Beginners Guide: Ground Source Heat Pumps, an untapped domestic resource

Ground source heat pumps use pipes which are buried in the garden to extract natural heat from  underground by pumping water through it. The heat pump then increases in temperature, and heat can then be used to heat radiators, underfloor or warm air heating systems and hot water in your home.

"How do these fandangled contraptions work?!"

Don't worry technophobes its quite simple! A ground source heat pump needs electricity to run, but the idea is that it uses less electrical energy than the heat it produce. It circulates a mixture of water and antifreeze around a loop of pipe – called a ground loop – which is buried in your garden. The water and anti-freeze is pumped around the ground loop and absorbs the naturally occurring heat stored in the ground. The pump itself consists of 3 essential components; the evaporator, a compressor and a condenser - together these take the heat from the water mixture, transfers it to your domestic heating system i.e. your radiators and increases the temperature in the process. A ground source heat pump increases the temperature from the ground by between one and a half and four times – if the ground temperature is 12°C, the output would be between 18 and 48°C so you can say good-bye to those chilly winter mornings! And the best thing is the ground stays at a fairly constant temperature under the surface, so the heat pump can be used throughout the year – even in the middle of those harsh winters.

Will they ruin your garden?

No, not intentionally, unless the machines rise and have a thing against your flower garden! Joking aside; The length of the ground loop depends on the size of your home and the amount of heat you need. You'll need sufficient space for installation of the system, generally with a garden that's accessible for digging machinery. Longer loops can draw more heat from the ground, but need more space to be buried in. If space is limited, a vertical borehole can be drilled instead.

Other Things to Consider when installing Ground Source Heat Pumps

• Is your home well insulated? Since ground source heat pumps work best when producing heat at a lower temperature than traditional boilers, it's essential that your home is well insulated and draught-proofed for the heating system to be effective.
• What type of heating system will you use? Ground source heat pumps can perform better with underfloor heating systems or warm air heating than with radiator-based systems because of the lower water temperatures required.
• Is the system intended for a new development? Combining the installation with other building work can reduce the cost of installing the system
• Your existing fuel system. Savings will be greater if you replace an old or expensive heating system (like oil, LPG or electric heating) than if you are connected to the mains gas grid.
• Water heating. You may need a separate electric immersion heater.

Lets get down to the important stuff, MONEY

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) differ in size and complexity, so pinpointing a typical cost is tricky. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) estimates it can range between £11,000 and £15,000 to install one in your home. 

The payback period (the time it takes for the initial cost of the system to be recouped in energy savings) is also difficult to predict, as it depends on how efficiently your system works, the type of system you're replacing, whether you can get financial support with the Renewable Heat Incentive and how you'll be using the heat generated from the pump. Things to consider are:

• A new build property will be generally more suited to a GSHP for retrofitting and RHI etc. 
• How well insulated your home is.
•  What you will be using the GSHP for as it is more suited for lower heat temperatures like radiators and underfloor heating
• Running costs can be higher if you're also using the system for your hot water supply, and you may require a supplementary electric immersion heater to keep up with your heating needs.

The EST estimates that an average performing ground source heat pump could save you:

• between £650 and £1,035 a year to replace oil-fired heating

• between £1,265 and £2,000 a year to replace electric heating 

Financial help is also available. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a government scheme and the EST estimated it could provide an additional £2,325 to £3,690 a year which is big money.

What RHI can do for you

Pros of ground source heat pumps

• Ground source heat pumps generate less CO2 than conventional heating systems which means they are eco friendly, no protesters outside your door!
• The Energy Saving Trust (EST) says that a 'typical' ground source heat pump could save you between £395 and £2,000 a year depending which existing heating system you are replacing, either way it is a considerable amount of money worth taking back from those dastardly evil energy companies 
• You can get financial help towards the cost of a ground source heat pump. The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme provides payments to householders who have a heat pump, estimated to be between £2,325 and £3,690 a year for an average four-bedroom detached home.
• You need to use electricity to power the pump which circulates the liquid in the ground loop, but for every unit of electricity used by the pump, you get between two and four units of heat – making this an efficient way to heat a building.
• Cheaper Economy 7 electricity tariffs can be used to lower the cost of electricity to power the heat pump, and special heat pump tariffs may be available from some electricity suppliers – alternatively consider solar photovoltaic panels or a wind turbine (if you live in a suitable area) for a greener source of electricity.
  

