Tradesmen.ie Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth article in our series of home energy savings tips! This week we will be looking at the wood pellet stoves and boilers:

Wood pellet stoves and boilers are devices that burn wood pellets to produce heat in the home. They are an advancement to open fires and stoves. They can be free standing or placed into an existing chimney insert. Wood pellets are a clean and dry fuel made from a mixture of sawdust and wood shavings. Unlike other fuels pellets are a high energy smoke free fuel that creates little amounts of ash.

Amazingly there are even fully automated pellet boilers with thermostats that read the room temperature and feed in the wood pellets when necessary and then cut off the feed when it’s not needed so the person only has to refill the wood pellet chamber when it runs out! Now there is even an attachment that can be added where a person can regulate the heat in their wood pellet boiler by their mobile phone!

Wood pellet stoves and boilers are also clean for the environment; other fuels such as gas and oil produce heavy amounts of carbon emissions which is responsible for climate change. Wood pellets are a renewable source of energy and are cleaner as they are a form of carbon neutral fuel. In Ireland grants are available for wood pellet stoves and boiler retrofits from the Sustainable Authority of Ireland.

For advice or to install any of these recommendations please log onto www.tradesmen.ie and we can source the right tradesman for you,

Hello everyone and welcome to the third article in our series of home energy savings tips! This week we will be looking at the various types of insulation for the home:

Many homes in Ireland are very wasteful of energy. Energy saving measures can make a house retain its heat better and eliminate draughts and waste.By conserving energy we can save money by lowering our heating costs and help the environment by reducing wasted energy and conserving fuel. Heat can be lost in the home through the roof and attic, the interior and exterior walls and windows. Sufficient and appropriate insulation all over your house will help reduce waste and fuel costs.

One of the easiest ways of reducing energy loss immediately is to insulate your hot water cylinder with a lagging jacket or if you are installing a new cylinder opt for a pre formed foam insulation jacket for better insulation. According to SEI Ireland “30% of your heat can escape through the roof and the fuel savings of installing insulation is approx €130 per year”

There are various types of insulation on the market for all types of roof sizes and shapes and a professional’s advice should be sought for what will best suit your roof type.

In a house half of the heat lost in through the walls and by insulating them two-thirds of this heat loss can be reduced. Insulation may be installed on the outside of the walls, in the cavity of the walls or on the inside of the walls. You should consult a professional to determine the most appropriate for you and your home. Fuel savings on cavity wall insulation is approximately €100-€150 annually, for internal wall insulation its approx €70 to €150 annually and for external insulation the savings are approximately €100 to €150 annually.

Another major source of heat loss in the home is through windows. The most recommended type of windows to reduce heat loss is double glazing but even more advances glazing systems are becoming available according to SEI Ireland “They include gas-filled double glazing and low emissivity glazing” There are some of the main insulation types that are available on the market to help reduce heat loss in the home and also help reduce your fuel expenses while been kinder to the environment.

For advice or to install any of these recommendations please log onto www.tradesmen.ie and we can source the right tradesman for you.

Hello everyone and welcome to the second article in our series of home energy savings tips! This week we will be looking at low energy lighting.

Low energy lighting is a simple and effective way of reducing your electricity bill and helping the environment at the same time. Low energy light bulbs or CFL light bulbs (Compact fluorescent lamps) can be found in most hardware stores and unlike before are now available in a wide variety of fittings, shapes and sizes for the home and business premises. They come in all shapes and sizes alike traditional light bulbs such as candle shaped and small and medium screws and even dimmable bulbs are now available.

Common low energy light bulbs use up to 80% less electricity than that of a traditional light bulb and it produces the same amount of light. Using less electricity means our homes produce less carbon dioxide which helps fight climate change as carbon dioxide is one of the main causes of climate change.

Traditional light bulbs are being phased out of the consumers market and eventually low energy light bulbs will be the only light bulb that can be bought. There are even some light fittings currently on the market which will only take low energy light bulbs. The Governments of many countries are in a battle to help reduce climate change and eliminate energy wastage and are now really putting pressure on producers to be more environmentally friendly and create a huge movement in the right direction for all our futures. For example in Australia there is such popularity by consumers for energy saving lighting that the Government is committed to phasing out traditional (incandescent) light bulbs from the market by 2010.

According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) “replacing 3 traditional light bulbs with low energy lighting can save a home €37.00 per year and €24 million per year who CO2 savings of 115,000 tonnes annually”. Low energy lighting can last up to 12 times longer than a traditional light bulb which will add more savings for the home owner in the long term!

Technology and the design and manufacturing of CFL light bulbs will continue to change and improve, but already low energy lighting is a great way of cutting down your electricity costs and helping the environment by saving money, energy and reducing waste for everyone now and for those in the future.

For advice or to install any of these recommendations please log onto www.tradesmen.ie and we can source the right tradesman for you 🙂

There are a lot of ways to save energy in new homes and older homes and they include simple and cheap solutions such as draught proofing to more complex expensive measures like insulation.

Over the next few weeks I will be examining a range of energy saving measures in the home, each week a new article will be about a different method of saving energy in your house and ways to improve your house’s energy rating along with some helpful information, tips and advice.

