Project Update - April 2008

Julie Willenbruch, Learning Officer, Wallington

Over the past couple of months some of the tenants who live on the Wallington estate have been taking part in a pilot energy saving trial. 'Efergy' energy saving meters have been installed in their homes enabling them to see how much electricity they are using in real time, how much they are spending based on the cost of their electricity, as well as how much CO2 they are emitting.  

The meters are easily installed by clipping a sensor around the mains cable which transmits a signal to a portable handheld screen. The meter stores the information by day, week and month, and updates every six seconds. This allows you to see how much electricity it takes to turn on the TV or how much it costs you to make a cup of tea.  

The tenants have been using the meters to discover how much energy their appliances use and have been advised on simple changes they can make to reduce their consumption. There have been a few revelations!

'The most surprising thing I discovered was that the more you turn up the hob the more energy you use, it sounds really bizarre but it had never crossed my mind that the hotter the hotplate was the more power it was using. To turn it down and put a lid on saves a phenomenal amount of power, it really did surprise me.'

Other surprises included the amount of energy needed to boil the kettle and how just boiling the amount you need makes a difference. Also how much more energy the washing machine uses to heat the water when washing at higher temperatures compared to washing at 30 degrees.

The results I have collected so far are showing that savings of between 15-20% are being made - which is excellent - and more than the tenants thought they might save. They will all continue to save energy following this initial trial and their data will be collected throughout the year.

For further details contact the Project Manager, Celia Robbins via email or by phone on 01670 773931

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