Cons of ground source heat pumps

• Installing a ground source heat pump is expensive – typically £11,000-£15,000, depending on the size of the system (not including the cost of fitting under-floor heating, if required) BUT, don't forget that you can make your money back, all that money is an investment
• Ground source heat pumps are generally not suitable for properties with existing gas-fired central heating as the technology works at lower temperatures, making it better suited to homes with underfloor heating.
• The groundworks required to dig the trench can be expensive and disruptive – planning permission may be required if space is at a premium and you need a borehole. Ground source heat pumps tend to be better suited to new-build homes as they can be planned as part of the construction process.
• You still need to use electricity to drive the pump, so a ground source heat pump can’t be considered completely zero-carbon unless this is provided by a renewable source, such as solar power or a wind turbine.

Will you be doing your bit in saving the environment?

A Ground Source Heat Pump can help in lowering your CO2 emissions, reducing your carbon footprint by a considerable amount, helping you go down a few shoe sizes! According to the EST, a heat pump with mid-range efficiency uses a third of the energy needed in an average gas or oil boiler to produce the same amount of heat. Added up over a number of years this a significant amount so yes, you will be saving the environment you nice lovely people.

Its in our hands

Are you considering Ground Source Heat Pumps? Visit our website here to get a FREE reliable quote. Its quick and easy and based on our database we can give you the top 3 companies in your area that can do it for you http://www.heatpumpquoter.co.uk

I bid you adieu my dear Sirs and Madams!

Think green this Christmas.

If you've resisted the festive urge to be the first to get your Christmas decorations up and alight, then good news - we've got some handy tips to help you save energy this Christmas.

Did you know it's now possible to buy energy saving and solar powered rope lights and other exterior Christmas lights? Solar lights that charge during the day and timer technology to switch them on just in the evening.

We all know leaving interior lights on when no-one's in the room is wasteful, so don't leave your tree lights on either. A typical 100 string Christmas tree light left on for 10 hours a day, over the 12 days of Christmas will produce enough CO2 to inflate 60 balloons.

LED lights use a fraction of the power (90%) of normal Christmas lights.

Think about using recycled wrapping for presents, or get creative with something reusable. Americans produce 1 million extra tons of waste during the holidays, and last Christmas, the UK used enough one-use wrapping to cover the entire surface of Guernsey!

And with all that cooking and company calling round, you'll find the rooms can quickly get uncomfortably hot, so don't forget to turn down thermostats or even switch room radiators off completely.

And talking of parties, whilst it may be tempting to buy in paper plates and plastic cups, that's all extra landfill. If large numbers of glasses are required, then many supermarkets offer a glass loan service. Over Christmas, we traditionally produce more than 750 million extra wine bottles! Don't forget to recycle.

Lastly, the Christmas tree. Real trees can be recycled afterwards - either mulched, burnt or planted for use again next year, whereas artificial trees are usually made from wire and plastics which don't bio-degrade at all well. True an artificial tree is re-usable but sale statistics have shown, on average, artificial trees only last for 6 years before they're replaced.

Energy efficiency measures knock 17% off energy usage.

Between 2006 and 2010, the UK's gas usage fell by 17% due to the adoption of energy saving measures and schemes.

From small measures like turning off lights and closing curtains at night to replacing boilers with newer energy efficient models, the reduction is a great achievement.

But there's still plenty you can be doing. We've reported on the large numbers of homes still without adequate loft or hot water tank insulation and the Government's Green Deal due later this year should pave the way for more homes being able to get insulation including cavity wall insulation fitted for free.

Window design and the advances in glass cavity and glass coating technology now means that double glazing is more efficient than ever, with window units able to qualify for a-rated energy saving status.

