Conservation

Sony wind up radio

2007-11-12T14:06:00.000Z

Sony ICFB01D.CE7

Sony ICFB01D.CE7 wind up radioThe Sony ICFB01D.CE7 wind up radio is a compact and stylish product encompasing an AM/FM tuner radio tuner with a built in flashlight. It can be run from two "AAA" bateries. Alternatively, one minute of turning the built in crank can provide for up to one hour of AM radio, 40 minutes of FM radio or 15 minutes of flashlight. It is ideal for use either around the house or by those who prefer outdoor pursuits such as camping, boating or trips out to the beach.

The use of the hand crank reduces the need to purchase batteries saving on costs and being more environmentally friendly. This of course arises through reducing the need to manufacture or dispose of the regular "AAA" batteries when spent.

Home entertainment

2007-11-09T14:42:00.000Z

Television

TVs, DVD and videos account for the majority of electricity consumption by consumer electronics within the home. Traditional cathode ray TVs typically consume 140W when switched on and even when in standby mode, they still consume some 3 – 7W of power. It has actually been calculated by The Energy Savings Trust, that UK households actually spend 10% of their overall electricity bill for appliances left on stand by.

Cathode ray tubes are now being being replaced by plasma and LCD flat screen TVs. Although similar in appearance their rates of power consumption are markedly different. Plasma TVs typically consume more power than older cathode ray tubes, whereas LCD televisions consume less; with some manufacturers claiming up to 30% power savings for LCD. The stand by mode of such a set consumes less than 1W, though of course the best advice is still just to switch it off.

For a new TV, as with buying any electrical appliance, first check out any energy efficiency rating labels. Also and maybe not so surpisingly, the larger the screen, the greater the actual energy consumption.

Radio

Thanks to the the great British inventor Trevor Bayliss, there is now a range of wind up radios from which you can choose. No power required other than that supplied by yourself when winding it up. No electrical consumption and no need for frequent replacement of batteries, saving on their manufacture and disposal; neither of those activities being particularly environmentally kind.

For these use anywhere radios, we would recommend an FM model over digital. FM radio coverage is more extensive in the UK and a power hungry DAB radio is not a sensible option for wind up operation. For the reasons of aesthetics combined with practicality, and also being backed up by the quality of manufacture expected of a big brand, our choice would be the excellent Sony ICFB01D.CE7

Eco friendly products

2007-11-09T11:43:00.001Z

House and garden

Bosch AXT 2200 HP Silent Garden Shredder

The finest garden waste shredder we have found. Fast, quiet and efficient; it quickly turns branches, twigs and garden cuttings into carbon rich mulch ready for your compost bin.

Sony ICFB01D.CE7 - wind up radio

Compact, Smart and stylish. A quality product from one of the greatest consumer brands. Wind the crank for one minute and be entertained for an hour.

Home Wind Turbines

2007-11-07T13:46:00.000Z

From a purely energy conservation point of view, there is an overwhelming case for micro generation of energy at the community or household level. Over 30% of all energy generated and supplied to the national grid is lost between the power station and your door. This is a fact of life, the inescapable laws of Physics coming into play.

One answer to this problem lies in the use of home wind turbines, which are now freely available from a number of suppliers. It is quite conceivable that home wind turbine power could provide some or all of your domestic electricity needs, though there are a number of qualifying factors.

Location, location and location

Ask any good estate agent about key factors in deciding where to buy a house and many will repeat the familiar mantra of location, location and location. The same can be said to somebody who wishes to use a wind turbine.

It is a fairly obvious statement, to say that it needs to be in suitably windy place. Not all domestic locations are ideal. Shelter provided by surrounding buildings can make (sub)urban settings, difficult. Not impossible just difficult. A mean wind speed of 6 meters per second is normally the minimum prerequisite. Rural locations tend to fare much better, though will still achieve poor results if the wind turbine is erected in a sheltered spot. An upslope facing into the typical prevailing wind is preferable to the downslope of a sheltered vale; it is also best if the turbine is situated away from sources of air turbulence such as buildings or trees. Ideally a professional assessment of the local wind speed should be made for a full year at the exact location where you plan to install a turbine. In reality, this may be a difficult, expensive and time consuming exercise to undertake

As a rough guide and starting point, the mean wind speed for your location can be determined by accessing The DTI wind speed database

Whether in an urban or rural setting it is often advisable to mount wind turbines on a dedicated pole, rather than roof mount, so minimising potential structural damage to property in the event of very high winds.

