Recent Comments

1. Keep The Warmth In Your House - 09 Jan 2009

   Having halved our gas usage in the last year or so, my top tips are:

   • block up draughts with decorators’ caulk or squirt expanding foam into the big holes
   • keep doors shut and only heat the rooms you need
   • if you have a high-pressure water system (combi or unvented) use minibore pipe (10mm or 8mm) for direct feeds to each hot tap
   • consider installing a Heat Recovery Ventilation Unit—it obviates opening windows and speeds up clothes drying in the house too.
   • insulate under the floor if at all possible (and appropriate!)
   • instal a solar water heater if you have a south-facing roof or wall
   • consider installing a wood-burning stove or boiler
   • add an enclosed porch

   All the other basics are well-publicised; loft & cavity insulation, efficient boiler and white-ware, double-glazing, fit TRVs, room thermostats & good controllers, etc

2. Switch off and unplug appliances and chargers - 09 Jan 2009

   Our solution was to buy a six-way extension lead with individually-switched sockets, mount it in the hall cupboard and put all the chargers there. A small shelf holds the phones and other equipment and the battery re-charger is also there with boxes for depleted and recharged batteries.

   Check out http://web.me.com/andymaybury/Andy_%26_Jo’s_website/Andy’s_work_on_the_house/Entries/2007/10/23_charging_bar.html

3. Improve your home's energy efficiency - 09 Jan 2009

   Orielwen, the surveyor will check whether you have cavities and whether they are filled. Just contact the guys in charge of insulation grants in your area.

   If they have been filled, you will find small holes in a matrix of about 1m spacing all over the exterior walls. The holes will have been filled with cement and perhaps had some pebbledash pushed into it to close and camouflage the hole.

   Your loft extension sounds as if it needs internal insulation. This comes in various forms, from polystyrene tiles to polyurethane-foam-backed plasterboard.

4. A wake up call to the G20? - 03 Apr 2009

   We’ve got used to growth and prosperity and intuitively believe the two to be linked. We want prosperity and so try to promote growth. The truth is that growth and prosperity both come out of surplus … and we’ve got less surplus now than we used to. The question is whether we’re going to use that surplus for growth OR prosperity because there isn’t enough to fuel both.

   We may even be close to a time when we have no surplus and we have to have ‘negative growth’ to fuel our prosperity … or forgo our prosperity.

5. Turn Off The Tap When Brushing Your Teeth - 06 May 2009

   We put in a small tap (like you get with filter systems) so that you have to press to get water.

   It also means that you don’t have to run off the warm water in the mixer tap.

6. Give Thanks Before A Meal - 06 May 2009

   We [almost] always sit around the table for meals with our children and always thank God for his generosity and provision. Short and sweet.

   When on holiday recently at a guest house we paused to give thanks and the other guests at a nearby table commented on how nice it was to see families doing that.

   It’s only occasionally awkward when a waiter arrives just when you’re starting to pray.

7. Shower More, Bath Less - 06 May 2009

   The last time I took a bath was months ago when my overworked muscles needed a warm soak. Usually I shower in our wonderful thermostatically controlled unit and then only twice a week unless I’ve been doing sweaty or dirty work.

8. Trustees worth their weight in gold - 11 Sep 2009

   I’m a director of a local christian charity and it a privilege to be involved and help steer the organisation forward. I am able to put my technical expertise to good use when certain items come up and help them avoid costs or foreseeable problems.

9. Think before you buy - 11 Sep 2009

   Hear, hear!

   So much of our buying is because the producers want us to buy. We’ve even been sold the lie that we need to spend our hard-earned to help stimulate the economy back to health.

   Using what you already have is more important than throwing stuff away (especially if it’s to make way for something new). Lending or giving it away are good alternatives.

   The “reduce, re-use, recycle” mantra of the waste gurus is opposed by an unspoken “waste, replace, upgrade” message from the advertisers.

   Watch the marvellous short film http://www.storyofstuff.com/