If you've got draught and heat loss issues with your present glazing, then remember, that you don't necessarily have to have the whole house's glazing replaced at the same time.

If your budget is limited, pay attention to those windows that are the worst or in rooms where you spend the greatest waking time as new windows should mean you'll be able to turn down the heating in those rooms whilst making your lives more comfortable, you'll also be saving money and energy.

It's a fallacy that window companies are only interested in 'whole house' installations. Whether it's one window or ten, because each window is individually manufactured anyway, the quantity is unimportant.

Choosing a reputable company with a good track record and the right design should help in the event that you do wish to upgrade further windows at a later date. Ensuring you're able to buy the same style of window as previous installed all goes towards the final aesthetic appeal of your home and can be especially important if you ever sell and move on.

One safeguard might be to update an individual house face at a time - i.e the front of the house on a single installation, the side / back etc on another future installation.

Window Quoter can help you choose the right local (or national) window company. With just a few clicks, you can get an instant online quote for the number of windows (and sizes) you require. Later, if you ask us too, we can offer to match your requirements with out nationwide database of window companies that install in your area.

Because many of these companies don't advertise locally, we may surprise you with good value companies you were unaware of, plus show you feedback from other homeowners in your area that have used them in the past.

*This article first appeared in our 14th February 2011 homeowner newsletter - with a weekly subscription of nearly 300,000 readers - click here to read it in full.

photo credit: jonathanb1989

New TV series will show us how to save energy

A new TV series - 'How to… Reduce Energy Consumption & Save Money' reckoned it could tell the average British household how to save up to £1,500 per year.

With the much reported energy rises you'd think saving energy and reducing energy bills would be top of everybody's list but you'd be wrong.

The shows makers report that only 6 out of 10 households made any attempt to reduce energy or water consumption in 2010, which means 10.6 million households did nothing - an estimated £6.2 billion (or £592 per household) evaporating into thin air.

Its also estimated that the average household will spend £650 on winter fuel bills this winter - that's up 18% compared to last year.

Of the 10.6 million households that did nothing to reduce their energy or water usage, 7/10 blamed busy home lives, lack of time or small financial return.

4/10 said they had no spare cash to make alterations that would reduce bills and nearly a third said that as tenants, it wasn't their responsibility.

A further third said they didn't believe in global warming whilst one in ten households claimed they didn't know cutting back was possible in order to save money.

7/10 homes still admitted to leaving household appliances like TV's and game consoles (the worst offenders) on standby, clocking up an extra 17.5 hours a say. Closely followed by dishwashers (9 hours), washing machines (6 hours) and tumble driers (2 hours).

The programme's first episode aired on the 18th January to be followed by a further 7 weekly episodes on Sky Showcase etc. It includes advice from experts at Waterwise and the Energy Saving Trust.

Published in our 24th January home owner newsletter - see the full newsletter here.

photo credit: edwart visser

2011 - the year of the environment?

Could 2011 be the year of the environment (with regards home improvements)? Lets look at the evidence.

Paving.
With 2010's planning rules on permeable driveways, expect to see more and more driveways built featuring permeable surfaces like special block pavers.

It's all to do with surface water drainage - particularly where land was previously grass or of a porous surface, which rain could soak away through naturally. Planners and environmentalists have realised that the trend in installing new driveways (given the increase in average family car ownership), has caused all sorts of problems for local councils - namely - how to get rid of surface water during heavy rainfalls.

Expect to see an even wider choice of permeable and semi-permeable driveway surfaces.

Renewable Energy.
The much talked about Renewable Heat Incentives programme should begin in 2011 to back up the existing Feed-in Tariffs for renewable electricity generation. The RHI will reward those micro installers of renewable heat sources like hot water solar panels and ground source heat pumps etc.

This is good news for homeowners as well as installers who've had to wait for a market that was itself, waiting to see if the RHI would even go ahead.

The will they - won't they drama unfolded as we neared October's spending cuts announcement by the Government.