Power output

The smallest of domestic wind turbines available will generate about 1KW power and although this is insufficient to power your home, it will contribute to your overall power needs and help reduce bills. Power requirements vary greatly from property to property, however if looking to generate all household needs a minimum of 5-6 KW of power output is the starting point. What also must be taken into account, is the availability of wind. Wind speed naturally fluctuates, therefore a constant supply cannot be guaranteed. This is not really a great difficulty as all domestic wind turbines work along side your existing supply. If you wish to operate totally off grid, it is advisable to have a sufficiently powerful generator and battery storage with A/C conversion. In a small number of cases it is feasible to actually be self sufficient and supply energy back to the national grid at wholesale rates.

Costs

The installation of a home wind turbine will involve a number of costs. These will initially include site survey, local authority planning consent and installation of turbine. Each installation will be different in terms of customer needs and the environment into which it is to be installed. With this in mind it is fair to set a budget starting at £2-3,000 going up to £20,000. Also the lifetime of a wind turbine should be estimated to be 20 years, periodic maintenance costs and replacement of batteries (where applicable) should also be factored in.

Are they worth the cost?

From an energy conservation viewpoint, the answer has to be a resounding yes. From an economic standpoint the jury is still out. Providing you have done your homework correctly, the potential costs and assumed payback period can be ascertained. What cannot of course be guaranteed is the future costs of mains power or even the availability of power supplies. These factors alone should at least make home wind turbines worthwhile of further investigation.

Bosch AXT 2200 HP Silent Garden Shredder

2007-11-01T16:44:00.003Z

Bosch - Quality you can trust

Bosch AXT 2200 HPThis garden shredder is the ideal tool for anybody who is serious about composting all of their garden waste. Cuttings from trees, bushes and shrubs up to 38mm thick (1 ¹/₂ inches) can be reduced in no time at all to a mulch suitable for borders or for adding carbon rich texture to compost. Unlike cheaper, far noisier shredders, you will experience very few problems with the mechanism jamming. In such an event, the automatic feed drawing in the branches has a unique feature; a reverse mode allowing blockages to be overcome without having to dismantle the machine.

In our opinion this lightweight, portable shredder with it's sturdy frame and collection bag (not shown) outperforms comparable and other more expensive offerings

Although not totally silent (that is impossible), this machine makes a noise similar in volume to that of a washing machine. In comparison to the ear shattering din produced by most shredders this will come as a relief.

Read what other buyers have to say about this product and buy with confidence.

If you are budget constrained or do not require such a powerful shredder; let us suggest the Bosch AXT 2000 HP. This is the only sub £200 garden shredder we would currently recommend. Not quite as powerful, but equally quiet.

Compost bins

2007-11-01T09:52:00.000Z

Compost bins to recycle household waste

There has never been a better time to take up home composting.

Many UK local authorities either have or are now looking at cutting the frequency of refuse collection. The government are also considering proposals to allow a charge for the weight of waste we put out for collection. As unfair as some might perceive a potential bin tax to be, there is a need to take some environmental action to prevent problems caused by landfill. All factors considered, this should be a great incentive for all of us to reduce waste and recycle as much as possible. Home composting can play a significant role in this.

Approximately a third of the average household waste can be composted. For example this includes, but is not limited to

Fruit and vegetable peelings
Teabags
Cardboard and newspaper
Garden waste
Cooked food & scraps (with a kitchen composter)

For more details check out our guide to compost bin materials

Quick, clean and odourless

Using the appropriate methods means that household waste can be coverted to compost quickly, efficiently and in an odourless way. There is a choice of home compost devices suitable for either outdoor or in kitchen use.

Garden compost bins

Composting Waste A garden compost bin is a simple device which can either be home made or purchased very cheaply. It needs to perfom three simple tasks. It must adequately contain the waste in a single area, prevent the composted materials from being too wet / too dry and also ensure that the materials are well ventilated. Such conditions should ensure that the correct amount of heat is generated to enable the composting process to take place

For information on how to get the most from and effectively manage your compost, refer to our guide on composting

Kitchen composters

Kitchen composters, unlike traditional garden compost bins, can also process cooked food and scraps. These are more sophisticated devices and they tend to work in one of two ways. Either they actively compost the waste materials, or they contain the waste within an inner removable biodegradable bag which can then be put onto your garden compost heap, once full.

