Latest helpfulness...
Energy saving vs viewing pleasure
A struggle which has lasted the better part of two decades was recently resolved in my household.
Wearily, and with heavy hearts, my parents agreed to join the 21st Century - and from mid-August they will have access to considerably more than the four TV channels they have enjoyed since the early 80s.
Energy sapping
The sun’s out again over much of Britain, and it certainly seems like this summer’s shaping up to be a thorough improvement over last year’s storms.
Wave off
We’ve taken a break from testing how much electricity washing machines use to answer a question about microwaves.
Sandra Storr asked us to look at the one-time ovens of the future, as she’d heard that they used as much power on standby as they did during cooking.
Living small
The broad connection between the size of your car and your impact on the environment is now pretty well established - certainly well-enough for the Mayor of London to moot a £25-a-day charge on 4×4s in central London without getting thrown out of office (well, not yet anyway).
Shedding light on biofuels
Low-energy light bulbs had a bad start to the year, as fears that they may contribute to migraines and skin complaints gave way to alarm over mercury used in the bulbs’ construction.
This week it seems it’s the turn of biofuels to fall from grace
Mercury row rising
Last week we noticed it had been a bad week for low-energy light bulbs.
We noted that there have been concerns over their effects on people with migraines, over their effect on people with light-sensitive skin, over the way they are disposed of, and of their toxic hazard to human health.
Bad week for low-energy light bulbs
Energy-saving light bulbs have had a bit of a rocky start to 2008. On Wednesday, the Migraine Action Association said that some of its members had experienced migraines as a result of “either the flickering or the low intensity of the light”, while dermatologists today said that fluorescent light can cause skin complaints.
Through the mangle
Just before Christmas we hooked up our washer-drier to the power meter we’ve been using to test how much power typical home and office appliances use, and measured the electricity it consumed in a 60-degree wash.
Standby, you’re banned
Already sold off the novelty socks via eBay? Then here’s an idea for what you might do with the extra cash: declare war on standby.
Greenwashing?
With visiting relatives in need of clean bedclothes, table cloths picking up stains from wine, cranberries and chocolate, and tea towels mopping up more than their usual share of dishwater, Christmas is a pretty busy time for the average family washing machine.