Fortunately, the RHI and the present Feed-in Tariffs escaped the cuts and homeowners and micro generation installers alike, breathed a sigh of relief. There have been over 10,000 solar panel installations carried out on UK Homes during 2010.

Double Glazing.
There's very little point in generating renewable heat and power if it's all going to leak out of your house like a sieve. With over 47% of the UK's energy used for heating, it's imperative that we start to reduce the amounts of energy it takes to heat our homes.

One very positive step is to install a-rated double glazing. This glazing is so efficient at keeping the heat inside your home in the Winter, whilst allowing natural sunlight to enter during the Summer, that homeowners who've already had a-rated glazing installed have reported condensation and frost forming on the outside panes of their windows and doors.

Staying in.
A major retail fraud prevention company has analysed data from the Easter holidays (2010) and reckons there was a 60% increase in the number of DIY related online transactions in the run up to Easter compared with 2009. The typical value of each transaction also increased, as homeowners it seems shunned holidays and spent more on their own homes, by £112 to £365 per transaction.

In the US, the rise in home improvement purchases over the Internet rose by 44%, although there was a slight drop in average transaction values.

The analysts reckon the trend towards having purchases delivered rather than doing battle with other shoppers on busy bank holiday weekends was a major factor in the increase of online activity, where shoppers took advantage of online discounts and special offers.

Think of all the car emissions that were saved in this one shopping activity alone.

They concluded their study by saying that the two most popular home interior activities were kitchen remodelling followed by bathroom remodelling. A surprising surge in the popularity of storage furniture prompted speculation that many homeowners were re-organising their existing living space rather than moving. Will we see the same in 2011?

photo credit: bruce turner

Boost Your Energy Efficiency Rating

Since July 2008, to put a house on the market you’ve had to arrange for a Home Information Pack (HIP), containing assorted details about the house, it’s construction, boundary details and planning permission. From April of this year, the HIP must be ready and available by the first day your property goes on the market.

Contained in the HIP is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which potential buyers can use to assess your home’s energy efficiency. Today, we’re giving you some excellent tips on how to give your EPC an adrenalin shot and boost your home’s energy efficiency, and so boost its value.

Even if you aren’t selling your home, improving your home’s energy efficiency makes sense: by combining these tips you could reduce your energy bill by over £300 a year!

Fit or Replace Your Double Glazing.

The Government have downgraded the energy rating of all Pre-2002 double glazing to ‘Average’, whilst the newer units can attain a ‘Good’ or even ‘Excellent’ rating. If your double glazing is starting to get past its best you can increase your home’s overall rating by replacing it with modern energy-efficient units. Making sure your double glazing is up to scratch will also help reduce draughts and noise, making your home a quieter, more peaceful place.

It’s also worth thinking about your window frames, since various window frame makes each carry an energy efficiency rating, and there are a multitude of fittings and finishes available.

The BFRC produce a rating system for windows of A-G, so when shopping for energy-efficient windows, make sure the your provider sells windows with an ‘A’ energy rating, and ask about Low Emission (‘Low-E’) coated panes. Also, look out for the logo of the Energy Saving Trust, who give approval to highly energy-efficient windows

You can find quotes for all kinds of windows and locate window companies using WindowQuoter.co.uk.

Insulate Your Loft and Wall Cavities.

If your walls and loft don’t have appropriate insulation you’ll be losing heat, losing energy, and getting a lower energy performance rating than you should be. Loft and cavity insulation is surprisingly affordable and will save you enough on your fuel bill to make back your costs within 2 years. Thanks to your increased EPC rating you’ll also add value to your home when you sell – probably more than it costs to have the insulation fitted.

A very good time to consider getting your insulation check is when your roof needs repair or replacement, and if yours does, head over to RoofQuoter.co.uk for an instant online quote for roofing work.

Upgrade Your Central Heating System

EPC certificates also look at your boiler and heating control system. If you’ve got an out-of-date combi-boiler you might want to consider replacing that with a more modern and efficient model, but you can also score points for having thermostatic control valves on your radiators, which adjust the temperature of each individual room based on your preferences and allow you greater control over your heating.

