Energy Saving Tips – Switch off

Most modern cars are really efficiency at starting and stopping. That means that if you are stopping the car, it can be worthwhile to actually switch off the engine. Guidance from SEI says that for a 30 second stop it can be worthwhile switching off.

For other car tips check out

Energy Saving Driving Tips - Summer Driving Season 1 Tyre Pressure

Energy Saving Driving Tips 2 - Close the windows

Energy Saving Driving Tips 3 - Take Off Roof Racks/Boxes

National Road Pricing Scheme - Motor Tax

I like cool drinks - most energy efficient option

I’m a fan of having my drinks cold, and have been trying to figure out what is the most energy efficient way to do it. As I see it the options are

Leave the bottle in the fridge

This is a good option because the refrigerator is relatively efficient when compared to the freezer.

The drawback (perhaps) is that you will be keeping a large amount of the liquid (lets say pepsi max… I’m not a coke man) cool for a long time, when you really only need it cool at the time your drinking it.

Use ice cubes

Ice-cubes have the benefit of meaning you have less in the fridge, and so are trying to keep less cool. I mean keeping air cool is less challenging than liquid. Also they give greater flexibility on what drink you may want cooled.

The main drawback is that the freezer is relatively less efficient than fridge (since the bigger the difference between room temperature and the target temperature, the more energy required to achieve it)

At the moment I’m beginning to think leaving the bottle in the fridge is the correct option (which I never do), but I’m interested in getting other suggestions.

Irish Home Energy Scheme - Grants for Insulation

Following up from my post on the HES scheme (a scheme that grant aids insulation, windows, draft proofing etc), could I alert people that the pilot scheme is still running. Following all that cuts talk from the government earlier this week, I suggest to all this blog’s readers that they apply to the scheme now, as it may not be around in January

Fuel Consumption Comparison

Driving fast requires much more energy, or burns more fuel, than driving at slower speeds. But more grown is covered, so that makes up the extra consumption… right? Wrong…

Most cars are set up to give optimal efficiency at 80kmph (50mph). So… if you were to drive at 80kmph without speeding up or slowing down, you would get maximum efficiency. I know that I really notice it on a motorway I drive regularly where the speed limit is 120kmph (75mph), but here are the stats on how different it is.

Speed		Fuel Consumption
80	KM/h	-
100	KM/h	17%
120	KM/h	29%

For other car tips check out

Energy Saving Driving Tips - Summer Driving Season 1 Tyre Pressure

Energy Saving Driving Tips 2 - Close the windows

Energy Saving Driving Tips 3 - Take Off Roof Racks/Boxes

National Road Pricing Scheme - Motor Tax

Regulations for Energy Efficiency in Houses

Ireland and the UK have regulations which control all sorts of things in new homes. From security to fire to accessibility for the disabled, are controlled by these regulations. Part L (yes there are also Parts A-M) relates to the conservation of fuel and energy.

So… What does it have to say about insulation…

Well first of all look my post on U-Values

Then have a look at this pic…

So what’s interesting about that? Well have a look the number for a window, it 2, versus a wall, which is 0.27. The regulations for a window is a 7 times higher than a wall. So in a new house, it all about your windows… All about them…

For the full document have a look at this

What are Building Energy Ratings – BER

Ireland, like most of the EU is implementing the Building Energy Rating (BER)Scheme, (also know as the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD)). The idea of the scheme is that when you are buying or renting a house or apartment, you should be informed of how it performs from an energy point of view. On the other hand, it means that to sell/rent a house/apartment, you are obliged to have the house assessed and a BER certificate prepared for it.

So what’s in the assessment, well the idea is to include the main elements that control the houses energy consumption, but leaving out the things which depend on the user (as when you are buying/renting, it doesn’t matter that the last guy left the window open, or which TV he had), so really we’re talking about the fabric of the house, and the heating system.

The assessor will measure the walls, the roof, the windows, the floor, the door, chimneys, vents, etc, apply the relevant U-Value or air flow values, and from that generate a heat load for the house (assuming 2.4 occupants or something like that, who expect an average amount or heating/hot water). They will also look at the boiler and decide if it efficient.

From that relatively small amount of information a figure for the likely energy consumption of the house is generated, and rated according to a simple A-G scale. Buyers/Renters get to see the rating when deciding if they want to buy… and BOOM… energy is a consideration when houses are changing hands.

What else?

Well the other really cool thing, is that the report that goes with the certificate will tell you of what measures can be taken to improve the performance of the house… cool

What does it not do/do badly?

• It doesn’t take into account the way people use their house (but should it?)
• It doesn’t concern itself with consumer electronics, kitchen electrics, outside lighting
• Generally speaking the assessor will be applying rule of thumb figures to decide U-values of the walls and floors. These will be based on the age of the house, and a little table of what type of wall structures etc were common at different times. You could have Thermal Imaging camera in to get a more accurate read, but that would cost €€€.
• There is no enforcement to make you improve the building, its just a scheme to let you know how good/bad your building is.
• The rating is in M2, so really big house could score well, despite requiring a lot of energy to heat.

What is U-Value

U-Value is a measure of how much heat will escape through a material, or how bad an insulator a material is. So materials with high U-values let lots of heat through them – Copper would be an example. Materials with low U-Values don’t let heat pass through them, and so can be used to insulate a space. Material wool is a good example. The ideal insulator has a U-value of 0.

The science-y bit: U-Value is the heat (in Watts) lost through one metre square of the material (for a given thickness) per degree Kelvin (or C). The unit is W/m2K

Not to be mistaking for

R-Value

Americans use R-Value, which is a measure of insulating properties, and so the reverse of U-Value.

Tog Value

Similar to R-Value, used in quilts

Cooling down in the office – too hot at work 2 – create a draft

Create a Draft

When people are too hot in the office, a regular action is to open the window, but the effect can be increased greatly by encouraging a draft. I mean if you think about it, you open a window, trying to let air in, well where is the hot air already in the office going to go (simple fluid dynamics???)? You need a flow of air so the hot air has somewhere to go, and the cold air from outside is sucked into the office space.

So here is the theory bit. Hot air rises. That’s the key point. If you were to take a good thermometer, and take measures on the floor, and near the ceiling of your office, you’d probably see about a 2C difference.

So, if you have an open window, and assuming there isn’t a breeze outside, the first thing that will happen will be hot air will try to escape. What you need, is a second window open, at a lower level to allow cooler air to come in. The ideal office space looks like this.

If not, even having them at the same level is good.

Plastic Bags - I never realised how funny they can be

Tips to reduce your TVs Energy Consumptions

Turn the TV off when it’s not in use

All too often people leave their TVs going in the background.

Off! Not standby

If you consider just how many hours your TV is likely to spend on standby, the energy really does add up. Older TVs are particularly bad for consuming large amounts of energy while on standby.

Turn off the Quick Start option
Many newer TV have an option called Quick Start or something similar, which keeps the set “warmed up” and so makes the it turn on more quickly when you press the power button. It consumes far more power during standby mode however.

Turn down the brightness
Most TVs will allow you to control the brightness of the screen. If the room is less bright, then the TV does not need to be as bright to give the same appearance. So… there can be a double saving here. Most TVs also give better image rendering at lower brightness levels

Control room lighting
If your room is less bright, you can turn down the TV brightness.

Does your TV have a power-saver mode?
Have you tried it?

Watch TV together
Be a bit sociable for gods sake!

Watch less TV
Well obviously!