Posts Tagged energy saving
The World’s Most Inefficient Radiator?
Posted by Gareth Eynon in Energy on November 28, 2011
All I want to do this week is share a photograph with you: Whist plodding around a National Trust property at the weekend, I think I may have stumbled upon the world’s worst place to site a radiator. Have a look at this picture and see if you agree with me:
As we all know, windows are one of the places in a house that let out the most heat. Add to that the fact that this a Georgian era house and that these windows are no doubt old and drafty, and you have a top contender for the World’s Worst Place To Put a Radiator Competition (no that doesn’t really exist – imagine how boring that contest would be!)
Yes I agree that it’s very common to put radiators under the windows of houses, but this is simply a space-saving measure on the builder’s part. In terms of efficiency and heat retention, it’s probably the worst place that you can put them. I once heard an estate agent on TV claiming that radiators are put there to warm the cold air coming in from outside. Er, no. Hot air flows from hot to cold meaning that a radiator placed under a window, or indeed in front of a window, will simply bleed heat out into the cold exterior.
From the look of it, this radiator is Victorian/Edwardian. Now as much as I love Victorian architecture and innovation, this is just plain stupid. And if this isn’t enough; the window next to this one is exactly the same. That must be one cold room.
I think somebody needs to tell the National Trust about how radiators actually work. Or perhaps their subscription fees are so high that they have money to burn. Nah, just kidding; I think the National Trust is great value for money.
GR
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Eco-Lie#5: Eco Nappies? Not When They’re Disposable
Posted by Gareth Eynon in Eco-Lie on November 7, 2011
It’s been while since the Eco-Lie outbreak began, and it appears that humanity still has no cure in sight. The sights of today’s post are set on Sainsbury’s and their Little Ones Eco Nappy range.
For me, to put the word ‘eco’ on a disposable nappy is wrong. Let’s face it, the only true eco nappy would be one that doesn’t exist at all – but we can all imagine the consequences of that! The fact of the matter is that to stop new parents being swamped in a deluge of nasty stuff, we need nappies.
Having had two children myself, I’m a bit of an authority on nappies, but I’m also no eco-angel: I’ve used the lot: reusable nappies, ‘natural’ disposable nappies, huggies (once) pampers (twice) and even a tea towel fastened with a safety pin (a one-off emergency measure). And yes; I’ve also used my fair share of Sainsbury’s Little Ones nappies (hangs head in shame). The huggies and pampers are horrible, plastic, chemical filled things that I only used because a friend lent me them when I was caught short. I used washable cloth nappies for my first child (lift head in pride), but just didn’t have the time or space to do the same with the second (re-hang head in shame).
I’m not going to get into the ‘which nappy is best’ debate. Suffice it to say that plenty of research has been done and the results show that reusable nappies are, by far, the most planet-friendly and wallet-friendly option. Plus, the more children you have, the better value they become. You can read a different article I wrote on the subject here.
Disposable nappies, though, are a menace to the environment: they use up valuable resources to manufacture, can take up to 200 years to decompose and 90% of them end up in landfill. Does this sound eco to you? Now I’m sure these Little Ones nappies are an improvement on the above, but not so much that they merit being called ‘eco’.
Sainsbury’s say their eco nappies use a minimum of 60% plant-based material, but I’m sorry, they shouldn’t be going anywhere near the word ‘eco’ until that’s up to at least 99.7%. I do know of a brand of nappies that come in compostable packaging, but do these ones? Nope. It’s polyethylene all the way on this eco-friendly product.
Are they alone?
Just so Sainsbury’s don’t feel hard done by, I thought I’d have a look at the other supermarkets and see what name they give their own range of eco nappies. Do they try and fool us too?
Asda: Yep, just as I suspected, they’ve pulled a fast one and called them Adsa Eco Nappies. They’ve had to recall them though due to a complaint about the materials used – very eco, well done Asda.
Tesco: They don’t have their own eco brand of nappies. I did notice, though, that next to the description of its Value disposable nappy, Tesco inform us about the nappy’s carbon footprint. Now I hate to sound snobbish here, but I’m going to anyway: do you really think that the people who buy Tesco Value nappies care about the environment? No, I don’t think so…
Morrisons: Not sure, as they don’t have an online shop (how last decade) and I couldn’t be bothered to go in a store to have a look.
So then, it’s not only Sainsbury’s who try and fob off the environmentally conscious (but very busy) parent, with a disposable eco nappy, Asda do it too.
