Bristol's Mall shopping centre is hosting a super-green energy efficient house designed to save money and the environment, while affecting lifestyles as little as possible. HEXUS popped down to have a look and find out what kinds of things we can all do.
The '100 ideas house', created by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and supported by local councils, has been set up to show people both how easy it is to cut down on energy consumption and how little it need affect the way they live.
We took a tour of the house with Karen from the Centre for Sustainable Energy, who pointed out to us some of the house's features, from the glaringly obvious down to the subtle, yet clever.
'A' rated white goods were installed in the kitchen (naturally), along with an energy efficient LCD TV. The tap over the sink had a nozzle designed to provide an effective spray for rinsing while reducing water consumption.
The living room also had an energy efficient telly, married to a similarly efficient DVD/HDD recorder.
But it goes without saying that buying efficient hardware will help cut emissions and your bills. Some of the other ideas in the house were less tangible.
For example, think of all the paper that's wasted through junk mail. Sign up to the Mail Preference Service to 'opt out' of junk mail and cut down on the amount of 'snail-spam' you get. Recycle the stuff that slips through the net, of course.
And while the true geeks reading this will likely sit in the dark relying on the glow of a TFT's backlight, the rest of you will want 'proper' lighting, in which case energy saving bulbs are a no-brainer.
There are now compact fluorescent replacements for halogen bulbs as well as regular filament bulbs. It's now possible to get hold of energy saving bulbs that are compatible with dimmer switches. LED lighting is becoming more widespread, too.
Lots of us fail to turn off devices, leaving them on standby - our PC's peripherals, for example. However, there are power strips and adapters that can detect when your PC is powered up and turn the rest of the sockets on/off accordingly. These are widely available now; a cheap and lazy way of cutting consumption (a win-win situation).
Ever wondered exactly how much power you're using? Try Wattson.
This box can display a house's power consumption and even work out the cost. A USB connection allows the collection of usage statistics; power usage can be monitored over time.
The Wattson box connects wirelessly to a clamp meter that measures power consumption. Attaching it around the wire entering a home's electricity meter will give usage levels for the whole property.
The RRP for the Wattson is a princely £150, but it's a nifty piece of kit that could potentially save you as much in bills over a couple of years, if you're willing to use it properly.
Some of the things that can be done to make a home more energy efficient actually make living in it easier. Less junk mail will make everyone happy, while auto power-off 'intelliplug' sockets appeal to our lazy side, and a flow restricting tap nozzle can save on both water and gas bills.
Let it be known, nerds, that not only is the energy efficient home compatible with a digital lifestyle - it embraces it, using technology to help world and wallet.
The 100 Ideas House in the Broadmead Mall, Bristol until the 9th October and will be at the Cribbs Causeway Mall, just north of Bristol, from the 29th October.
If getting to see it will burn too much fuel, then the house's fifty current ideas are available online - the other 50 are being submitted by green-minded members of the public. So if you have a clever tip, make sure you fill in the form on the site, and drop by the HEXUS.community to share your ideas with us!
HEXUS links
DIY Kyoto - Makers of Wattson
100 Ideas House - Lots of tips on saving energy
Centre for Sustainable Energy
Energy Saving Trust - For more advice on how you can do your bit.