Benefits of home composting

Free source of nutrients for gardens / window boxes
Less need for land fill
Reduction in greenhouse gasses. If kitchen & garden waste breaks down in a landfill, harmful methane is produced
Saves the Earth's natural resources by reducing the need for peat taken from endangered habitats
Possible savings in future charges for refuse disposal

Composting

2007-11-01T00:32:00.000Z

Composting – the mix of materials

It is important to use a mix of green and brown materials in your compost bin. Green materials are nitrogen rich. They break down quickly and help keep the compost moist. Brown materials contain a lot of carbon. They tend to break down more slowly and add structure, encouraging air circulation, which is essential to the creation of compost.

Green materials include: egg shells, fruit, vegetables, garden & house plants, weeds, grass cuttings, tea bags and coffee grounds.

Brown materials include: hedge trimmings, branches, twigs, feathers, shredded cardboard, shredded paper, hay, straw, wood chips and sawdust.

To obtain the best results, first place a layer of twigs and branches in your compost bin to a depth of 6 inches (15cm); then add in roughly equal parts, green and brown materials.

For more details check out our guide to compost bin materials

Materials will always break down more quickly, particularly carbon rich brown materials such as twigs and branches if they are first shredded

Composting - getting the best results

High quality compost can be produced, with only a little care and attention. Two things to consider are air and moisture.

Air : The introduction of air speeds up the composting process by encouraging bacterial action. The two most effective methods of ensuring that compost is aerated are, turning the compost in the bin with a garden fork and periodically emptying the bin contents and returning them.
Moisture : Ideally compost should be neither too wet nor too dry. You should be able to crumble it in your fingers, yet if squeezed it should also stick together. If too dry and dusty a little water should be added, and if too wet, brown materials such as shredded carboard or saw dust should be added to abosrb some of the excess moisture.

Worm composting

Worms are an excellent for aerating compost, their presence in a compost bin will greatly speed the process and increase the quality of the fished product. There are two approaches which can be taken to put worms to work in your compost bin.

Passive worm composting : Placing your compost bin on a soil or grass surface, as opposed to hardstanding will allow worms to enter the bottom of your compost pile and begin to work their magic.
Active worm composting : A more active approach can be taken by introducing a larger number of worms to your compost bin. It is possible to buy in bulk, from suppliers, a ready supply of good composting worms (mainly Red worms and Dendras)

Benefits of home composting

Free source of nutrients for gardens / window boxes
Less need for land fill
Reduction in greenhouse gasses. If kitchen & garden waste breaks down in a landfill, harmful methane is produced
Saves the Earth's natural resources by reducing the need for peat taken from endangered habitats
Possible savings in future charges for refuse disposal

Compost bin materials

2007-10-31T23:47:00.000Z

Selecting materials for your compost bin

When deciding on materials suitable for your compost bin, a simple rule of thumb is, if it is organic - it will be able to be composted. This applies to either to animal or vegetable sourced materials.

For the sake of hygeine purposes, care must be taken to select materials. Some, such as cooked food scraps though compostable, will be prone to attract vermin and therefore are usuitable for a garden compost bin. These can still be put in a kitchen composter. Others such as egg shells or cardboard, although suitable, may need pre-processing in terms of breaking up or shredding prior to submitting to the compost heap.

List of compost bin materials

The following is a comprehensive though not definitive list. It does however provide a good starting point and an idea of the range of materials which can be composted

From the garden

Clover
Dead flowers
Flower petals
Garden soil
Grass cuttings
Hay
Leaves
Moss from hanging baskets
Mud from soles of boots & shoes
Old leather gardening gloves
Outdated seeds
Pea vines
Peat moss
Pine needles
Plant cuttings
Sawdust
Straw
Tree bark
Weeds
Wood chips

From the kitchen

Apple cores
Banana skins
Bread crusts
Burned toast
Citrus wastes
Coffee grounds
Coconut husk fibre
Cooked rice
Corn cobs
Date pits
Egg shells
Fish bones
Fruit salad
Grape wastes
Grapefruit rinds
Mouldy cheese
Nutshells
Old herbs
Old spices
Olive pits
Onion skins
Outdated yogurt
Peanut shells
Popcorn
Potato peelings
Pumpkin seeds
Pickles
Rhubarb stems
Shells (lobster,crab,shrimp)
Stale bread
Stale breakfast cereal
Tea bags (including herbal)
Tossed salad
Vegetable cuttings
Waste cooked food (using a kitchen composter)
Watermelon rinds

