Energy saving tips (Eco-Kettles etc.)

[jenniferalan]

Does anyone know an online company that sells energy efficient bulbs in bulk for less?

[Ocker]

Jennifer, try the pound shop in Galway, they often have a promotion(just round the corner from Wood Quay)
Also I saw a new fancy kettle, like a black box with a water filter at the back which boils a cup of water in 3 seconds. Claimes to save up to 65% on a normal elec kettle. Its an argos product

[alphasun]

Originally Posted by Country Mother

Hi everyone,

Instead of using the table lamps in the living room areas, when I am at home in the evening/night, I light tea lights and put them in holders. They cast a lovely warm glow and cost very little. You can buy pkt of 24 in any pound shop for 2 euros. They last for ages especially if you freeze them first.

----------great, but candles, especially in numbers, are a significant fire risk, especially if you have young children, cats etc. who could disturb them.

[lushington]

Originally Posted by Chris P

Here's an old but simple tip that saves energy, time and money...

If you find yourself boiling the kettle several times a day just to make one cup of tea, what you should do is boil a full kettle first thing in the morning, use whatever you need for your one cup, and then pour the rest of the boiling water into a (good) thermos flask to use throughout the day. Saves time, lecky, and moolah!

If you don't fancy the thermos flask option, you should buy an eco-kettle, which has a special feature that allows the user to fill the kettle to its maximum, but then allows them to boil one to eight cups according to their requirements. I first discovered this when I was on holiday. Details here:

http://www.ecokettle.com/ECOKETTLE.htm

I´m very impressed with the Thermos idea, so obvious and yet it is one of these ideas that has to be pointed out!! I have seen one of those eco kettles when was staying with a friend in New York, I didn´t realize that they had made it over the Atlantic!

[sparkwell]

My previous electric kettle used to guzzle electricity and didn't have a water level indicator on it so we always boiled too much. I bought a new Kenwood that shows the number of cups instead of just 1/4 litre, 1/2 litre etc and have already seen a big difference in our bill. I would recommend it, here is the link

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/p...LE+KENWOOD.htm

[alphasun]

Originally Posted by sparkwell

I bought a new Kenwood that shows the number of cups instead of just 1/4 litre, 1/2 litre etc and have already seen a big difference in our bill. I would recommend it,

Great, but the real money saver is boiling water tap -- or will be when they come down in price a bit (850 euro at the moment).
The reason these save so much energy is that they keep the water at the boiling point in an insulated reservoir. This saves heat loss and heating costs but most important reduces the high energy input 'step' known as latent heat needed to change water to steam. I'm not sure how much of this latent heat quotient is saved (it might be crucial exactly how hot the water is kept) but if my physics is correct this should be a major advantage since it involves much more power consumption per second than is used for the rest of the boiling process.
As for convenience, its terrific because apart from the absence of delay and the greater safety, it's nearly silent.