Archive for the ‘Energy Saving’ Category

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Happy New Year….

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

2008 Changes

Happy New Year everyone…so it’s 2008 and still no sign of my hover board! 2008 always seemed like such a far-off date when I was younger, a time to aspire to space travel and meeting aliens but here we are still on old Blighty drinking tea and gossiping about Eastenders, nothing really changes or does it?

My futuristic dreams have now been replaced by more modest and sustainable aspirations, think Richard Briers in The Good Life and you’re almost there.

To mark the New Year, we’ve had a little brainstorm here at ECOutlet and came up with a Top 10 Green New Year Resolutions for some inspiration on making this a truly eco year:

  • Switch to a green electricity supplier such as Ecotricity or Good Energy
  • Insulate insulate insulate
  • Shop locally, at farmers markets or get an organic fruit and veg box scheme to deliver to your home
  • Say goodbye to plastic bags in 2008 and look all affronted at the shops if one is offered
  • Avoid over-packaged groceries and products when shopping
  • Leave the car at home and cycle or walk more
  • Avoid flying wherever possible and take more holidays and short-breaks here in the UK
  • Turn down the thermostat a couple of degrees
  • Grow your own herbs and veg – all you need is a windowsill
  • Eat less meat
  • Buy second-hand and vintage, it’s so 2008!

Posted in ECOutlet, Eco Tips, Energy Saving, Sustainable Food, Waste Reduction | No Comments »

Cycling in the dark….

Monday, October 15th, 2007

Eco Bike Lights

In less than two weeks time, British summertime officially draws to a close with the clocks going back one hour and darker evenings upon us.

When we formed ECOutlet last year, I was very keen to include a cycling section in the shop for two reasons, the first being to help try and promote cycling as a sustainable mode of transport and secondly because we had found some great eco friendly cycle light options which were all battery-free so better for the environment and as with so many eco products cheaper in the long run.

One of our suppliers, Pedalite have put together a promo video for the pedal lights which is a neat little way of showing how well they work in the dark. More details on how they operate can be found on the Pedalite page but have a look at the video over on the top right to see them in animated action. Our latest additions to the cycling range are from Trevor Baylis, the wind-up micro bike lights which provide 90 minutes of light for just 1 minute of winding. Our other main product, the magentically-powered Reelight Bike Lights are also excellent for night-time visibility on your bike once winter kicks in.

In the UK we recycle just 4% of household batteries, that’s less than 1000 tonnes out of an average 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of general purpose battery waste generated every year. This winter be safe and be green by choosing the battery-free option.

Posted in Cycling, ECOutlet Products, Energy Saving, Green Travel | No Comments »

Save money…Insulate

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Insualtion

Sad though it makes me to say it but our fleeting summer will be drawing to a close soon and now is the time to be thinking about preparing your home for the winter ahead. In an average British house, it is possible that as much as 50% of the heat is lost through the ceiling, roof and walls. It does’nt have to be so though as a few simple insulation measures can prevent all that.

Loft and cavity wall insulation are the two main ways to tackle heat loss in the home, however it’s important not to forget the simpler methods such as draught-proofing windows and doors and insulating hot water tanks and pipes. All these are easy and cheap ways to cut down on heating bills and can be carried out by any DIY competent person. You could also check out our snake draught excluders which are another way to cut down on heat loss and add a bit of retro style to your room at the same time.

The Energy Saving Trust website includes a full break down of the financial and environmental savings possible by carrying out a number of insulation measures on your home. The website also features a grant and offers check for your area to see what funds are available to help with insulation costs. If you live in the London area, something which we are currently availing of and which comes recommended is the Mayor of London’s Insulation offer which provides £100 cashback on all roof insulation and is available to the first 30,000 homes to register.

Posted in ECOutlet Products, Eco Tips, Eco Websites, Energy Saving | No Comments »

Recycling other peoples phones

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Mobiles

It’s only been a few weeks since I sent my old mobile off to be recycled with Mopay so it was all the more annoying when I went and lost the new one last weekend. I know minus eco points for me but it was during a wedding, I had too much fizzy champagne over the course of the day and did’nt realise it was missing until I was on the train going home and it was too late. Very silly and so the last few days have been spent trying to get a second-hand replacement one.

I was hoping this entry would be a useful resource for anyone looking for a second-hand mobile however my search was’nt as successful as anticipated. I know lots of websites who will accept old mobiles for recycling (Mopay, Oxfam and Action Aid for starters) but when it came to sites dedicated to selling second-hand reconditioned mobiles they were a bit more difficult to trace. UsedphonesUK looked promising but on closer inspection not many phones were actually in stock and after some lenghty browsing it seemed the biggest choice was on Ebay and Preloved.

In the end I put an email out to some friends to check if anyone had an unwanted one lying around and surprisingly four of them showed up over the weekend with phones for me to choose from. Having picked my favourite, the others no longer need to spend their days tucked away in a drawer but can be sent off for recycling. My new phone is perfectly fine, in fact probably more user friendly than the one I lost. Next time I’m thinking of an upgrade this might become a regualr tactic but if anyone has any other tips for picking up second-hand reconditioned mobiles in the meantime drop us a line or leave a comment please.

