Category Archives: Practical low carbon living

One thing we have learnt this week – ice based cooling

Here’s an interesting idea I heard about this week – ice based cooling.  One of the big problems as a solar PV homeowner is what to do with your surplus power output.  Certainly in the UK what used to be … Continue reading

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Hygge

Hygge pronounced “heurgha” is the latest Scandi craze which you cannot have missed reading about recently.  There are now a host of books in English telling you how to achieve it.  The word is hard to translate and define but … Continue reading

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One thing we have learnt this week – world energy demand

The World energy council has predicted that world energy demand will peak by 2030. Or so the headlines in the press said.  What this group say in the report out this week is more nuanced.  They present three different scenarios.  … Continue reading

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Cleaning the central heating system

Cleaning the central heating system is not for the faint hearted.  It requires time, care and if in doubt contact a reputable plumber.  If cleaning the central heating system goes wrong then you could even blow up your house.  Several … Continue reading

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Lime part 6. Lime paint the final (lime) word!?

I’ve recently discovered a new lime product- lime paint.  A couple of years ago I realised just how much the stonework had deteriorated around our windows.  The reasons for this are simple when we had the double glazing put in … Continue reading

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One thing we have learnt this week smart meters delay

This blog has blogged on smart meters more than once.  As we said in our book smart meters are meant to “monitor total energy consumption in real time and predict and manage trends.”.   There are now 4 million in the … Continue reading

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One thing we have learnt this week – churches ditching fossil fuels

Thousands of churches in the UK are ditching fossil fuels according to data released yesterday.  The majority of Salvation Army, about a third of Quakers and a lot of Catholic churches (2000) have switched to renewable suppliers.  This sounds a … Continue reading

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Borders railway reopened

Last year the Borders railway reopened and last Sunday I took my first trip on it.  Its always nice when a Beeching cut is undone.  The line which originally connected to Carlisle was closed in 1969.  Police had to guard … Continue reading

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In praise of pulses

Having grown up in Madagascar, I have plenty of time for pulses. You could buy a dozen varieties on the local markets, all lined up in baskets and sold by the tin-full. There was a wide range of colours and … Continue reading

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Are “experiences” good for you?

There has been a lot of talk about experiences recently.  As economists puzzle on very low growth rates throughout the Western world one theory going around is that we have hit peak stuff.  People are said to be materially satisfied … Continue reading

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