The Great 'Energy & MoneySaving' Hunt

geordie_joe

nij420 wrote: »

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

lovemystudentloan wrote: »

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/energy_saving_products/types_of_energy_saving_recommended_products/energy_saving_light_bulbs/frequently_asked_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_2

lovemystudentloan wrote: »

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_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.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/2007/10/30/graun_tread_lightly/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_2

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!

kisk

When I used to drive a lot I used to cook food in the car engine above the exhaust manifold. Got it down to a fine art judging just how long a journey it took to cook various meals.

Maybe its something car manufactures could add in the future a little oven compartment in the engine. Maybe moneysavers could experiment and pass on recipes, times and where in the engine for different types of cars to cook the food.

I used an aluminium camping pan and wrapped the food up loosely. So for those who commute by car you could arrive home to a nice hot meal.

Don’t know if modern cars would be suitable as space is very limited but worth a try. The Christmas turkey would give a nice power bulge for the bonnet.:rotfl:

kisk