Domestic Green Deal Advice Training Low cost-no Cost Measures
Factors To increase the customers benefits and maximize the savings following a Green Deal assessment, low cost and No cost advice should be given. Fixed by Green Deal Savings Repayments Behavioural Change Fuel Bill Behavioural Change, Through Low Cost, No Cost Advice. Will increase household savings Fuel bill
Simple Ways to Save Energy Turn off appliances at the mains when not in use Use economy settings whenever possible Use energy saving products, e.g. a Powerdown that will help save both money and energy
Standby Standby: the energy that no-one uses On average UK households spend 35 a year each powering appliances left in standby mode As well as standby power, Consider broadband modems, broadband routers, digi-boxes and cordless telephones, clocks, timers For instance a broadband modem router can consume as much as 7 worth of electricity if left on for an entire year. standby savers that allow you to easily turn all of your appliances off from standby without having to reach for the plug. Recent regulations specify that all electronic products sold within the EU after 2010 cannot have a standby power greater than 1W, However, whilst the average standby consumption of new products is going down, households are being filled with more and more electronic gadgets, therefor it is still worth looking at your standby energy usage throughout your home.
Simple ways to save energy Cooking
Washing and drying
Lighting
Heating and hot water
Energy Labels Energy Saving Trust Recommended Under the Energy Saving Trust Recommended scheme only products that meet strict criteria on energy efficiency can carry the label. The idea is that whatever the product, whichever the labelling system -all you need to do is look for the Energy Saving Trust Recommended label when you go shopping.
Comparisons of appliances Size matters: the most efficient products come in small packages Energy ratings labels on appliances are generally given to products based on size categories. The idea is to enable you to compare between two similarly sized products. This means two differently sized appliances with the same energy rating may use quite different amounts of electricity. For instance an A rated 180-litre fridge freezer could cost only 36 a year to run whereas a larger 525-litre fridge freezer with a better A+ rating would cost 49 a year to run. That s 13 a year more. In trying to save energy it is therefore best to look for the product with the best energy rating for the size of product you require.
Low cost measures There are ways to save Energy straight away and advice should be given on appropriate low cost no cost measures. Draught proofing Blocking unused chimneys Cylinder jacket Sealing air leaks Energy monitoring pipe work lagging Reducing the thermostat
thermostat Turn down your room thermostat by one degree: save around 55 and 230kg carbon dioxide a year. 12
Draught Proofing Draughts happen where there are unwanted gaps in the construction of your home, and where openings are left uncovered. You ll find draughts at any accidental gap in your home that leads outside, such as: windows doors including keyholes and letterboxes loft hatches electrical fittings on walls and ceilings suspended floorboards pipework leading outside ceiling-to-wall joints
Sealing air leaks Air leakagescan prove to be a major problem as they can affect yourindoor air quality and increase your electricity expenditure as well. Caulking Caulking areas where air leaks are present is a good solution. Some of the places that should be caulked: Ducting Plumbing Electrical wiring Joints between floors and skirting boards Full draught-proofing will save you on average 55 per year. Draughtfree homes are comfortable at lower temperatures
Chimney draughts If you have a fireplace that you re unlikely to use the fire in, best to permanently block the chimney draughts off. This might be with something as simple as some crumpled up newspaper, or you could use a chimney pillow. These are expressly designed for this purpose, come in a number of sizes and expand to fit the gap nice and tightly. You can see one here:
Blocking a fireplace Blocking up an unused fireplace chimney breast can be bricked in to tidy up the wall Ventilation needs to be provided to the chimney space to avoid moisture collecting on the soot and smoke deposits within the chimney and forming damp areas, this can easily be achieved by building in an air-brick It is also necessary to cap the chimney pot to allow air circulation through the chimney while keeping rain, birds etc. out. Before starting to brick up the fireplace or fitting the ventilation cowl, have the chimney swept one last time to remove as much soot as possible and dislodge any bird nests or other debris
Cylinder Jackets Insulating your hot water cylinder is one of the easiest ways to save energy and therefore money. If you already have a jacket fitted, check the thickness, it should be at least 75mm thick. If not, it's worth treating your cylinder to a new winter coat. Fitting a British Standard jacket around your cylinder will cut heat loss by over 75% and save you around 40 a year-more than the cost of the jacket!
Pipe Lagging Tanks, pipes and radiators Lagging water tanks and pipes and insulating behind radiators reduces the amount of heat that escapes, so you spend less money heating water up, and hot water stays hotter for longer.
Energy Monitoring It's easy to cut your electricity bills if you know how much you're using... Since 2006, wireless home electricity monitors have been championed by TV programmes such as Panorama, Newsnight, BBC News 24's Click, It's Not Easy Being Green etc. They provide critical and continuous information about how much electricity is being used in the home so that you can adopt new energy saving habits to reduce the household consumption of electricity. These convenient and easy to use monitors instantly show you: Exactly how much electricity you are using How much it is costing you in pence per hour How much harmful CO2 your household produces 19
Energy Monitoring An energy monitor tells you what you are using and when helping you to lower your bills. Using one can reduce your energy bill by up to 80 a year. 95% of people underestimate the savings they can achieve by using an energy monitor to help change their behaviour. As a general rule, the sort of saving you might expect to generate by using an energy monitor is 15% of your Energy use 20
Energy Monitoring Tips for using an energy monitor There's no point having a monitor unless you keep a close eye onyour energy usage, so make sure you put it somewhere you can see it. Remember too that the readings will be most accurate if you put in your own tariff rate rather than relying on the pre-set tariff rate, so adjust this setting when you start using the monitor. See how changing the way you do things has an impact on your energy usage to give you an idea of where you can make the biggest savings. For example, if you tend to leave your TV on standby, use the monitor to see how much you can save by switching it off. This will help change your behaviour 21
Saving Water-Aerators The use of tap aerators can reduce the amount of water used They are often found at the tip of modern taps Without this appliance fitted, the water would flow as one large stream The aerator divides the stream into droplets, which uses less water and causes less splashing
Saving Water-Cistern A traditional and no cost measure to save water is to place a brick in the toilet cistern The volume taken up by the brick means less water is used when flushing
Saving Water-Water Butts On average, almost 100,000 litres of rainwater is collected on roofs each year A water butt is connected to a downpipe so it can collect rainwater from the gutters Once it is full, the water flows down the drainpipe into the butt A gutter filter should also be installed to keep out unwanted debris
General Advice Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1 C could cut your heating bills by up to 10% and typically saves around 60 per year. If you have a programmer, set your heating and hot water to come on only when required rather than all the time. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room. Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily. Use energy saving light bulbs. They last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and using one can save you around 55 over the lifetime of the bulb. This saving could be around 120 over its lifetime if you're replacing a high wattage incandescent bulb, or one used for more than a few hours a day. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60 C/140 F Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows and check for draughts around windows and doors. If possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher: one full load uses less energy than two half loads. Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you're using an electric kettle). A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they're fully turned off! 25
Limitations of Advice Advice Cannot be given on the following: Energy efficient measures not supported by the green deal Occupier behaviour relating to passive solar home designs or theuse of advanced energy saving technologies not currently offered by Green Deal. Choosing a Green Deal provider or Green Deal installer Choice of energy supplier or specific energy tariffs Specific brands of energy efficiency measures
Limitations of Advice The GDA is Notresponsible for Advice given by any service or website that the GDA suggests to a customer Any issues that arise should the customer act on the advice given, Should any issue arise during or post installation, the customer should approach their chosen Green Deal provider in the first instance. The remote advice service s advice.
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