Change Your Light Bulbs

Not every energy saving measure needs great expense. Probably the greatest saving you can make on your electricity bill is also the simplest: swap your 100W traditional light bulbs for energy saving alternative bulbs. If your living room has 6 lights which you have filled with 100W bulbs, replacing them all with 20W energy saving bulbs will save you 480W, every hour, without losing any brightness. Even across the life of a standard bulb that’s a huge saving, and coupled with the fact that energy saving bulbs last much longer, it’s an easy decision to make.

Fixing the Roof While the Sun Still Shines

It’s the first law of thermodynamics – heat rises. All the warmth from your radiators and fires will inevitably, at some point, end up at the top of your house. It happens with the crushing inevitability of death, taxes and computer errors.

You may not be able to change the laws of physics, but when you’re readying your home for the winter you can certainly take them into account. So, where better to start, when looking for ways to reduce your winter fuel bill, than with your roof.

Problems with the roof are often not obvious until they start causing further damage. You won’t notice leaks in sunny weather, and noticing that your roof has no snow on it while next door has a two-inch-thick coating of the white stuff is not necessarily the best way of finding out you’re haven’t got proper insulation. Because of this, it’s worth being vigilant and constantly keeping an eye out for potential issues with your roof.

Things to look out for include loss of heat from your house when the central heating turns off or discoloured patches on upstairs ceilings. If water has already entered the house, though, you may have a bigger job on your hands than you think. Before you reach that stage you could perform a cursory inspection of the roof yourself – stand back from the house, or get up a ladder, and take a look. Are there any shingles broken or missing? Is the roof straight, or does it warp? Are there trees or pants growing against the roof? Catching these issues in their early stages will save you huge amounts of money in the long run.

Another thing to keep on top of is clearing out your guttering. It takes surprisingly little to clog up the average guttering, and if water isn’t draining properly it could be seeping into your beams and causing problems with damp and mould.

Remember, it’s always best to find these problems before they become serious. A leaky roof, if not properly dealt with, could mean having to replace insulation, beams, wiring, heating pipes and ceilings. And the absolute worst time to have to cope with all this is in the middle of winter when it’s cold and wet enough already.

A well installed roof should last at least 20-25 years, but once you start having roof problems they’re likely to keep coming back. Getting your roof repaired is a notoriously troublesome business: you need to be wary of the cowboys who will sit on your roof for an hour and then demand cash payment for work they didn’t even do.

Luckily for you, when you get an instant online quote from roofquoter.co.uk, we’ll help you find up to three local roofers that you can trust. All the companies in our network are individually vetted and we receive all sorts of feedback from homeowners who use our service, so we can deal with any problems which arise.

Get checking now, and get fixing the roof while the sun is still shining.

Double Glazing - What You Need To Know

In readiness for winter you need to think about keeping your house warm, and one of the quickest ways to lose the heat you are paying for is to have large single pane windows letting it out. According to the Energy Saving Trust, double glazing can reduce your heat loss by half, and can save over £100 a year in energy costs.

Pictures Courtesy of Thames Valley Windows

When you add to this the problems of condensation, of rotting window frames and of drafty windows with no locks, double glazing seems an obvious improvement to consider while readying your house for the winter.

Luckily for you, double glazing is very much a buyer’s market, with huge competition between suppliers. This means that searching around and keeping your options open can really save you money on your double glazing. If that sounds too much like hard work you can let us do it for you by heading over to windowquoter.co.uk for a free quote, and we’ll help you get in touch with the best local suppliers in your area.

Before beginning your double glazing project, it’s worth having a look at the Home Improvements Quotes Double Glazing Checklist to see if you’ve thought of everything.

• What frames do you want? Double glazed windows can be fitted with wooden, aluminium or uPVC frames. Try and think about which material will most suit the style of your house, and if your house is listed make sure you find out if you need planning permission from the local council before altering the exterior.

