Category Archives: Energy Saving
Eco Cars
The Credit Crunch may still be ongoing, but if you are planning on buying a new car why not take a look at one of the following, although pretty costly the reduced fuel bill may be worth examining.
Smart – Micro Hybrid Drive
Coming soon is this little nifty number from Smart – Perfect for inner city driving
The micro hybrid drive technology in the smart fortwo mhd uses a start/stop function that automatically switches the engine off at traffic lights or in a traffic jam, and back on when things get moving again. The mhd switches the engine off as soon as you brake and fall below a speed of 5 mph. When the time comes to set off again, take your foot off the brake pedal and the engine seamlessly restarts, automatically engaged in first gear ready to continue your journey. This reduces both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. In fact, the smart fortwo mhd’s start/stop generator enables a fuel saving of up to 29% in urban settings and 11% for combined urban and extra-urban driving [1], all without compromising on performance or comfort. smart fortwo mhd is available on our 61 bhp and 71 bhp pure, pulse and passion models from October 2008, with mhd turbo petrol engine models to follow in 2009. Combined fuel consumption for 71bhp coupé of 65.7 mpg / 4.3l/100 km[2], combined CO2 emissions of 103g/km[2]; combined fuel consumption for 71bhp cabrio of 64.2 mpg / 4.4 l/100 km[2], combined CO2 emissions of 105g/km[2].
33 kW / 45 bhp cdi diesel, common rail turbo engine, 799 cc Fuel consumption[4] combined: 83.1 MPG £7434 = Bargain, although probably not idea for travelling long distances.
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Tefal Kettle
I have seen one of these in action. Its fantastic. Full up the water reservoir, put your cup under the spout and press go, the Tefal heats the water immediately while filling the cup. Once your cup is full hit the stop button. Only the water that is poured into the cup is boiled thus not wasting the energy to boil water your not going to need.
The Tech Blurb:
The revolutionary Tefal Quick Cup kettle that saves 65% Energy and is ready in just 3 seconds. It gives you hot or cold filtered water at a touch of a button. Press the red button, and within 3 seconds 220ml of water (about the capacity of a mug) is drawn up through an integrated filter, heated, and then dispensed, piping hot, direct into your cup. If you need more keep your finger pressed down on the button; if you want less, then press the button again.
The great advantage of this Tefal Quick Cup is that it only heats the water you need. According to Tefal it can save up to 65% energy, compared to an ordinary kettle. It also takes just 3 seconds to heat a mug of water.
Versatile…all your daily needs!
Plug it in
Fill the removable tank
Push the button for instant water
Straight to your cup!… Healthier water…
Water is also instantly filtered thanks to Claris cartridge
This removes impurities providing better tasting, healthier water and reducing limescale.
Programmable cup size
Energy saving…
You only heat and use the quantity you need.
Automatic Stop…
Hot water in just 3 seconds !
Opti-Quick technology exclusive to Tefal
Instant…
Hot water is available instantly , without preheating.
Instant hot and cold water
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Alkaline Battery Regenerator
So during my daily trawl of the internet i came across this little device, i am trying to get my hands on one to see if these to test technical numbo-jumbo and see if they actually work
Single-use alkaline batteries use only a fraction of their potential, the rest left unusable. Recharging these batteries can be dangerous and is never to be recommended. This new technology can reliably and safely regenerate “dead” batteries. Nothing is added to the batteries. They are not recharged but regenerated in a way that releases the potential that is already there.
It does this by perfecting the internal structure of the cell.
The benefits to the environment are clear to see. Annually over 30,000 tons of single-use batteries are thrown out with the domestic rubbish in the UK. Only a tiny percentage of this volume is actually collected for recycling, involving the extraction of component materials such as steel. What is more, there are no established facilities in the UK to effectively reprocess this unpleasant waste and collected batteries are shipped abroad. It is the consumer that pays for this costly exercise, in the high retail price for batteries.
Souvenir Cranwell’s solution can reduce the volume of waste many times over and presents considerable savings. The process of regenerating a single battery involves a cost of less than a tenth of a penny and a battery can be regenerated for as long as there is potential to be released. Our tests have shown that a single battery can be regenerated up to a hundred times and with each process the battery is returned to up to 95% of its original state.
Solar House
Elaine Brook shows you round her eco-house which is fun to live in, cheap to run, and is probably how we’ll all be living in a few years time.
We will be looking at some of the technology used in this video soon:
Energy Saving Computing
Standby! We are constantly being told to switch of the TV / Sky Box / Computer / Laptop or any other electronic device, and not leave on standby. The question i have is how much power does standby use and how much does that cost me in £ and Pence.
Computers
Computers are not as straight forward as other electronic devices to measure power consumption because the amount varies depending on how many drives are spinning, and how much number crunching is actually going on.
Lets look at Joe Averages Computer:
15″ LCD Monitor = 35 watts
Computer = 200 watts * Average figure
Total Usage per hour = 235 watts per hour your computer is on….. What does that mean in real money?
Using the formula below:
| Watts x Hours Used | x Cost per kilowatt-hour = Total Cost |
|
|
|
| 1000 |
| 235 x 1 | x 10.458 = 2.4p Per Hour |
|
|
|
| 1000 |
Assume the computer is on for at least 8 hours a day =19p per day and £70 per year
If the computer spends the rest of the day on stand by, (24-8 = 16hours) using 1-6 watts while sleeping a further cost of (if we take the middle wattage) 3(w) x 16(h)/1000 x 10.458(p) = £3.66 per year using 35 kilowatt hours which equates to (~600g C02 = 1kwh from coal powerstation) 10kg CO2.
So that’s the same weight of CO2 as 10 bags of sugar …. + a pint and a half at the pub all for switching of your computer rather than leaving it on standby.
BT Home Hub Router V.2
Most Internet routers get left on 24/7. The newest BT Home Hub uses 10watts = £9 per year / 52kg
Other Home Devices
Sky+ 12w Standby assuming 16hours standby a day = £7 per year / 42kg
TV 6w assuming 16hours standby Standby £4 per year / 21kg
VCR 6w assuming 16hours standby Standby £4 per year / 21kg
So using the average figures from above we could save up to £20 per year / 90kg CO2 by switching of our Sky/TV/VCR /PC instead of using the standby. Think, What else is using power, Average households have 2 tvs and 2 computers….. so your saving could be much more.
We’ve calculated these prices based on the rates of a standard UK Electricity provider. Here’s what we’ve used:
Provider: E-on Energy (Tariff: Standard tariff)
Rate: 10.458 pence per kilowatt/hour
Rate last checked: 1st August 2008