Staying on the subject of Asda for a minute: one other thing that came up during my eco nappy hunt was the Asda Little Angels Eco Nappy Sacks… What?!!! Eco nappy sacks? You have got to be joking! There’s no need for nappy sacks at all: it’s a complete waste of resources to use an individual plastic bag for each nappy that you end up putting into that giant plastic bag… called a bin. Here’s what Asda say, “We have added a special ingredient which helps this product degrade 30 times faster than a normal nappy sack, protecting the planet for your little angel.” Oh, so that’s just 33 years for these eco nappy bags to degrade then, well that’s fine – what a wonderful eco-friendly product.
In summary then…
I’m aware that Sainsbury’s aren’t the only company to stock eco disposables, but they are the ones who I’m picking on today (Asda just happened to get in the firing line). While I do applaud any attempt to make a product less damaging to the environment, this doesn’t detract from the validity of the statement that eco disposables are an oxymoron. Nothing that’s used in such massive numbers as nappies and is also disposable can be at one with the ecosystem. Again, this is a blatant attempt by the marketing men to sell more products on the back of our guilt over killing the planet.
There’s nothing really wrong with using these nappies, as they are a better option than some. But please, please don’t be fooled into thinking they are good for the environment, they are not. You can find much better alternatives out there.
GR
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Burnt, Buried or Liquidised: My Macabre Guide to a Planet-Friendly Funeral
Posted by Gareth Eynon in Technology on September 26, 2011
Insurance adverts abound on daytime television telling us not to leave a huge debt for our loved ones to pay when we kick the bucket. But how can we best avoid leaving a huge debt for the planet to pay as well?
Green funerals are nothing new: The Tibetans have been chopping up dead relatives and feeding them to the vultures for years; sailors have traditionally been buried at sea to become fish food; and funeral pyres have been used for centuries, not only creating a welcome source of heat, but also leaving nothing more than a pile of ashes that can be used to fertilise crops. Modern technology, however, has brought the green funeral bang up to date.
The contemporary funeral can be quite a hefty affair in regards to the resources it uses: a hardwood coffin; a blazing inferno to cremate the body; land space to bury the body and, quite often, a half-mile long presidential motorcade following the hearse.
Much has already been written on environmentally-friendly funerals so I will not duplicate that here. What I want to look at in this post is the newest technology currently emerging.
So what’s new then?
Ok. If you want to go green when you die (as opposed to grey) you may want to try these:
The Ecopod
The Ecopod. No, this is not a new product from Apple; it’s actually a “revolutionary and beautiful new design in coffins” that’s made from recycled newspaper and mulberry pulp (I love the gold one – very bling). Alternatively, if you want to avoid taking up any more of the Earth’s precious space than you have to, try squeezing yourself in to one of this company’s Acorn Urns (just watch out for giant squirrels).
Actually getting your body to the funeral is a source of carbon emissions – but do not fear (the Reaper), help is at hand in the form of the Brahms Electric Hearse. This is the only way to travel to your final resting place if you want to be green. I suppose you could use a horse drawn gun carriage like the queen or, even better, be buried right beneath your deathbed. But failing these options – go electric.
Another way of keeping your carbon footprint down at a funeral is don’t invite people who will have to travel for miles to your send-off. Either make no friends during your life or – more sensibly – perhaps you could set up a live Internet stream. Ok, I know this may be getting just a little bit silly, but I’ve always said it’s best to laugh at death. Ha ha.
Right then: so you’ve popped your clogs, you’ve been placed in an alien-esque cardboard pod, been driven to the cemetery with minimal carbon emissions and have no friends in attendance… how then do you wish to be disposed of? Burial? Nope; too much land-take and methane emissions. Cremation? Nope; too much energy and carbon emissions. OK, how about being liquidised then? That’s right… liquidised – or to use the correct term; disposed of via alkaline hydrolysis.
There’s a new machine on the funeral circuit that will reduce a body down to liquid in about 2-3 hours. A Glasgow company Resomation make the contraption and they’ve called the process the same: Resomation. Really? That’s the best they could come up with? Could they not call it something a little more imaginative like Body Blitzing or The Death Dissolve?
According to the manufacturers, Resomation is a green alternative because:
- (Research) has shown that the substitution of Resomation for cremation as part of a funeral will reduce that funeral’s emissions of greenhouse gases by approximately 35%. Ok, not bad…
- The energy needed for the Resomation process in the form of electricity and gas is less than one-seventh of the energy required for a cremation. Even better.
- In the UK up to 16% of all mercury is estimated to be emitted from crematoria because of the fillings in teeth, Resomation produces no airborne mercury emissions. Great.
