecient then you are only going to be paying your new provider more.
1st make sure your home is insulated - LOFT and
CAVITY In traditional built homes ( Brick outside -cavity - brick/block inside) Then the cavity can be insulated (Cavity Wall Insulation)
If you are over 70 or on some benefits you can get either free . You need to have less than 3 inches in your loft to get a top up in the loft. (Ofgen regulation)
If you are not on benefits , the major energy suppliers are now offering this a set price under their CERT obligations from the government.
British Gas are offering any existing gas or elec customer, 1 measure for free!
Other companies, local installers will also offer insulation services at a reduced cost.
Look out for leaflets from Local Authorities as the Energy Savings Trust are joining up with many - to offer insulation schemes often with BETTER deals for everyone irrespective of benefits etc.
If you have a boiler more than 12 years old consider replacing if you can afford it. New boilers are A Rated like other electrical equipment. They operate at around 90% + effeciency, an older boiler will be at 60-70% which means a 20-30% saving.
You can check your boiler effeciency at
Boilers.org
There is no need to go to great expense just common sense can reduce energy use, i.e. draughtproofing ,
turn off lights etc
(replace tungsten bulbs with energy effecient bulbs ) Some people dont like the dullness of EE bulbs , you can spend a bit more and go for LED's for a whiter light.
If buying new EE bulbs - Staple the reciept to the box - Sounds extreme however most EE have a guaranteed lifetime. The longer the bulb lasts the more cost effective they are.
GET AN ENERGY MONITOR !! -- These show how much electricity you are using -- They DO make you change your habits . They cost around £20 . Some Utilities will give them out free but only if you move to a higher tariff.
Either just pay the £20 or use it as a bargaining tool to stay with or move to a new provider!
If you have a smartphone a lot of companies will have corresponding APP to sych with the monitor.
Watch out for Smart Metering this is the next stage of Monitors which will include Gas and be hard linked into your Utlities. More info at
DECC /Smart Meters
0
Comments
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Burnsybhoy wrote: »I work as an energy expert
Welcome to the forum!
Could you please be more specific on your employment as an 'energy expert'.
Qualifications? length of training, appointment etc.
Not producing EPCs by any chance?
Not that I disagree with many things in your post - except perhaps your spelling of 'efficiency';)
Also your advice about replacing 12 year old boiler would be questioned by many!The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors stated recently :
The average cost of installing one of these modern boilers is £1,720, but saves on average just £95 off people's gas bills." See:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...erts-warn.html0 -
Hi Burnsy....do you know anything about insulating windows with polystyrene inserts, either interior or exterior.
I see a local double glazer has these on offer as "shutters", but way down the list of house improvements.
What would be the R values ?0 -
Burnsybhoy wrote: »
Its right to switch to the cheapest tariff but if your home is not energy effecient then you are only going to be paying your new provider more.
How does that work?
If my home isnt energy efficient now and I switch to a cheaper supplier, my house isnt suddenly going to become even less energy efficient is it? So how will I pay the new provider more?Missing Tesco R&R since Feb '07 :A & now a "Tesco veteran" apparently!
0 -
More than what the customer could be paying if the house was energy efficient perhaps?
What`s with the nitpicking?:money:0 -
What`s with the nitpicking?
We get lots of self proclaimed 'energy experts' on MSE who having done a 2 day course feel qualified to give advice - often poor advice.Domestic Energy Assessor
2 days course • Level 3 diploma
Limited time
special offer £995 + VAT
In my case it was merely a polite enquiry to see if the OP was in that category - or if not, what qualifications were required to be an 'energy expert'.
Incidentally my daughter did the 5 day course(she didn't pay) after graduating and before moving on to another degree course. Immediately she finished the course she became an instructor at the same establishment.
Clever girl as she might be, she didn't have, and still doesn't, any idea of the most rudimentary electrical theory, or insulation etc. However the reports she wrote were highly impressive - but meaningless, all the buzzwords and jargon were on the template!!0 -
What`s with the nitpicking?
Another option is that a little while ago British Gas named all of their call centre and office staff 'Energy Experts' (that was the exact title), so it could just be another way of saying that the OP works for British Gas...I am an employee of British Gas, however the views expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Centrica, its subsidiaries or affiliated companies.0 -
Burnsey is a Newbie, we are supposed to give him a chance to make his mark.
New posters should not have to jump through hoops.0 -
Burnsey is a Newbie, we are supposed to give him a chance to make his mark.
New posters should not have to jump through hoops.
No one's saying that he's done anything wrong, very little of his post has been disagreed with (apart from one poster who seems to have mis-understood part of it). All that's being asked for is a bit more detail on what working as an energy expert actually means. That's hardly jumping through hoops...
Given there are points on these forums where new posters turn up to ask questions and are flamed into the ground by the usual troll bunch for not psychically knowing what to do before hand, a polite thread with a few people asking for a little clarification seems a strange one to choose to make that point on...I am an employee of British Gas, however the views expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Centrica, its subsidiaries or affiliated companies.0 -
Burnsey is a Newbie, we are supposed to give him a chance to make his mark.
New posters should not have to jump through hoops.
While I agree in general, I do find it quite odd when new posters instantly declare themselves an expert and start dishing out spontaneous and unrequested advice, even though it is good advice imo. Surely it would be more normal for genuine unvested posters to simply post such advice in response to someone's question.
It's reasonable, imv, to question a new self-appointed expert on his/her degree of expertise, just to see if it tallies with others idea of what an expert is. And if all you need these days is to attend a two day course to become an expert, then let that be known (I didn't realise that was the case for instance).0 -
Burnsybhoy wrote: »You can check your boiler effeciency at
Boilers.org
boilers.org.uk methinks?;)0
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