Posted in Eco Tips, Eco Websites, Energy Saving, Recycling | No Comments »

Not Live Earth…

Sunday, July 8th, 2007

Not Live Earth

Whilst Madge was prancing around a 100 ft stage at Live Earth on Saturday, ECOutlet were strutting their stuff at a different kind of gig to raise awareness of energy consumption.

The Divine Agency’s pedal power concert at the Southwark Green Fair in South London consisted of three bicycles powered by an amp, an electric guitar and a mic. The audience were treated to such delights as a song about steam power, the wheel and one ladies bizarre prayer to Rufus Wainwright all of which went down well and go to show you don’t need a carbon footprint the size of Wembley Stadium to have fun!

Posted in Cycling, Eco Websites, Energy Saving, Green Events, Green Fairs, Renewable Energy | No Comments »

Winning turbine design..

Friday, June 29th, 2007

Royal College of Art Summer Show

On a trip down to the Royal College of Art Summer Show one particular piece of work really stood out for me yesterday. Winner of the BSI Sustainability Design Award, Ben Storan, has created a revolutionary new design of vertical wind turbine for urban environments. The inspiration? watching spinning clothes lines growing up in the windy west of Ireland.

The turbine aims to be 3 times more effective than current domestic turbines available on the market, generating 1.2kW at a wind speed of 12 m/s. The vertical rotational design gives rise to a slower rotational speed allowing the turbine to capture more energy from turbulent air flow common in urban spaces. The design also uses lightweight materials making it more stable and allowing easier installation too.

The Royal College produces some of our finest designers and conceptualists who go on in life to create much of the stuff familiar in our everyday life. It would be great to see Ben’s turbine going into production and hopefully his design will inspire graduates in the coming years to embrace the notion of sustainability in their design too.

Marco

Posted in Energy Saving, Renewable Energy | No Comments »

Lights Out London – the result…

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

ECOutlet - Lights Out London

So we made our way up onto Primrose Hill last night to try and get a birdseye view of London minus the lights. As anticipated the 9 o’clock switch off failed to raise any eyebrows as it was still relatively bright but as the hour went by, it seemed most people were joining in with a couple of notable exceptions.

One new tower under construction in the city was lit up like a christmas tree which spoiled the view a little and the Millenium Wheel could’nt seem to make up it’s mind. The lights were on, then they went off, then they were back on again. That said the majority of lights seemed to be off and the event was a success.

For some clearer pics at ground level, the Lights Out London website have uploaded a very impressive gallery of pics showing a number of the major city landmarks in darkness.

Posted in Climate Change, Eco Websites, Energy Saving, Green Events | No Comments »

Big switch off…

Monday, June 18th, 2007

Lights out

The plan for Lights Out London is for the cities residents and businesses to switch off all lights and unnecessary appliances between the hours of 9 and 10 pm this coming Thursday. The people behind the idea, Capital FM have successfully managed to drum up plenty of support and a look on their website shows an impressive long list of companies signed up to take part.

Landmark buildings switching off include Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Harrods and Canary Wharf. Mayor Ken Livingstone has also pledged that ‘none of City Hall’s non-essential lights and appliances are on’ this Thursday.

It’s great that someone is going to the effort of getting people thinking about energy consumption and commiting to action (albeit for 1 hour). It’s not an unusual sight in London though to go past any of the above buildings at night time and see floor upon floor with all the lights on. Why so many businesses seem to disregard the fact that switching off their lights at night is one obvious way they can help tackle climate change is beyond me but perhaps ‘Lights Out London’ will act as a catalyst to some of them including Mr Livingstone to commit to doing it every night.

Hopefully I’ll make it up to one of London’s higher vantage points this Thursday to see the effects of the big switch off on the city skyline. Being the summer solstice and the longest day of the year, I have a feeling though it might be the switch back on rather than the switch off which will prove the most dramatic.

Posted in Climate Change, Energy Saving, Green Events | No Comments »

Bye bye mobile…

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Mobile recycling

It’s been lying in a drawer, sad and neglected for a few months now waiting for me to get round to sending it off for recycling and after recently coming across the newly revised website, Mopay via Hippyshopper, I think the time has finally arrived to send my mobile to a new home.

Mopay offers a quick and easy service or turning your old phone into cash and helps raise money for charity in the process. For every mobile they receive, Mopay will donate an extra 10% of the sale of your phone to your chosen charity. You also have the option of donating anything from 10-100% out of the money they pay for the phone to charity. The site is dead easy to use, you select the manufacturer and then from the images pick out the model you want to recycle. They accept around 2000 different phones, my old Nokia is worth £18.28 which when you take into account the additional 10% donation means a total of £20.11 can go to charity. Couple that with the knowledge that it is being recycled rather than dumped and its more than enough incentive for me to get off my backside and sort it out.

In the UK 1700 phones are thrown away every hour! This is crazy as mobiles contain several valuable materials and components including silver which can be extracted and re-used. Some also contain hghly toxic substances such as cadmium which if it goes into landfill could potentially end up leaching into soil and reaching groundwater.

Oh and you don’t get anything extra for it but they also accept chargers for recycling so if you’ve switched to a new manufacturer, send that off to.

Posted in Eco Tips, Eco Websites, Energy Saving, Recycling | No Comments »

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