Finding the chase and cutting to it

It’s my week to shop and cook. So, I am trying something new today, cooking my lovely left-over pie in the combination microwave. The average UK home spends 3-4% of its energy usage on cooking. It spends 80% on heating. Which doesn’t make cooking sound as if it’s causing much of an issue. But, our […]

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I’m no saint. Yes, I have been the one to make the suggestions of looking into the electric car and the heat pump, but, like everyone else, there are big areas I, personally, should do better. We are alpine skiers, and living in the UK, that means foreign travel to some mountains. Last year, we […]

Strolling through our local town centre or talking with family, it’s tempting to think that the grey skies overhead this UK winter are a sign that climate warming isn’t really happening. Actually, they are almost certainly a symptom of climate warming in action. Compared to the past few Novembers, November 2025 was dramatically warmer and […]

It’s February, so how can this be the topic of a post today? Or Solar elevation and what it means for me… Human beings have been interested in how high the sun gets in the sky since ancient Greece was a dominant power. In fact, the Greek astronomers founded an equation anyone can use to […]

Over the past few weeks, it feels like I have spent more time talking to Gemini than to any single person in real life. AI is helping more people in the workplace but what about easing things round the home? I wondered if Gemini can help me lower my carbon footprint? Of course, not being […]

This is another piece on how air sourced heat pumps (ASHP) work… Oh no, can’t we talk about anything else? Not yet, and bear with me. This is a fundamental thing to consider when trying to get the most out of your pump. But it helps to understand how a heat pump works to get […]

Transparency Note: This post contains affiliate links to energy partners like OVO (marked with [Ad]). If you click them, I may earn a commission. I am sharing my personal data and journey as a homeowner; please remember that energy performance is highly specific to each property. Individual results will vary [AD]. I’ve obviously had some […]

Can I be honest, here? I love data: I am a bachelor of science even though I did maths and computer science, and some of my natural scientist friends do look down on that “type of degree”. Can I be honest, I do think maths is more of an arts subject, as we don’t tend […]

Last week, we looked at the cash return on replacement windows, which, on the face of it looked marginal at best. But of course, we have made other investments over the past twelve years. Easy steps, let’s look at the LED lighting. About a year, just in saved electricity. Initial cost was about £350 for […]