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Just had a look at the web site and entered all the required data - and I have to say I am not very impressed!
The main problem is that it does not ask how much energy is actually used at any point (OK, so it's about the house and perhaps not the occupants, but still).
The site stated the costs to run the house was around £1800, but it is actually around £500-£600 (we have a wood burning stove, gas heating, plus very small amounts of single room electrical heating - and most importantly only heat to around 15-16 deg C.)
Rather than suggesting ways if generating on site power (solar PV and water or a wind turbine), it would be far better to point out that keeping a very close eye on the temperatures and turning on and off rad valves as rooms require heating will have a significantly greater impact - at zero financial cost. We've our standby electricity use down to around 25W as only the boiler, PVR and fridge freezer controls are on over night. It costs nothing to turn equipment off!
So according to the web site we could save money by installing expensive generating systems (with their own carbon costs), but we actually save £1200 per year by simply using less energy in the first place.
My conclusion is that while these web sites are OK, I do think they mislead some people - everyone could save significantly more by intelligent use of heating and electricity in the first place.
Sorry if this sounds like a rant! |
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26-11-2019 04:16:11
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