Cash in on your empty car seats

Fed up with driving to work? Hating the hunt for a car park space? Feeling the pinch? Why not turn that empty seat next to you into cash?

The West Yorkshire Travel Plan Network are offering up to *£700 in cash prizes for employees who share the journey to work by car between Monday 18 January and Sunday 14 February. Simply share the car journey, fill in a Travel Diary and return it by Friday 26 February to be entered into the free prize draw.
*There are seven prizes, 1 x £300, 1 x £150 for employees who are employed by participating organisations of the West Yorkshire Travel Plan Network and 5 x £50 for any other West Yorkshire Commuter.

Taking part is easy

All you need to do is the following:

• Find someone to share your journey to work, why not check out our handy tips below?
• Agree which days and times are convenient for you both and share the journey.
• Download and print a copy of the travel diary and keep it in the car or complete the Travel Diary online, see below for further instuctions.
• Complete your details and those of your car sharing partner(s) in the travel diary.
• Update your travel diary and make sure you return it by Friday 26 February using the business reply service.
• You will hear by the end of March if you are a lucky winner in the draw.
• For more information please read our Frequently Asked Questions.
• Online Travel Diary: once you have filled part of the form in click on save, you will then be asked then enter your email address in the box provided, this will generate an email which will have a link to your saved form. You can use this email to update your Travel Diary each time you car share or follow the link in your web browser and add it to your Favourites.

How to find someone to share a journey.

Try asking your workmates, family, friends and neighbours if they are going in the same direction as you. If you can’t find anyone to share with then search for a match on http://www.wycarshare.com/, look out for the Private groups section to see if your employer or site has a car sharing group.

Why car share?

Car sharing even just once or twice a week can save you cash in shared fuel and car parking costs. It can be less stressful, more sociable and less frustrating searching for that elusive car parking space.
For more information about the benefits of car sharing and to download the Travel Plan Network car sharing leaflet.

Free Smarter Driving Lessons

The West Yorkshire Travel Plan Network has teamed up with The Energy Saving Trust to provide Network organisations with eight free smarter driving lessons.
Organisations can save up to 15% of their vehicle's fuel bills by training their drivers to drive in a more eco friendly way. Simple changes in driver behaviour like anticipating traffic flows to reduce the number of times vehicles have to stop and start can reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

The Energy Saving Trust have a specialist team of instructors who teach all of the smarter driving techniques in a 50 minute driving lesson on a pre planned route close to your workplace.
These lessons are very effective for high business mileage users or employees who drive regularly for work purposes.
If your organisation is interested in taking up this free offer please complete the application form or email us at tpn@wypte.gov.uk for more information. Organisations must take their eight free lessons on the same day and before the end of March 2010

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR WATER?

Most of us pay a charge to our water company for draining away the rain and other water which comes off our roofs and driveways. It's called surface water.
 But every year tens of thousands of people pay too much on their water bill because they don't realise they don't have to pay it.
 You should only pay a surface water charge if the water from your roof and driveway drains into the sewers.
 If your surface has a “soakwawy” for example a tank under the lawn that collects this water the you shouldn't been paying for it. and you may be entitled to a refund, up to 25%!


Definitions of soakaway on the Web:
 A deep hole used for drainage, where rainwater and other waste water drains directly into the ground, without connection to any mains drainage or ...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soakaway
 A pit, filled with broken stones etc below ground to take drainage from rainwater pipes or land drains and allow it to disperse.
freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakefield/definitions/defbuild.html
 An arrangement for draining rainwater into the ground. Usually a large hole dug and filled with broken bricks, rubble or similar 'waste' ...
www.practicaldiy.com/building_glossary.php
 Drainage of rainwater, using graded aggregate laid below ground.
www.findersquoters.co.nz/technical.htm
 There are many other examples that may entitle you to a rebate, maybe you have a large pond, cesspit on your property or a  stream where your drainage water goes, anywhere other than  the drains or main sewer. Questionably, also do you have a water harvesting system?  The different water authorities define this differently, it may be worth making the enquiry.
 If you own a small property, it may be worth considering creating a soakaway the next time you are making external improvements.
Rebates & Timings:  IMPORTANT
 All water companies have the same policy about giving payments back for surface water drainage charges.  Not only that, the water companies also expect customers to tell them if they think they think they're being wrongly charged. They will only refund for the financial year you advised them. Hence if you contact them now, they will only rebate back to April 2009. Leave it untill May this year and your claim will only apply from April 2010!
 Why else may you be paying too much?
 If you are on a water meter, it’s worth checking with neighbours in similar size households and occupancy that your water bills are similar.
 If not you may have a leak, maybe more than one property on the estate is feeding from the meter?
Again, the owness  is on you to tell the water company you suspect you are being over charged, and if they agree they are only obliged to compensate for the financial year you informed them of your suspicions.
 What can you do if you believe you have a problem but the water authority disagree?
 You need to take regular weekly readings of your water meter, to establish your actual usage, and use this as a basis for calculating your actual usage, as opposed to what the board say has been used, you're on site they are not, and the person with the most accurate and detailed records always wins in a dispute, (record these in a diary with the actual time the readings  are taken).
You also need to either turn the water off at the stopcock to the cold tank for say a day, hopefully you can manage, with what’s in the cold tank, if you don't flush the toilet all the time, and don't use the mains tap in the kitchen.
You could take a reading last thing at night, and again first thing in the morning, provided no usage occurs overnight, this will establish if there is any leakage or not, because the meter will record it! You should also record this test, and subsequent test, as you can refute allegations of leakage with it!
Be prepared to do battle and  put in the effort, don’t give, I have heard of people getting rebates as much as £900 – and of course you have your future water  savings, there’s an incentive! 

