Finding the chase and cutting to it

I started a new job on Tuesday, which has meant I am working in a different, swanky, office. Swanky? It’s been recently refurbed and thanks to lockdown, largely unsoiled since the work was done. Of course that means you try many new things. One of my learning points today was a different type of charging […]

What? That’s not practising what you preach! You’re right and I’m not: in fact I’m multitasking.  Well, I hope. I thought I’d share my first go at microwaving (or at least partially microwaving) a roast chicken. What on earth for? Well, I hear many people saying they cannot afford to cook given how high energy […]

fish are jumping and the cotton is high… Not so easy for some! It was my husband’s turn to do the weekly shopping and I think he went shopping hungry – big mistake, big supermarket bill just for two people! We have very little food waste.  But that is largely as we both take account […]

I think it’s very easy to see EPC, or energy performance certificates to the uninitiated, as being theoretical ideals and bearing no relationship to the real world. But over the 20 years they have been around, they have improved the estimates no end. As a nation, we understand that our winters are cold (and damp) […]

Eh? Few things in life are as good as enjoying time with friends, catching up on what’s been going on, and getting to enjoy the world going by your back garden. Oh, yeah? Yes. It’s well known that humans are gregarious and after the past couple of years, it’s great when old traditions start up […]

Oh no, not another depressing one? Hey, stop that. No, I’m back on energy consumption now the clocks have gone forward… Oh, all right then, though looking at energy prices, it’s not that happy-a-subject Thanks, I think. Like many couples, we sat down and looked at some of the changes in the last budget. While […]

The recent budget has brought a couple of interesting things with it. The one I’m going to go through today is the 0% rating on the purchase of new solar panels. Rich man’s game No, wait, solar panels have come down in price, so while some of the subsidies have disappeared, if you weren’t buying […]

I’ve been checking out what the upcoming change in the price caps means. Electricity usage is going up by a third (so a bill today of £100 will be £133.33) per unit – the standing charge is then on top of that, for a 31 day month, £13.95. Gas usage is going up by just […]

I’ve talked a great deal about how our heating works. In line with what I’ve been talking about the past few months, I thought I’d share our latest adventure. Adventure, is that over cooking it a little!? It might not be a terribly exciting adventure for many but it certainly burned up some energy. We […]

For various different reasons, the UK is facing inflation of between 4.8 and 7% this year. This is against the backdrop of a highly priced housing market and fuel shortages (if you’re a big energy provider), driving up the cost of power being delivered to houses. It’s not uncommon for people to be facing increases […]