• How many windows do you need? On a shoestring budget it might be worth considering just having your largest windows replaced, or sticking to the rooms that you use the most. The great thing about glazing is that it can be done in stages, so you can tailor the size of your project around the funds you have available now, and sort the rest out when you have some extra cash available.

• Case Study As well as standard casement windows, many companies offer tilt and turn or sash case options which allow you to let air into the house without opening a large window up.

• What About ‘Low-E’ Glass? Low-Emissivity (a.k.a. Low-E) glass is coated with a special substance that allows heat and light to pass into the house, but blocks it from leaving. In most cases this will lead to an increase in the efficiency of the glazing by up to 30%. Many suppliers now provide Low-E Glass as standard in their double glazing installations, so be sure to ask about it.

• Something Extra? Frosted or leaded glazing can make your windows look gorgeous, and if your windows face east or west it might be worth considering having them tinted to keep the sun out of your eyes.

Head over to WindowQuoter.co.uk today and save money on your double glazing with a free, instant online quote.

The rising cost of home ownership.... get the best deals

The rising cost of home ownership (taken from our monthly home owner newsletter - free to over 230,000 homeowners every month) click here to subscribe yourself.

We look at how to get the best deals on utilities, travel and food bills in 2008

It seems that everywhere you turn in 2008, there is a cost increase – January has seen energy bills, rail tickets, petrol and even food bills rise, in some cases, by up to 17 per cent. These rising costs are set to increase inflation in the coming months, and with council tax and water rates next on the list, how will families cope with the day-to-day costs of running a home?

We look at ways to reduce the running cost of the average home, from capped utility bills to cheaper fuel options and cashback schemes – as well as simple ways to reduce your energy usage and economise on travel expenses.

Move fast for capped prices
2008 is tipped as the year that the average energy bill will hit £1000 – not a promising start with January only just behind us. Energy providers such as npower and British Gas have already increased prices of gas and electricity by as much as 17 per cent – for the average homeowner this will add £92 to the gas bill and £48 to electricity. Energy providers are blaming the increase on higher wholesale prices of energy, and show no signs of reducing the rates.

For “dual-fuel” customers – who buy both their gas and electricity from one supplier – the average household bill from npower will rise from £908 to £1047. On the same deal from British Gas, dual-fuel bills will rise from £921 to £1051. At the moment you can cap your energy prices with your supplier – but you need to be quick! Some companies are already scrapping their cheapest capped energy deals – Powergen and Scottish & Southern Energy recently withdrew their most competitive fixed tariffs. At the moment, the cheapest deal is British Gas Click 4, which costs around £740 per year for direct-debit customers – £199 cheaper than the average standard deal. Other energy suppliers are offering prices capped until November this year – giving you enough time to make significant savings.

Should I switch?
If you are looking to switch energy suppliers – wait. Not all suppliers have announced price rises yet, but they will follow suit – wait for all the suppliers to announce their hikes and then switch to the best deal. Switching providers is very common, even without such dramatic price increases. In 2006, around 4 million households switched energy provider – 900,000 of these in April alone. It is relatively straightforward and there are many options. You can opt to buy your gas and electricity from the same provider – known as dual-fuel – or have a separate company for each.

Energywatch supplies details of 13 approved price comparison sites on its website – these companies will compare prices from all the energy suppliers to get you the best deal. Most price comparison companies will deal with the new supplier on your behalf and arrange the switch from the old one – this service is also free to the consumer, as the price comparison site receives its fee from the energy company which has won the business.

Switching supplier is worth doing – the latest research from industry regulator Ofgem states that households changing energy supplier for the first time save around £100 per year.

What if I don’t want to switch?
If you have been with the same energy provider for years, or it is the one you inherited with your house, you are in the best position to get a good price without switching. Chances are you are on the company’s highest tariff, left there from years before. You could negotiate a cheaper deal based on your circumstances and take advantage of the new tariffs your energy supplier has to offer.

