Finding the chase and cutting to it

Driving off the grid is now a podcast you can find at Driving off the Grid on Spotify. First episode is now live, talking about why I use the name Driving off the Grid, the next one on Saturday is on using the TechoSolara.app to make the move to solar.

Unusually, I got thermodynamics in physics. Heat is all about vibration of molecules rubbing together or hitting each other. Small amounts of friction taking and giving off energy. Which brings me to today’s subject. It is inspired by a throw away comment my husband made this morning. Would the recent heat waves would change the […]

Surely, you are taking stock… No, absolutely not. I am taking the carcass from our roast chicken and making a pint of stock. All in 28 minutes. Got to love microwaves. In fact, from an eco point of view, it’s not been a bad few days. After four brilliant solar generation days, we have had […]

As the UK is coping with high humidity and high outside temperatures, it may seem an odd time to be thinking about insulating your pad. Summer is a perfect time to strip out older insulation and replace it with newer, “up to code”, materials and thicknesses. There are 21 million homes in the UK and […]

I wanted to follow up on Walking in the shadows, which looked at the using passive cooling methods for coping with the Heat Dome, which affected Africa and Europe in the last week of May 2026. After all, we hear the same advice every year, but life gets in the way. We get home from […]

Last week, we looked at the difference using our solar panels has made to our carbon footprint. Of course, that isn’t in isolation. At 27kWh, we have a large amount of battery capacity. But what got us here, why is that working so well for us? What is the easiest? Energy. I don’t use a […]

One of the big benefits of having a heat pump that doesn’t provide cool air in the house, is the ability to stand in front of the fans while it rips the heat out of the air to heat our hot water. Yes, dear readers, this is what I have been doing in sunny Ipswich […]

It’s hard to believe the UK has broken its solar generation record twice this April, after such a dull and grey winter. The day before that last record was broken, the UK achieved its lowest ever value for how much carbon dioxide was used to produce its electricity. These two things are connected! When you […]

Throughout time, humans have celebrated life’s big events. Sometimes lavishly, sometimes simply. Every year, we have a barbecue while a classic car run goes past our back garden. We are not the only ones, and on a sunny (or at least dry) day, the crowds lining the streets are almost as entertaining as the cars, […]

Before Covid 19 and lockdown, we spent an eye-watering amount on ready meals and eating out. It wasn’t just speed to table but energy levels. It was just easier – less washing up, less time to table, less effort. Like many, my home cooking repetoire was pretty limited. I don’t blame anyone for doing that. […]