We’re looking at windows at the moment, and trying to work out what will fit into our budget while giving us the best possible insulation effect (U-Value). The PassivHaus standards state that our windows should have a U value of <= 0.8 W/m2K, so we’re going to try and get as close to that as [...]
Posts Tagged ‘energy efficient’
15 Feb
Energy Efficient Ecolectric Toaster
Not electricity-free, but apparently 34% less electricity than other toasters – not a bad start! Made by Morphy Richards, it seems to be available almost everywhere for around £34-35. You can get one from the Good Energy shop, which would seem to be an ethical way to buy.
8 Feb
Wood-Fired Ranges in a PassivHaus
In my PassivHaus Renovation post I said that: Any non-solar water heating to be Gas Condensing boiler or CHP – wood fired stoves are not permitted (this conflicts with my peak-oil resilience planning) In return I got a comment posted by Andy Simmonds at the AECB stating: The AECB standards do not proscribe wood stoves, nor [...]
28 Jan
PassivHaus Building with SIPs – Structural Insulated Panels
Looks like our dream house may be an as-PassivHaus-as-possible extension of a traditional 3-bed semi. So now I’m looking at how we make that happen. One of the things I’ve come across are Structural Insulated Panels. Essentially these are a thick “sandwich”, with two wooden panels separated by a thick layer of insulating foam. One of [...]
6 Jan
Peak-Oil Kitchen Gadgets – Slow Cooker
An interesting one this – a slow cooker based on a thermos. Basically you heat up the pot of food and then pop it into the insulated flask. It’ll keep cooking for eight hours. Think of the energy you save – it only needs to be on the stove for about 20 minutes to cook a [...]
3 Jan
A Passivhaus (Passive House) renovation?
The picture on the left is a thermograph – showing the difference in lost heat between a conventional house (on the left) and a house built to PassivHaus standards (on the right). Which house would you rather be living in when Russia cuts gas supplies? The PassivHaus standard, as interpreted for the UK by the [...]
23 Dec
Underfloor heating or radiators?
Assuming we’re not going to be at the point of only heating one room anytime soon, how do we heat the whole house? Traditionally I’d have said easy – just radiators. The hot water can come from our wood-fired range, topped up with Solar hot water and our emergency Gas boiler. But I’ve always had [...]
5 Sep
Preparation: Protecting your fridge from Blackouts and Brownouts
As energy becomes more expensive and we all start our descent, we will no longer be able to depend on constant, reliable, electricity through the electricity grid. Don’t believe me? Have a look at this story on the National Grid from the Times. So in a post-peak-oil world it looks like we need to get [...]