- Sterile liquid is safely returned to the water cycle free from any traces of DNA. Erm, excuse me, what was that? Returned to the water cycle? Are they saying that if I choose Resomation there’s a chance my kids could be drinking me in their tea a couple of weeks later? No thanks.
This is how the BBC describes the resomation process. Now I know I’ll be dead when it happens and won’t feel a thing, but geez…
Resomation… works by dissolving the body in heated alkaline water. The system works by submerging the body in a solution of water and potassium hydroxide which is pressurised to 10 atmospheres and heated to 180C for between two-and-a-half and three hours. Body tissue is dissolved and the liquid poured into the municipal water system. The bones are then removed from the unit and processed in a “cremulator”, the same machine that is used to crush bone fragments following cremation into ash. Metals including mercury and artificial joints and implants are safely recovered. (BBC News) Again, I think I’ll pass thanks.
If, like me, you find this idea rather unappealing then take comfort in the fact that crematoria are also looking into reusing the waste heat from the cremation process to heat the crematorium facilities, thus lowering the carbon footprint. Although, for this to be properly utilized, you’ll have to wait to die in winter. However, if you would favour a summer demise, there’s also talk of heating swimming pools with this energy.
In summary then…
In all seriousness, there are 600,000 funerals a year in this country – or over 1600 a day. That’s a lot of land filled with bodies, energy consumed for cremations and associated emissions of methane and carbon. The above ideas (resomation included) really could help to lower these, so why not point people in this alternative direction when they are making funeral plans.
If you feel you really must keel over and die, then have some consideration for those of us you leave behind on this ever-shrinking planet. Thanks.
GR
For a more serious (somber) look at this issue plus some good advice check out this link or this one.
If you have anything to say on this article, or indeed anything raised in The Green Review, then do join the discussion on the facebook page. The more contentious the better please…
Photos courtesy of Hmproudlove, Ecopod, Brahms Electric Vehicles, Austeng and Stephen Orsillo.
Putting a Green Spin on Things: Gas Powered Tumble Dryers
Posted by Gareth Eynon in Products and Tips on July 9, 2011
You may well have read my recent post on ceiling mounted airers, in which I looked briefly at the impact tumble dryers have on the planet. Well, in researching that post I found a surprising bit of kit that I never knew existed: the gas powered tumble dryer.
I’m well aware that the average domestic user shouldn’t really be using a tumble dryer, but perhaps you own a business that requires one, or maybe run a children’s football team and get lumbered with the kids’ muddy kit every Sunday evening. If you are one of these people then read on. If not; get a washing line.
There are 10 million tumble dryers in the UK, accounting for 4.3% of our domestic energy consumption. Ok… Stop for one second: 4.3% of our domestic energy consumption? Geez people, what’s wrong with the sun and the wind? Do we really have to throw so many clothes into these machines? I have a family of four, including two young, messy children, we live in small Victorian terrace and we have never, ever felt the need for a tumble dryer.
Anyway, sorry about the rant – on with the post.
Gas powered tumble dryers are beneficial to your pocket and the planet for the reason that they use gas, which is cheaper than electricity and emits less CO2
The average carbon emissions from a domestic electric tumble dryer are 159kg of CO2 per year and they cost about £37.00 to run (based on 148 4.7kg cycles) A gas tumble dryer should produce 54% less carbon than this and cost 61% less to run.
There is only one gas tumble dryer available in the UK market and that is the White Knight (a somewhat grand title for a clothes dryer, don’t you think?) However, you may be able to purchase a second hand gas tumble dryer from a launderette, which would be an even greener option (reuse); just remember to remove the coin mechanism – or perhaps not; it may look quirky and cool.
Of course there are some downsides to using a gas tumble dryer:
- They have to be fitted (and maintained) by a CORGI registered gas fitter; an electric version simply needs to be plugged in.
- If you use renewable electricity in your home, you will not benefit from any savings by using a gas tumble dryer. But then again, if you do have robust green principles and have taken the time and expense to install a renewable energy system, I’d be surprised to find a tumble dryer in your house anyway.
You can pick up a gas tumble dyer from about £300 so they’re not too expensive in comparison to electric models as is so often the case with ‘green’ technology.
To finish, I would like to say that we shouldn’t really be using tumble dryers at all. There are plenty of other ways to dry clothes without the need for these machines. Nevertheless, if you do truly need a tumble dryer, or feel you really can’t live without one, perhaps you should think about a gas powered version. At least it’s greener than the alternative.
GR
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Photo courtesy of my mother-in-law. Gracias
