Miscellany
FUTUREBUILD 2022
Formerly called Eco Build, this year's FutureBuild exhibition at the London ExCel Centre had a wide variety of eco products on display such as Phase Change Material.
Thermal Batteries
Winner of the 'Big Innovation Pitch' was Sunamp's Thermino thermal storage battery, which uses food-grade phase change materials for more efficient heat storage, delivering instant hot water while reducing carbon emissions. While the battery is up to four times smaller than an equivalent hot water cylinder, the battery has an energy density around five times greater than water.
On their stand, I liked their eye-catching impaled hot water cylinder; its days may be numbered!
UK Homes Lose Heat up to Three Times Faster than European Homes
Homes in the UK lose heat much faster than our European neighbours, a new survey has revealed, raising concerns about our energy efficiency"
by Jack Woodfield, Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine 20 Feb 2020UK homes are colder than European homes, even when factoring in outside temperatures, according to research from smart home thermostat company Tado.
The company compared the efficiency of over 80,000 homes between Dec 2019 and Jan 2020 and found that a UK home with an indoor temperature of 20°C and an outside temperature of 0°C lost an average 3°C after five hours. This means that British heating systems have to work harder to maintain the warmth.
Compared with Germany, UK homes lost heat up to three times as fast, and Tado has called for new technology to be widely integrated into new homes to ensure better energy efficiency.
“The UK is a leader in smart technology adoption but is lagging behind Europe when it comes to energy efficient homes”, says Tado co-founder Christian Deilmann.
“The good news is that there are lots of great solutions available and a huge opportunity for energy savings to be made.”
WATER SAVING DECORATING TOOL
For years I've been using a great gadget to clean paint rollers - the Dandy. Very simply, you spin it on your drill and the centrifugal force removes all the paint, leaving you with a completely clean and virtually dry roller.
Not wishing to sound like an ad, (I don't have any connection with the company or product) I'm just impressed with the huge savings in water that this device achieves, not to mention the savings in buying new rollers and brushes and the savings in time spent cleaning them.
I've just ordered the Dandy Pro which cleans paint brushes too. Watch the videos on the website.
PLASTIC FREE JERSEY
Plastic Free Jersey is an initiative that brings together individuals, groups, businesses and organisations to reduce the amount of plastic we use. Surfers Against Sewage developed the scheme to tackle the plastic problem specifically in coastal areas.
In order to be awarded with Plastic Free status we need to meet some strict criteria and everyone needs to get involved. Visit the Plastic Free Jersey website to register or for more information.
3 actions taken by Langlois Design & Build:
Water filter system to encourage use of re-fillable bottles. A 7-stage water filter, which makes ordinary tap water taste amazing, encouraging people to drink water instead of unhealthy alternatives, saving on single use plastic bottles.
Replacing the use of plastic (uPVC) cladding, fascia and soffit board products in construction with timber effect compressed boards made from recycled timber (which can be safely recycled or incinerated at end of life - no adhesives used in manufacture; boards formed by high compression of wood strands to release natural wood resin as the bonding agent).
Replacing the use of plastic (uPVC) guttering and downpipes in construction with galvanised/painted steel products (which can be recycled as standard ferrous metal at end of life, product life expectancy in excess of 70 years).
RECYCLING ISN'T THE ANSWER - IT'S THE LAST RESORT!
The post-war generation were used to "Make do and mend." Since then, most of use have had "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" drilled into us since childhood. But of those, Recycling is the only principle that ever really stuck.
Every day, we buy, use, recycle, and repeat. And when we take our recyclables to the dump recycling centre, we're confident that we're doing our bit for the environment.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. There are limits to recycling, especially when it comes to our high-tech toys. No electronic device is 100% recyclable. Not the flatscreen TV on your wall. Not the laptop on your desk. Not even the iPhone in your pocket.
Between 20% and 35% of the material content of a phone is lost when it's shredded and melted down for recycling. The critical rare earth metals essential to every modern gizmo aren't being recycled at all. Recycling is "the best worst solution."
That's why you should reduce, reuse, and repair. Recycle only when there's no other option.
More info on http://ifixit.org/Miscellaneous certificates:
