energy Archives - ET Speaks From Home

6 Signs You May Need to Buy a New Boiler

A lot of people only pay attention to their boilers when something is wrong. However, that boiler of yours might be outdated, and you might be suffering the consequences as a result. Some of the inconveniences you experience with your hot water might have nothing to do with your household’s habits but could be due to an underperforming boiler. An old and inefficient boiler could affect you in more ways than one – some you may not have imagined. Let’s take a look at a few signs that you may need to replace your boiler.

Top 4 Reasons To Invest In Renewable Energy

Unless you’ve been living on the moon, there’s no doubt that you will have heard the words renewable energy, but do you know what it means and how it could benefit you? That is less likely as these words can be banded about, but a lot of people don’t know what it’s all about. Continue reading if you want to find out because there are not only ecological benefits in renewable energy, but there are financial benefits too. There are lots of different renewable energy solutions that could be an excellent choice for your home and here’s why.

Choosing a New Boiler

We are in the 10^th year of living in our home which was a new-build property. That also means our boiler is coming up to 10 years old now, and 10-15 years by general rule of thumb is the average life expectancy of a traditional gas boiler.

Why you should change your Energy Tariffs

If you haven’t reviewed your gas and electricity tariff for a while, I would recommend you do so to make sure you are not paying too much for your energy. Our tariff was a 12 month fixed tariff and it ended recently. The energy supplier recommended us a new tariff which was their lowest priced tariff based on our usage. However, when we compared the TCR from the old tariff to the new tariff, electricity was increasing from 11.89p/kWh to 15.64p/kWh and gas was increasing from 3.6p/kWh to 4.44p/kWh. This would have been a hike of 32% and 23% respectively! So unsurprisingly, we didn’t take up their recommended tariff and we changed supplier. Now our new electricity and gas TCRs are 12.5 p/kWh and 2.79 p/kWh respectively which we’re really pleased with as the price of gas has come down!

5 things You Couldn’t Live Without

Recently, British Gas created a video asking the general public the five things they couldn’t live without, before addressing how much they think their energy costs are. This prompted me to think what my five things I couldn’t live without are.

Born and brought up in Singapore, when I first moved to UK, I almost couldn’t cope with just burgers or even kebab every day! I was sick of eating buns and sandwiches. So the first thing that I couldn’t live without is spicy noodle soup. I miss my clear broth soup and chewy noodles. It it one of my favourite dishes which I ate almost every day in Singapore! They can be eaten at breakfast, lunch, dinner or even supper at times.

Saving money to keep the elderly warm

This coming weekend (Nov 14 – 16) is the Great British Switch when comparethemarket.com is encouraging those aged 65 and over to see how much money they could save on their energy bills this winter by switching to a new supplier. Research suggests that around 90% of those aged 65 and over have never tried to switch energy supplier, despite the fact that a typical household can save up to £350 a year by switching energy suppliers. My husband switches regularly as the best deal one year doesn’t mean you’ll be on the best deal next year when the deals change.

4 top tips for making your home more energy efficient

With the cold weather upon us, here are some top tips to be more energy efficient and reduce your carbon footprint:

1. Solar Panels

Have you considered installing solar panels? This is a great option if you are not looking to move in the short to medium term. Once installed, the solar panel system will drastically cut your electricity bills. Your system maybe eligible for the government backed Feed-In Tariffs which means you get paid for the electricity you generate (whether you use it or not) and if you have a surplus of electricity, you can sell it back to the grid. Solar panels come in different types which can generate more or less power. Find out more about solar panels here: BayWa r.e. Renewable Energy

The Evolution of Energy Consumption Through the Decades

Did you know that in the past 40 years, the amount of energy we consume by household has risen by nearly 20%? No surprise at all as I rely on electronic gadgets heavily like my smartphone, iPad, laptop, television etc. They are my gadgets I can’t live without for communication with the outside world.