Staying in the gorgeous country town of Buntingford over Christmas, we couldn't resist a detour (in the car club car) to a well-named, nearby hamlet. It may have been minus 2C at times over the Christmas holiday, but my mum's new cottage is lovely and snug. She has a new condensing boiler - and barely uses her electric oven - which may well make her house's energy requirements more efficient than mine.
On Boxing Day I was given a tour of an astonishing wood boiler (provided by Rural Energy)which is fed with wood chips. The plan is for it to provide all the hot water and heat a house, office and swimming pool, saving around #4-5,000 a year in bills. It's big - you need a large barn to house it in - but this is a real energy pioneer's gadget. The big switch on is due in February 2009.
2 comments:
We have Christmas Pie near us.
One year on (dec 2009) I checked how my friend is getting on. He says the boiler needs a tonne of chips a week (which is wastewood and costs £20). He's thrilled by it, but I notice that his family wear warmer clothes than they did. It's very interesting how if you introduce energy efficient (or more renewable) methods you want to cut your carbon footprint more. Nicola (this blog's blogger)
Post a Comment