From the freezer

Freezer burned food (fish, fruit & vegetables)

Liquids

Beer
Juice from canned vegetables
Juice from canned fruit
Milk (small quantities)
Soya milk
Urine (it is an excellent composting accelerant)
Wine

Household waste

Aquarium plants
Cotton swabs
Dead bees and flies
Expired flower arrangements
Electric razor trimmings
Felt scraps
Houseplant trimmings
Leather goods
Matches
Nail clippings
Pencil shavings
Wooden toothpicks
Woollen socks

Household dust

Vacuum cleaner bag contents
Lint from behind refrigerator
Lint from tumble Dryer

Paper

Brown paper bags
Grocery receipts
Paper napkins
Paper towels
Post-it notes
Used envelopes
Shredded cardboard
Shredded cereal boxes
Shredded newspapers
Tissues

Poo

Bat droppings
Bird droppings
Chicken manure
Cow manure
Goat manure
Horse manure
Pig manure
Rabbit manure

Animals / pets

Cage cleanings (bird, guinea pig, hamster)
Feathers
Animal fur
Horse hair
Pet hair

Compost bin mix

From such a comprehensive list, it should be possible to ensure that a good mix of materials go into your compost. This is important as sometimes the predominence of some materials such as grass cuttings, can cause your compost heap to become too wet, especially if insufficiently vented.

More detailed information available in the guide to composting

Benefits of home composting

Free source of nutrients for gardens / window boxes
Less need for land fill
Reduction in greenhouse gasses. If kitchen & garden waste breaks down in a landfill, harmful methane is produced
Saves the Earth's natural resources by reducing the need for peat taken from endangered habitats
Possible savings in future charges for refuse disposal

Rainwater harvesting

2007-10-31T22:53:00.000Z

Rainwater harvesting for the garden

Rainwater harvesting is good for your garden. Plants grow better in rainwater, which has a balanced pH and is free of the chemicals found in tap water, such as Chlorine. It is therefore the natural choice for ponds and fish tanks.

In its most simple form, it can be a rainwater butt collecting from a down-pipe. This is both cheap and effective for capturing water intended for garden use though limited in capacity if high volumes of water need to be retained.

There are however, more sophisticated solutions which can provide supplies of water through longer periods of low rainfall. These involve the use of either surface or underground tanks in the garden, coupled with filters and water pumps.

Rainwater harvesting for the home

If your water is metered, rain water harvesting could prove to be a real money saver. Approximately 50% of household water needs are capable of being serviced by captured rainwater. Such water can be used for washing machines, flushing the toilet and washing the car.

Like the more sophisticated garden based solutions, this involves the installation of an underground tank, filters and pumps

Benefits of rainwater harvesting

Savings in water charges
Helping overcome water shortages
Being more kind to your garden

Home milk delivery

2007-10-31T19:48:00.001Z

Home milk delivery and recycling

Having your milk delivered to the doorstep can play a geat role in your efforts to recycle materials. Whilst plastic containers used for the sale of milk in shops create more bulk for your bin and add to landfill problems; the glass bottles typically used in home milk deliveries are much more friendly to the environment. On average, each bottle can be rewashed and used 20 times, before it is of a grade no longer suitable for delivery. Glass is one of the few materials which is totally recyclable, so when the bottle reaches the end of its useful life, it can be simply melted down to produce the materials for a replacement.

Home milk delivery and the local environment

Milk deliveries also makes sense when considering the environmental impact from the required transportation. What better than to have a single (sometimes electic powered) vehicle bring regular supplies direct to the front door, saving numerous short local journeys by car to the local convenience store or supermarket?

Your milkman is a local businessman who sources milk from local farms and dairies. From production to consumption, in terms of food miles, this one of the most energy efficient means of obtaining one of our staple foods.

When opting to have my milk delivered to the door, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cost of my preferred skimmed organic milk was the same as that at the local supermarket. If you can find a local supplier, what is there to stop you from switching to them?

Benefits of home milk delivery

Convenience
Kinder to the environment
Less need for landfill
Supporting local business