This week we will be looking at draught proofing.

Draught Proofing

Draught proofing your home can lower your heating costs and increase your homes energy rating. Draughts are caused by cold air getting into the home through gaps such as windows, doors, flooring, keyholes, cat flaps and more!

Draughts are responsible for 20-30% of heat lost in the home, heating bills can be reduced by 80c on every euro by installing draught proofing measures

Building regulations require all doors and windows in new builds to be draught proofed and older properties should be upgraded to the same standards

A draught can be found by products such as thermal leak detectors and other draught detecting equipment, a cheaper option is to light a candle and slowly trace it around the edges of a door or window frame and if the light flickers you have a draught!

We will know examine the most common areas where draughts are found:

Doors

You should start draught proofing your home with entry doors.

Adding a threshold sweep to the bottom of the entry door can keep cold air out and warm air inside. Check the spaces and gaps around the door frame and jams and add rubber compression strips or felt strips to create a seal.

A weather bar can be fitted to the outside of an external door to eliminate a draught.

There are also screw on external door kits which are a very effective method of draught proofing external doors. They draught proof the sides and top of an external door which secures the door when shut firmly against the door’s seal to reduce the cold air getting in. They are very hardwearing and come in different colors to blend with the door and frame.

Internal doors can be fixed with brush strips at the bottom which provides a seal between the door and the floor.

Patio doors have weather stripping already on them but they should be checked to see if it is damaged and needs replacing or repair.

Windows:

You can draught proof sash windows by using weather stripping around the underside of the sash to close any gaps and air leaks around the window.

Updating older windows to single or double glazed windows will also help with heat loss

You can also install insulating window film which is a double sided tape that’s attached to the window and is clear allowing you to see through the window

You can also apply a self adhesive foam rubber for outward opening windows which sticks to the window frame and secures the window firmly to the seal.

Modern double glazing is the most energy efficient window, they have an integral rubber seal and so additional seals aren’t required.

Floors:

Draughts can rise up between floor boards and between the floor edge and the skirting boards, a silicon sealant can be used here to seal the gap effectively

Sealants can also be applied to any gap where moisture penetrates the structure e.g. joints in windows, doors, telephone or cabling gaps, skirting boards etc and is available in a wide range of colors and can be painted over to match the adjoining surface

There are different types available for different usages and range in colors and prices.

Key Holes:

Most locks require a hole to go straight through the door and can be the source of draughts. There are products available that fit over the external lock to eliminate draughts when lock is not in use, they slide over the way when in use and swing back over the open lock when not in use closing off the hole and hence draught.

Cat Flaps:

A good quality cat flap should be fitted to reduce draughts in the home. A close fitting flap and strong return mechanism to close properly should prevent letting cold air in and the lose of hot air out through the flap

You can also buy additional interior flap or a brush unit to the flap to further reduce draughts.

For advice or to install any of these recommendations please log onto www.tradesmen.ie and we can source the right tradesman for you.

by Cheryl Chambers

November in Ireland will go down in the record books as the coldest since 1985 with Dublin getting hit even harder with frosty conditions. December proved to be just as cold with major travel delays hitting public transport near the Christmas holidays due to frost and snow.

The winter season is still not finished and many homes have already experienced plumbing and water nightmares with most counties in Ireland forced to shut down water flowing to residential homes as water reserves dropped and burst pipes became a commonality in most homes.

Burst pipes are not only expensive when it happens but the inconvenience and damage spilled water can create is far more devastating, with leaking or burst pipes causing major damage to walls, ceilings, furniture and flooring.

We have listed some advice and tips for preventing burst pipes as the cold weather continues and in anticipation of further cold spells in the future.

For most people their knowledge to prevent pipes bursting in freezing temperatures is to leave the taps on so the water is continuously flowing and prevents the water remaining stagnant in the pipes to freeze. This can help but can lead to water reserves in the counties dropping too low and County Councils forced to shut the water off as most people have experienced over the last few months. And if you are leaving the house unattended over a period leaving the taps running and unattended could cause more damage than the pipes bursting.

Some better preventative measures for pipes running through unheated spaces is insulating the pipes with electrical heating tape or pipe sleeves which can be wrapped around pipes and act like a blanket protecting the pipes from the freezing cold. Both cold and hot water pipes must be insulated as hot water pipes running through unheated spaces will also freeze.

For inside the home you can put some fiberglass insulation between the pipes and walls helping them to retain their heat and prevent freezing. Both electrical heating tape and fiberglass insulation should be available at any local hardware store

A cheaper alternative is newspaper (at least quarter inch thick) which can be wrapped around pipes and secured with duct tape then wrap foil around again for more heat with duct tape holding both in place around the pipe.

If the pipes do freeze then you should heat the frozen pipe slowly to prevent rupture by using a hairdryer or space heater aimed at the blockage or wrap heated clothes around the frozen section until it has thawed.

If you are heading away for a long period over a cold spell the best prevention is to turn off the main water valve to the house before you leave and this will prevent any watery nightmares upon your return

For advice or to install any of these recommendations please log onto www.tradesmen.ie and we can source the right tradesman for you.

by Cheryl Chambers