A Thought about Energy Costs

I've been reading lots of articles recently about the rising cost of oil making it more viable to drill hard to reach reserves. When previously this would have been too costly, now it looks more sensible for oil companies. This is obviously not the world's best news. However, the increase in energy costs is starting to make quite a few people think about going 'green'. This makes a lot of sense since people and companies generally care a lot about what's in their pocket. For many, 'going green' isn't so much about saving the environment, but saving money.

Last week, we went to the Green Car Guide show in Liverpool. The show was mainly geared towards businesses, but the message was clear: with rising fuel costs, businesses want more efficient cars, vans and trucks. It's a simple equation - greater efficiency means less fuel, meaning lower running costs. Of course, there are other potential benefits from greener cars (lower car tax, congestion charge exemptions, and even free parking). As costs rise, this will become increasingly important for businesses (and individuals).

The other thing I have been thinking about is the rising cost of home energy. A couple of days ago it was reported that energy bills could go up by 40% (an increase that could mean paying £400 more this winter for the average household). That's a huge increase. This is what got me thinking about the interconnectedness of the oil price rises. This could, and should, make people think about increasing their home energy efficiency. Yes, it does cost money - but as energy costs rise, so do the potential savings. The investment payback time is shrinking significantly now.

So people should be thinking about reducing their heating and electricity bills this winter. There's loads of things people can do: improve the insulation, ensure their boiler and heating system is efficient, double glaze (or even more..), use low energy lighting. Aside from that there are all the easy things like turning off lights. Like many things in life, we'll change only when we're forced to. The pinch on your wallet is definitely something that will do that.

Wasting water

Here's a concept - stop me if you've heard it before - how about you only pay for what you use? Those clever folks at the electricity and gas companies have been at it for years: install a meter and then charge your customers for what they actually use. Clever idea really. Much like the woman (or man) at the supermarket checkout that totals up your bill when you're paying.

Well, in recent years, those tardy folk at the water companies have decided to get in on this act. Water meters (!) - what a great idea. You can almost see the eureka moment when someone thought that they would charge for what people were using... So now, you can move from an estimated bill (the water 'rates' system) to an actual 'pay for what you use' bill. As you're going from a fixed rate to a variable rate, then (assuming your water use doesn't change) your water charges could go up or down. It would all depend on how much water you used compared to the rated estimate. Ofwat (the regulator) have a water usage calculator that allows you to compare your usage on a meter with their rated prices (but frankly I found the uswitch version to be more user friendly - and worked more reliably)


Anyway, we thought it would be a good idea to get a water meter. My reasoning is this: even if it means we pay more for our water, at least we're paying for what we're using. As such, it means we'll understand how much we use and waste - and help us reduce our water usage. Seems to make sense to me.

Apparently Ofwat and the Environment Agency agree. Apparently studies show that houses with meters use between 5 and 15% less water than those without meters. This seems to make sense - as soon as you realise you're paying for what you use, you'll probably use less. However, trawling through Ofwat reports and the internet, I haven't been able to confirm this - though the Environment Agency refer to this report by the UK Water Industry Research. Unfortunately, at £70, I wasn't buying a copy. Anyway, seems like a good idea to me - though so far, not that many people have jumped on the boat. Ofwat said that only 25% of Thames Water customers would be metered in 2007-8.

Anyway, so we had a meter installed (piccy above). This nice chap came along and told us how much money he makes installing meters. Only has to do a few a day (think it was 4) to meet his minimum target, then gets paid loads for any extra ones. He took all of about 15 minutes to do it, then was gone - though only after making my builders envious of his easy job and good money. Then a few hours later, we had a look at the meter, and yes, there was water dripping from it. Mr Overpaid not-a-real-Plumber managed to install a leaky meter. Well, actually, it's not the meter's fault - it's the way it was all installed. Builders were suitably annoyed that he's overpaid and can't do the job properly. Luckily, my builder is a plumber, and is going to fix the joints so it doesn't leak.

How about this for a commute?

Let’s start by saying that I’m not a morning person. At all.

This morning, I got myself up at 5am to meet a friend that I’d not seen for a good few years (come to think of it, it may have been more than 10 years). We were at school together and I can say, without hesitation, that our main connection in the five years of boarding school was a shared love of athletics. That’s what I’ve come to call ‘Track and Field’ these days: Simon was a 110m hurdler and I was a sprinter that used to think a mile was a long way to run. We’ve been back in touch for a while, but meeting up hadn’t quite happened yet, so I think it was fitting that we actually got to meet up again over something sporting.

At 6am this morning, Simon and his friends, Tim and Matt, got on their bikes at Marble Arch to cycle to Edinburgh (450 miles) before running the Edinburgh Marathon (26.2 miles). Strictly speaking, they started their challenge last night with a swim in the Serpentine Lido, but the bike and run was the original idea. In these days of Ironmans and Ultramans, I suppose many wouldn’t think that this was such a hard challenge – but I was impressed for several reasons.

How often do people come up with an idea in the pub and then never do anything about it? These guys came up with the hair-brained plan and are actually doing it. Simon and his friends have a great adventure ahead of them and are doing it to benefit Cancer Research. You see, Simon's mum was diagnosed with brain cancer, and tragically passed recently. This has only steeled Simon to make sure they went ahead. I really admire them for having a good go at this. I tagged along to see them out of London (well, for the first few miles anyway) and wish them the best of luck on their journey.

So, if you need an excuse to donate to Cancer Research, follow this link and make their efforts worthwhile:
http://www.justgiving.com/edinburghmadness

Big Crane, Heavy Steels

That's what you'd have seen if you came down my road yesterday morning. (At least if you were walking - if you were driving, you'd have seen one which said 'Road Closed'). Yesterday, was 'Crane' day. We've been waiting a long long time for this to happen - we had to close off the street to get a big crane in to lift up all sorts of steel beams and propping equipment (to stop the flats falling down).


You might wonder what on earth we're doing (we've thought the same thing a few times). Basically, in the re-design of the flat, we decided to make 2 structural changes - both of which should make a large impact on the living space. One is opening up the kitchen so that more light comes into it - currently we have a really light front room and a surprisingly dark kitchen. The other change is removing a wall in the bathroom so we can have a shower there.

Are these changes 'eco'? Well not really, but also yes. The improvements we're making to the flat should see it through a long while - and the structural ones should reduce the need for changes in the future. We went through a lot of agony deciding how best to make use of the strange floorplan the flat had, and how to turn it into a long term home. Aside from that, bringing light into the kitchen should make a big difference!

What a difference a day makes

I've been living in London again for a little over a week now. The flat may still be a building site, but I've scored a great rental off a friend's parents. This weekend was great - all of a sudden the weather has brightened up and it feels like summertime. This, of course, means that Londoners strip off and get sunburnt at the first possible opportunity. Just like the guys outside the Tube station with umbrellas on rainy days, we should have guys with sun cream at the entrance to any patch of public grass on sunny days.

Anyway, yesterday marked an important day back in London for me - just because it was the first warm sunny day and I went for a run when I got home. It was the first summer evening run in London. And it was great. Loads of runners were out to enjoy the evening. There's no real point to this blog post, other than - it's great to be in London. Running along the river on a sunny evening is just glorious.

But since you're bothering to read this post, I'll share a secret with you - I found a wonderful little park on the river overlooking Putney (not quite sure how I missed it before - especially as a friend of mine got married right next to it - I blame it on having grown up in North London). You can follow the Thames Path along the river or just stroll around the gardens. I love finding new places in the city.



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What a difference a day makes
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain