Green Saving Expert blog

Simple energy saving measures at home could cut more CO2 than thought

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:51:38 +0000

New research suggests that simple energy saving measures at home could cut Britain’s CO2 emissions by a third (40 megatonnes a year). This is much higher than previously thought by the government, as the original figures were based on an average emissions rate for all the different types of power station, whereas the power stations that respond to extra demand are usually the higher carbon coal and gas ones.

This new research comes from the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, and more details can be seen on the Independent website.

Of course, if you want a good list of energy saving ideas in the home, all you need to do is visit the Green Saving Expert website.

Could you do better with the UK energy policy for 2050?

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:29:48 +0000

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has provided a calculator for anybody to use to see what effect different policies would have on the UK’s energy supply in 2050. The government had set a target of reducing CO2 emmissions by 80% by 2050.

The calculator can be found here.

You can also see how Michael McCarthy at the Independent newspaper got on with the calculator here.

Rice yields to fall under global warming

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:37:21 +0000

A worrying report suggests that rice yields in Asia could fall with global warming.

Researchers have shown that as night time temperatures increase, rice yields drop.

More details can be found here.

As world population continues to grow, climate change could have a big impact on future food supplies. It is a time bomb just waiting to happen and could have disastrous effects later this century.

Record global temperatures, Moscow heat caused by climate change

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:34:56 +0000

The first seven months of 2010 had the highest global temperatures since records began in 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They also said that the majority of evidence shows that humans are impacting global warming. More information can be found on Yahoo.

Global climate change is also partly to blame for the Russian heatwave and wildfires around Moscow, according to experts at the UK Met Office and WWF Russia. See the BBC News website for more information.

Energy revolution could put bills up by a third

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:07:24 +0000

In order for the UK to meet energy demands in the coming years, and to meet it’s climate change targets, energy costs will have to rise. Electricity costs could go up by a third, and gas prices could go up by a fifth. More details can be found on the Telegraph website.

The government has said that people will have to make ambitious cuts in their own consumption in order to offset this. Remember that you can find lots of tips on saving energy on the Green Saving Expert website.

Global warming evidence is unmistakable

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:57:52 +0000

A report compiled by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Met Office has shown that the world is definitely warming. More than 100 scientists from 20 institutions have compiled data for 10 key indicators and all point to the same result. Each of the last three decades has now been warmer than the decade before.

More information can be found on the Telegraph website and the Met Office website.

Breakdown of CO2 emissions in UK homes

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:22:01 +0000

The BBC News website shows the breakdown of CO2 emissions in UK homes as follows :

Space Heating = 47%

Hot Water = 22%

Lighting = 6%

Fridges and Freezers = 6%

Consumer Electronics = 6%

“Wet” Appliances = 5%

Cooking = 4%

Phones, wi-fi, etc = 4%

It would be interesting to see how much this varies from house to house, but at least it gives an idea of where to start with energy savings. The graph of the above can be found here.

Water Energy Calculator

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:12:42 +0000

The Energy Saving Trust has created an online Water Energy Calculator which estimates how much water you use, how much energy is used to heat that water, and much CO2 is emitted to heat that water.

The calculator can be found at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/watercalculator/flashcalculator

Once you have given it the required information, it gives advice on how you can save water and energy.

Give it a go and see what you think.

Roadworks - good or bad?

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:07:36 +0000

It is now getting quite common on the motorways and dual-carriage ways in the UK to have long stretches of roadworks, with average speed cameras over the distance (normally set to 50mph). Keeping everyone at a steady speed usually helps the traffic flow smoothly. Although no-one likes being help up, even for a few seconds by driving slower, what impact does this have from a green point of view? A steady speed of 50 mph is probably very efficient for all types of vehicles on the road.

Let’s make some rough assumptions :

Length of roadworks = 5 miles

Number of vehicles = 20000/day

Average miles-per-gallon at ‘normal’ speeds = 35 mpg

Average miles-per-gallon at steady 50 mph = 45 mpg

CO2 emissions = 10.9 Kg/gallon

So, normally , the emissions over this 5 mile stretch = 20000 * 5 / 35 * 10.9 = 31142 Kg CO2

At steady 50 mph, the emissions are 20000 * 5 / 45 * 10.9 = 24222 Kg CO2

This gives a reduction of 6920 Kg CO2 every day that this is in place. When you think that these large roadworks are normally in place for months at a time, this adds up to massive CO2 reductions. Something to bear in mind next time you hear someone moaning about the roadworks. It may take them slightly longer to drive the route, but it will save them money and help the environment.

