Grand Designs Extras Kevin's Column: Tools

Date Published:

01/10/2009

You’ve insulated, draught-proofed and switched to energy-saving light bulbs, but what’s next in the quest for smaller bills and greater energy efficiency? Kevin McCloud considers some tools to help you make the next step – even if you’re a technophobe

As the Great British Refurb Campaign – a joint venture between Grand Designs Magazine, Energy Saving Trust, WWF and UK Green Building Council to lobby Government to make it easier and more affordable for all of us to add eco-features to our homes – rolls on and out, I’ve been wondering, having draught-proofed the house and re-insulated the attic, where I can save even more in my own creaking 500-year-old home. The answer has to be spend more money. In my household, that usually means splashing out on major eye-watering projects like a new roof (barn currently being re-tiled) or solar panels (£3,000 for super-efficient German models – requiring heat exchanger, pump, expansion tank, installation etc, for which add a further £2,500). Or it means doling out cash to children who spend it on anything, but anything, with a screen on it. I remind them that an investment in technology will result in only one thing: disappointment. But my words go unheeded.

My secret weapon, however, has been to appeal both to the children and my bank manager by investing (and here the word can be employed to its fullest, roundest meaning) in some inexpensive technology, with (crucially) digital screens, which is all intended to save me money. I intend to slash my household bills while looking at little green numbers on a read-out. Almost as exciting as playing Extreme Monster Slasher on PS3.

This reluctant move towards embracing electronic technology began this April when I received, unsolicited, a Power Predictor (powerpredictor.com). I didn’t know what it was and for four months now my son and I have been glumly staring at the box; he because there was nothing on the packaging to suggest you could plug and play, and I because the label did suggest that I could ‘Simply upload all the data via USB into your online account’. What account? ‘Simply’, like ‘technology’, is a word that I now exclusively associate with ‘disappointment’.

But this weekend I opened the box and got rather excited. My Power Predictor turns out to be a little wind station and solar sensor complete with a windvane and an anemometer that whizzes round in the breeze measuring the speed of the wind. I put it up yesterday, twenty feet off the ground on a bracket attached to the gutter on one of the barns and its little cups are spinning and overfloweth. This little gadget gives me a read-out and I can upload the data which is all stored on a memory card. I know how to do that. All, I should add, in the cause of finding out whether the farm is a good site for a small wind turbine. You know the kind: small enough to power a farm with, say, 12 kilowatts; large enough to cause a planning crisis on the Parish Council.

The thought had crossed my mind of converting the anemometer into a mini-turbine all on its own to generate enough electricity to power, ooh, my watch. Or maybe a tamagotchi. In fact I’m going to leave it for two months, gathering data on Mendip wind speeds and solar activity. My own analogue anecdotal data for where I live suggests for wind: unnecessarily excessive and for solar: inconsequential. We’ll see what the upload says.

Meantime, indoors I’ve invested in a meter to measure our domestic power consumption. This device is sorely needed as ten years of meter readings and nine visits from electricians have done nothing to allay my suspicion that the chaotic wiring on the farm has resulted in us paying for the nearby forge’s vast consumption of power for its turbine blowers and power hammers while it pays for our dim eco lighting. But this is a piece of technology (the Elite Wireless Electricity Monitor from Efergy, bought at Maplins) that is still in the box. It’s designed for 230/240 volt use; in other words, normal. We have a 415-volt, three-phase supply running through the house to the farm, which is abnormal. Just a whiff of three-phase and the gizmo would go on strike so we need to order extra bits online. Simply, of course. Which means we haven’t done it.

My point? Electronics produce heat as they work (just think of your computer or laptop), but they’re only efficient when they’re running cool, when energy isn’t wasted as electrons and atoms bounce around. And the great irony is that photovoltaic panels only really get going and start earning their keep when the sun comes out. When it gets warm, in fact. The sun’s heat stimulates the electronics, which produce even more heat as they go to work, which immediately sticks the brakes on because the electronics start to become very inefficient. It’s the catch-22 in the world of silicon circuitry. But, ladies and gentlemen, this circular conundrum has just been solved.

But I’m pleased to announce that we have enjoyed fabulous success with one piece of green technology that I like because it encourages me to be lazy. The Standby Saver is a multi-socket adaptor which allows you to use your remote control to switch off several appliances at once. It’s simplicity itself and it means that I can remotely turn the TV, the stereo and the table lamps ‘on’ and ‘off’ at the mains, saving me money without even leaving the sofa – an indulgence I’m still getting used to.

Sad, isn’t it, that so much joy can be provided by such simple, blinking toys? Or perhaps it’s a lesson. My car has leather seats, sexy aluminium trim on the dashboard and a sleek, toned body. Sources of great pleasure, yes, but not fun. Meanwhile, being a vaguely ecological motor, it also has a tiny read-out on the dashboard that gives me both average and instantaneous miles-per-gallon. Just by playing a game between my right foot, the brake and these read-outs I can get my mileage up from around 52 to 65 or 70 even. That’s a 25 per cent increase, easily. And the levels of skill and co-ordination needed are just as demanding as on Grand Theft Auto, although the graphics aren’t as good.

So if you haven’t yet signed up for the Great British Refurb Campaign (greatbritishrefurb.co.uk) then let me allay any lingering fears you may have that reducing your personal emissions means reducing the quality of your life. Metering your energy consumption and adopting couch potato remote controls can easily save cash and energy. Just look at me! I’m now a believer that technology need not always lead to disappointment. Until the remote control goes missing.

Elite Wireless Electricity Monitor

Attaches to your standard electricity meter and gives you instant feedback about how much electricity you are using, every six seconds. You can see the impact of turning equipment and lights on or off while the memory function tracks your electricity usage daily, weekly or monthly. £39.95 from Efergy (0845 017 7769; efergy.com)

This handy tool, mounted on a roof or a mast, measures wind speed and hours of sunshine, logs the information and can then produce a power report for your site including carbon savings and annual energy generation estimates; a vital first step in deciding whether solar or wind power is right for you. From Better Generation, priced £99.95 (020 7738 5800; powerpredictor.com)

A six-way electrical extension that cuts 100 per cent of the standby power used by TVs, hi-fis, VCRs, DVDs, PCs and peripherals. Standby saver comes in two versions: one for use with infrared remote controlled electrical appliances, the second for use with USB port products. Using your existing remote control switches off power to all the devices plugged into the standby saver. Available from thestandbysaver.co.uk for £17.99 plus £3.95 p&p.

This edition of Kevin's Column is taken from the November issue of Grand Designs magazine. If you would like to subscribe for as little as £9 then head here to find out more.

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