Changing the way you pay your bills can also make you huge savings. If you pay by direct-debit instead of paying cash or cheque, this can reduce your annual fuel bill by around £40, according to Energywatch. Another easy way to reduce your energy bills is to slightly reduce your usage – it really can make a difference. Try not to leave appliances on standby, switch off lights when you leave a room and use your washing machine at a lower temperature. Turning your heating down by just one degree will also save you £10 a year – and you won’t even notice the temperature difference!

Getting out of the house
Away from the household bills, the costs of running a car are also on the up. Families are paying an average of £4 more for petrol than they were one year ago, and fuel has just hit the record price of 103.62p per litre, compared to 88.25p this time last year. It pays to shop around for petrol, even just locally – the difference can be as much as 14p per litre! According to research from the AA, this could save the average family £384 per year on fuel. www.petrolprices.com gives consumers all of the petrol prices within 10 miles of their postcode, so you can decide where best to buy your fuel! To make further fuel savings, you can also use a cashback card to pay for it. The Shell Mastercard will give you a 3 per cent discount on fuel from Shell garages and a 1 per cent discount elsewhere. Capital One’s cashback card gives 4 per cent cashback on fuel in the first three months and 1 per cent after that. This would save you an additional £77.60 per year!

You may think that not owning a car at all would be the cheaper option, but with increasing rail fares as high as 11 per cent, you could be wrong. There are currently no restrictions on fare increases on certain routes, so rail companies are rapidly raising the prices. As long as the average rise across the board does not exceed 4.8 per cent, they are within their rights. Some routes are worse affected than others – predictably the most popular commuter routes to London are suffering the most.

You can get discounts on fares by booking well in advance and taking advantage of certain deals online. Breaking your journey into two halves could also cut the cost – there are “price barriers” at certain points throughout the country and crossing these increases your fare. Breaking your journey into two tickets at the crossover point can as much as half the price! Two single tickets are also often cheaper than one return.

January Blues
It seems that struggling with post-Christmas financial blues is not enough – price increases across the board have given us even more to worry about! Bills, petrol, mortgage payments and insurance have all gone up – council tax and water rates are next – even food prices are on the rise! Staple goods such as eggs and milk have risen 15 per cent in the last year, meat is 7.5 per cent more expensive and bread costs nearly 6 per cent more. Even McDonalds has recently admitted a price hike of 5-6 per cent on some of its products!

A recent poll by The Times newspaper calculated that a family with a £270,000 variable-rate mortgage and one car will have found their average bills increase by £2380 over the past year. Citizens Advice has produced figures showing that thousands of people are struggling – hopefully our advice goes a little way towards helping!

Turn your house into an Eco-home

Just how easy is it to turn your house into an eco-home?

The recent hype surrounding climate change should have made us realise that we each need to do something to encourage “greener living”. Whatever we do, it can range from a massive lifestyle change, such as changing our home energy source, to a small one, like recycling our rubbish. And in some cases, you can get government grants to help you pay for it!

Here, Mark Cooper, Managing Director of Homeimprovementquotes.co.uk, explains how simple it can be to become eco-friendly and reduce that all- important carbon footprint.

In his latest government policy Gordon Brown stressed that “we have a compelling and ever-more-urgent duty of stewardship to take care of the natural environment and resources”, and there are loads of incentives for “going green” - not just the obvious one of saving the planet!

Start from the outside and work your way in
By far the best way to reduce carbon emissions from your home is to insulate it. Good quality insulation can significantly reduce your energy wastage, saving not only the o-zone layer, but also your cash! Loft insulation alone can cut your energy bills by 20 per cent. Add to that cavity wall insulation, underfloor heating and draught-proofing and your energy bill could be halved!

There is no need to worry about the cost either. New government initiatives will pay 30 to 70 per cent of the cost of insulation – up to a maximum of £2700 – as part of their bill to save energy. This could rise to 100 per cent for homes which currently have no insulation whatsoever.

Don’t think getting insulation is a massive upheaval. It can be done on a room-by-room basis as and when you are decorating, and the quickest installation takes just two hours per wall – the more complex systems take only two weeks in their entirety. In all honesty it will probably take you longer to choose the type of insulation you require than it will to install it!