Air Tightness Testing In Exisitng Homes

A survey of dwellings has revealed that remedial works following air tightness testing have yielded energy savings of between 15% and  30%.

Air tightness testing is the procedure to trace any unwanted drafts and uncontrolled airflow through the house.

Too much air leakage leads to heat loss resulting in higher heating costs and C02 emissions. A home isn't a balloon, so when cold air comes in, warm air gets pushed out. A building with air infiltration points will be slower to heat and faster to cool. The warmer air becomes, the greater its ability to carry moisture. If warm air is allowed to escape from the building envelope through unintended channels it will cool in cavities and form condensation and can give rise to dampness, mould growth and degrade insulation.

How can air tightness be achieved?

A survey of dwellings has revealed that remedial works following air tightness testing have yielded energy savings of between 15% and  30%, this can sometimes be achieved for as little as a couple of pounds and a little attention to detail.

Good levels of air tightness are best achieved by good design at building stage and are governed by the Code For Sustainable Homes (Housebuilders and Developers please visit our Commercial Services) rather than by retrospective works. However, you may have unwittingly committed breaches yourself to your homes permeability or been the victim of lazy, or tradesman unaware of the impact of breaches, for example, installed cheap down lighters or unsealed holes behind kitchen cupboards.

Air Tightness Tests are sometimes referred to as an Air Pressure Test, Envelope Test or an Air Permeability Test.

There are two types of air tightness tests: calibrated and uncalibrated. It is important that auditors use a calibrated door. This type of blower door has several gauges that measure the amount of air pulled out of the house by the fan. Uncalibrated blower doors can only locate leaks in homes. They provide no method for determining the overall tightness of a building. The calibrated blower door's data allow the auditor to quantify the amount of air leakage and the effectiveness of any air-sealing job.

Good news! We can perform the test on your existing home and help you to reap the rewards of an air tight house.

Every single house in the country that is 5 years or older will benefit from an air tightness review. Having great insulation in your cavity helps keep the thermal heat loss down, but combining that with an air tight house, you'll see immediate benefits.

If you feel comfortable doing the small improvements that will reap huge rewards, great, we will highlight the areas on the day that need addressing. If you don't, we have a team of local builders available that can apply their skills to finish the job for you.

Testing costs from as little as £50 can you afford not to invest considering the potential return? Contact info@heatandenergy.org today and start saving tomorrow!

Smartest Climate Change Idea Ever?

I recently wrote an article titled “Pay as you save –the smartest climate change ever aimed at home owners” following  UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband announcement in December. The plan briefly is  to trial “The Home Energy Pay As You Save scheme” which will give 500 UK households the opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies in their homes with no upfront cost. Householders will make repayments spread over a long enough period so that repayments are lower than their predicted energy bill savings, meaning financial and carbon savings are made from day one.

Though I had some disappointment that so few homes are to be involved, I congratulated Mr Miliband and expressed that in my opinion this is one of the smartest ideas of the 21st Century and if successful has the potential to put a real dent in energy consumption and costs and potentially this was enough to win my vote at the next general election!

However, the details are still a little scarce, but I am further disappointed to learn that British Gas are to be involved. This will simply add to fears of where the responsibility of the loan will reside – the building or the homeowner, will you be tied to British Gas for energy supply etc. Why allow one of the utility companies to be involved at all – the vast majority want independence from these organisations and would opt for off grid power generation as soon as it’s a viable option.

The manufacturers and suppliers of these technologies need to re-align their thinking slightly, and perhaps reinvent themselves as energy providers as opposed to distributors. Wouldn’t it be better to pay them your monthly household budget for clean and renewable energy. Alternatively, create a lease/purchase scheme,  lots of people cars, this would eradicate fears of purchasing inferior or inefficient equipment and so drive micro –generation to mainstream markets.

Here’s a thought, instead of bailing out the irresponsible banks, V.A.T. reductions and scrapage schemes, why not provide the manufacturers of micro-generation technologies interest free loans to create such a leasing schemes. Consider the positives of such a scheme,   job creation would be huge, manufacturing jobs (could this re-invent British manufacturing?), builders, ground workers, plumbers, gas fitters, surveyors etc. Not to mention that every householder would benefit financially long term and cut co2 emissions..... WOW!

New in 2010 - Energy Efficient replacement for skirting and radiators -As seen on Dragons Den

New in 2010 - Energy Efficient replacement for skirting and radiators -As seen on Dragons Den

ThermaSkirt® is the eco friendly heating solution. ThermaSkirt® is a new and innovative way of heating your room. ThermaSkirt® makes the most of a skirting board and radiator and turns it into effective, eco-friendly heating. Designed and manufactured in the UK, the system replaces your skirting boards and radiators in one. ThermaSkirt® will work with existing conventional boilers as well as renewables such as solar, ground source and air source heat pumps.
ThermaSkirt® has been tested by BSRIA fully complies with BS-EN 442 & carries the CE mark and in a like for like test against radiators was shown to be at least 13% more energy efficient. With the correct boiler & control system, fuels savings of up to 25% are possible. In test, ThermaSkirt® was proven to be the most efficient form of heating, giving the best uniform heat distribution, with only a ±1°C variation, compared to a radiator with a massive 13°C variation.

The effect of ThermaSkirt® is indistinguishable from under-floor heating in that it heats the room from all sides and at low level, and yet it is as simple to fit as a radiator. As it is as slim and discrete as a skirting board, it takes up no wall or floor space. Because it is above ground, it can be used with any floor construction or covering including timber and carpet and warms up the room quickly.  more...http://heatandenergy.services.officelive.com/thermaskirt.aspx