Updated: 27-Mar-2013

Miscellaneous

Background

In May 2004 we decided that the household bills for electricity, water and oil were costing more than they should, and we set out to identify the items costing the most and where the greatest potential for savings were. Initially electricity use was the biggest concern so for the first year I concentrated on that. As part of the exercise we decided the maximum payback time on any money invested should be around three years. One of the goals of this project is that it should have minimal affect on our lifestyle, so far we have achieved this. Having a liking for anything technical we have a lot of electrical appliances and gadgets which if left uncontrolled consume vast amounts of electricity. Around 22% of all greenhouse gases emitted in the UK come from domestic energy use which means domestic energy saving can have a big effect. In 2009 we moved house and the whole process of working out the most effective ways to save energy started all over again.

To put this subject into some sort of context below are descriptions of the two houses we have applied the energy saving process to:

House 1 - From May 2001 to October 2009

Our last house was a fairly large 5 bedroom bungalow located in a Cambridgeshire village which had had a small upstairs section added plus a garage and outbuildings (one of which had heating). There were two bathrooms complete with toilets and showers, one had a bath, there was an outside utility room with sink and washing machine plus a small outside toilet plus sink and two taps in the garden. The kitchen had a dishwasher plus the normal sink. The house was originally built in the 60s and extended in the 70s and already had cavity wall insulation and about 150mm of loft insulation with half the loft floored with chipboard. All outside doors and windows were already double glazed.

Two of us lived there full time with sundry grown up children coming in and out mainly at weekends.

Heating was by a 1980s oil fired boiler plus a large wood burning stove in the lounge when needed. Cooking was by electricity plus a propane hob which cost very little to run.

Hot water came from an electrically heated pressurised water system running on cheap rate electricity with a capacity of 150 litres (this was normally just enough hot water for a days use).

We started with about 1000 litres of rainwater storage fed from the guttering which we increased to 1500 litres before starting this project.

House 2 - From November 2009 to Present

Our current house is a large two story 6 bedroom house with large integral double garage located in a village on the Shropshire Welsh border. There are 2 lounges (one upstairs) and a downstairs study There are two bathrooms complete with toilets and baths/showers and a separate downstairs toilet. There is a utility room with sink and washing machine The kitchen has a dishwasher plus the normal sink. There is a small fridge in the kitchen and a large fridge freezer in the garage. The house was originally built in the 70s and already had cavity wall insulation and about 150mm of loft insulation with about half the loft floored with plywood. All outside doors except one and windows were already double glazed. There are 2 taps in the garden. In the garden is a large shed and we have added a greenhouse.

Two of us live here full time with sundry grown up children coming to stay some weekends.

Heating is by a 1980s oil fired boiler plus a propane fire in the main lounge when needed. Oil storage is 1760 litres held in a plastic bunded tank. Cooking is by electricity.

Hot water comes from the central heating and can be independently controlled with a capacity of 200 litres (this is normally enough hot water for a days use).

We started with no rainwater storage.