There are loads available:
Thermal insulation: Made from 90 per cent recycled materials, this is eco-friendly from the start – all the packaging is also recyclable, so there are no excuses for wasting anything! Thermal insulation is extremely effective and is quick and easy to install – just two hours per wall.
Thermafleece: Made from sheep’s wool, this insulation is completely breathable and absorbs moisture, controlling condensation. It’s attached using a timber framework and installation is very quick. Thermafleece uses just 14 per cent energy in manufacture compared to other brands and pays for itself seven times faster.
Recycled newspaper insulation: This is sprayed into place, meaning cavities are completely filled to give maximum insulation. The lack of framework means no measuring up, fast installation and lower costs.
Multi-foil insulation: This is bought in rolls from DIY stores, so you can install it yourself. It is only 30 millimetres thick, but is as effective as 230 and of other insulators.
Expanded polystyrene insulation: Especially for underfloor heating, this is installed underneath and around the concrete slab which contains the heating system – the concrete then acts as a storage heater.

Most types of insulation can be used in lofts or walls and you can mix and match depending on the requirements of each room. It is well worth doing – every square metre of wall insulation saves more than a tonne of carbon dioxide over the life of the building. An average semi has an area of eighty metres squared, so that’s a saving of 80 tonnes or more of carbon emissions.

You don’t need permanent sunshine to use solar power
It may not seem like it now, but the sun is still out there somewhere! Its rays are strong enough to power your home – even through cloud – and you don’t need to install a giant panel on the roof either. A small panel lying totally flat to the roof is sufficient for the average family and can save 50 to 60 per cent of your energy bills. The panel collects sunlight into a metal absorber plate and converts this to energy for your heating or water system. The government estimates that installing systems like these costs between £3000 and £4500, but will pay a grant up to £400 towards the installation costs. This may not seem like much, but the savings on bills means it will pay for itself in roughly eight years. Our own monthly poll shows that 80 per cent of people would be willing to install solar panels in their homes – go for it!

Little things go a long long way
On a smaller scale, there’s loads you can do to save energy. One way is by getting a controller for your central heating system so that you only heat the rooms you need to. This could be through a programmer or individual radiator control valves. Another way to reduce waste is to switch to energy-saving light bulbs. They use a lower wattage to emit the same amount of light and although more expensive than regular bulbs – around £2 each – they last roughly 8000 hours, saving an estimated £35 a year.

If you’re on a water meter it’s easy to recycle your rainwater and it can save you 50 per cent on your bills. Rainwater is collected in a barrel and diverted to dedicated flow points – such as the laundry or toilet – providing up to 84 per cent of your supply. There are no current government grants for rainwater harvesting, but in terms of savings it’s worth looking into. Also try to always do a full load of laundry and lower to a 40 degree wash – with today’s washing powders there’s no need to use a hot wash all of the time. Never leave appliances on standby, regularly defrost your freezer so it runs to its full potential and try turning your heating down by one degree – chances are you won’t even notice, but it will save you £10 a year!

Recycle – it really does make a difference
A massive 60 per cent of the rubbish you throw away can be recycled! Just in case you think it doesn’t matter, remember – one recycled drinks can save enough energy to power your TV for three hours, a glass bottle enough to power your PC for 25 minutes and a plastic bottle enough to power a 60 watt bulb for three hours. It takes 70 per cent less energy to make recycled paper than to make it from scratch, and saves 24 trees. Plastic takes just six weeks to recycle, but if thrown away takes 500 years to decompose – thrown away glass will never decompose, but is 100 per cent recyclable. Printer cartridges are easy to recycle, but if thrown away take 1000 years to decompose. www.recyclingappeal.com will collect and recycle your printer cartridges and old mobile phones for free – all you have to do is pop them in a freepost envelope!

Currently only two percent of the UK’s electricity is supplied using renewable energy resources. By 2010 the government hopes this will rise to ten per cent and by 2050, to 50 per cent - you can help them reach this target and save yourself some money in the process!

For More information please visit www.Homeimprovementquotes.co.uk