For more tips on greener driving, don’t forget to take a look on the Green Saving Expert website.

Top 10 Energy Saving Gadgets

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:58:34 +0000

The confused.com website has come up with a list of the Top 10 Energy Saving Gadgets.

Some are more useful that others… take a look here to see the list.

10:10 Lighter Later

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:45:12 +0000

The people over at 10:10 have a campaign to keep the UK’s clocks one hour ahead all year round, so winter would be GMT +1 hour, and summer would be GMT +2 hours. This would move one hour of daylight from the morning to the evening, when most people would be awake to enjoy it.

You can find more info, and can sign up, on the 10:10 Lighter Later website.

What has this to do with Green Saving?

They have listed many benefits of this change, but the main one is cutting at least 447,000 tonnes of CO2 pollution each year. The list of benefits can be found here. Another key benefit is that it will save 100 lives each year by making the roads safer.

Large drop in CO2 emissions for new cars in UK

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:47:41 +0000

The average CO2 emissions for new cars in the UK in 2009 dropped by 5.4% from 158.0g/km in 2008 to just 149.5g/km.

This compares with 177.6g/km in 2001, and has been dropping every year since.

This large drop is partly thanks to the scrappage scheme. The average emissions of cars bought through the scrappage scheme so far is a low 133.3g/km, which is 26.8% less than the old, inefficient cars being scrapped.

All of this is good news. Hopefully they will keep on dropping each year in the future as well. The EU has set a target of 130g/km for new car emissions by 2015, and at this rate we should hit it.

More details, including emission rates for each year, can be found on the What Car website.

Met Office : Evidence of human link even stronger

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:31:43 +0000

The UK Met Office has said that it is now even clearer that it is human activities that is behind climate change, after analysing 110 research papers on the subject.

More details can be found here.

The UK Met Office section on Climate Change, which includes much more information, can be found here.

Belief in Climate Change drops

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:08:38 +0000

A Populus poll for BBC News of 1001 adults in the UK shows that the numbe of people sceptical about climate change is rising. In November 2009, 83% agreed that climate change was happening - this has dropped to 75% in February 2010.

Also, the percentage of people who think that Climate Change is mainly man-made and not natural is dropping, from 41% to 26% - more details can be found here.

Personally, I think a lot of this is due to having the coldest winter and most snow in the UK for many years. It will be interesting to see another poll in a few months time.

Also, it just shows that more education for the whole subject is needed.

“Feed-in” tariffs” available to UK homeowners

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:38:57 +0000

As from April, UK homeowners who install solar panels or wind turbines will be able to claim cashback on the electricity that they create.

More details can be found on the Department of Energy aand Climate Change website, and on the BBC News website.

Happy New Year

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:03:09 +0000

Just like to wish you all a very happy new year.

Looking forward to a green 2010.

World heat maps 1995-2095

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:44:20 +0000

There are some very interesting world heat maps here, showing how the temperature around the world is expected to rise in 10 year steps from 1995 to 2095. It actually shows two maps for each one - the left hand side shows what happens if we do nothing - with the average global temperature rising by 4C by 2100. The map on the right shows what happens if emissions peak in 2015 then reduce, resulting in average global temperatures rising by ‘just’ 2C by 2100.

Carbon emissions must peak by 2020

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:15:07 +0000

The UK Met Office have said that carbon emissions must peak by 2020 if temperatures are to rise by no more than 2C. What is quite worrying is that even if they peak in 2020, there is still a 50% chance that the temperature rise will be above 2C. If they peak later than 2020, even just a few years later, the odds of staying below a 2C increase quickly get much worse. This shows just how urgent and serious the situation now is.

More info at BBC News.

This decade has been the warmest decade on record

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:46:50 +0000

The World Meteorlogical Organization and the UK Met Office have said that this decade (the years since 2000) has been the warmest decade since instrumental records began in 1850. On average, this decade has been 0.18C warmer than the 1990’s, and about 0.44C above the long-term average.

Also, 2009 looks likely to be the 5th warmest year on record.

More info can be found on the BBC News website.

Time to reduce speed limits?

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:52:21 +0000

With the oil crisis in the 1970s, some countries reduced their national speed limits in order to reduce the amount of oil used. Maybe it is time to do this again. This would be an easy, cost-effective method to reduce emissions, and these reductions could be realised from day one of this new policy being passed. Current speed limits around the world can be found on the Wikipedia website - I think a global limit of 60mph would be quite effective, without affecting driving times too much.

On the AA website, they say “According to the Department for Transport driving at 70mph uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more than at 50mph. Cruising at 80mph can use up to 25% more fuel than at 70mph. “