Save Money and Go Green
13th April 2008
With all the concern about the credit crunch, and with food and fuel bills spiralling, everyone is trying to save money. Our feature shows that, as the recession begins to bite, you can save money and be green at the same time.
Read our top tips to save money and go green.
Recession? Get a Barter Card
9th March 2008
Following on the success of the Totnes Pound and L.E.T.S schemes comes the Barter Card,
a pool of 4,000 British businesses that trade work, rather than cash, for their services. The idea comes from Australia where the idea has really taken off, and a huge range of services are available.
"Though Bartercard works in good times and bad, the US subprime disaster is a major cause for celebration for us," says Andrew Federowsky, who co-founded Bartercard in Australia in 1991.
Members pay a £20 monthly fee, a joining fee (£500-£1,500, depending on the business size) and 5.5 per cent on every transaction (a small part of which can be paid in barter pounds).
Bartercard currently helps over 55,000 smart businesses in 13 countries around the world (over 23,000 in Australia) to increase sales, customer base, cash-flow and profit. Bartercard enables member businesses to exchange goods and services with other Member businesses, saving valuable cash, without having to engage in a direct swap of goods.
If the recession really bites in the UK, as it is beginning to in the US, we could hear a lot more of the Barter Card, although to be a real success it needs a lot more businesses to sign up.
How it works
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Bartercard claims its transactions are very similar to using a credit/debit card. On joining, members receive a plastic transaction card and an interest-free line of credit. They also receive monthly statements and a trader directory.
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Members use their card to "buy" other members' goods and services, the value of which is deducted from their account.
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When members sell goods and services on the exchange, their Bartercard account is credited with Trade Pounds.
Bartercard UK: 0845 219 7000; www.bartercard.com
Save and Prosper
26th February 2008
As we look forward to rising energy prices and a tough business year, improving energy efficiency has to be a top business priority.
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Measure to Manage
The starting point is to identify what you're paying on your energy (and water) bills and to keep track of these costs as you implement new initiatives.
You can take meter readings for all utilities, plotting your consumption and sharing the results with your staff. Include weekend and overnight meter readings to see usage out of hours. This approach will allow you to set targets for reduction.
Five Simple Tips to limit energy wastage:
- Switch off your computers and monitors over lunch and photocopiers and printers at the end of the working day.
- Fit compact fluorescent lamps wherever possible, they use five times less energy than conventional bulbs and also last much longer, reducing maintenance costs.
- Review your insulation and draught proofing - this not only cuts your heating bills in winter, but helps to keep you cool in summer.
- Reduce room temperatures by just 1°C and cut your heating bills by around eight per cent.
- Install time controllers to your heating system, hot water boilers, immersion heaters and any circulating pumps to minimise out of hours wastage.
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Which Renewable Energy Source is Right for your Home?
21st February 2008
Homeowners who are keen to install renewable energy in their homes have received a boost with the launch of www.GreenEnergy360.org , a website specifically designed to help them make the right energy choices.
As well as a wealth of renewable energy information, the site includes a unique interactive calculator which helps users to quickly determine the renewable energy source which is most appropriate for their home.
The calculator generates a tailored report based on the homeowner’s postcode, property information, and lifestyle details. It helps people to understand capital costs, CO2 savings and the return on investment they can expect.
www.GreenEnergy360.org is a comprehensive information website for those considering renewable energy in their homes. The aim of the site is to be able to deliver information to meet the needs of homeowners, whatever the state of their own understanding of renewable energy. The site is a completely free resource and designed to be the single most comprehensive source of information on renewable energy for the home available on the web.
Central to the website’s ability to give homeowners useful advice is a module which takes site visitors through a simple questionnaire designed to identify the renewable energy installation which is most appropriate for their needs. Developed in association with Loughborough University’s Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), the questionnaire is unique in cutting through the technical details and meeting the needs of those who are keen to find out whether renewable energy will be a good choice for their home or small business. The questionnaire provides its conclusions graphically, providing the user with likely capital cost and CO2 savings, together with the energy yield and return on investment they can expect from a particular renewable energy choice.
Having provided users with the information they need, the site can go a step further and, if requested, can refer the user to a selection of local installers who can quote for the required work.
Website founder Simon Calvert is enthusiastic, saying; “The assessment programme provides exactly the information needed to make informed decisions about your home’s renewable energy possibilities. There’s no need to drag in a troupe of unfamiliar installers and other experts whose principal interest may be in selling their preferred solution. Having assessed their options independently and objectively first, site users will be able to contact one of our quality-assured installers knowing exactly what they want.”
Window of Opportunity
If you’re home is single glazed or your double glazing was installed
prior to April 2002 then you could be losing heat and therefore money,
literally out of the window. However, by switching to Energy Efficient
Windows (EEW’s) you can save energy and reduce your household bills by
as much as *£461 per year.
To help make choosing Energy Efficient Windows easier for householders,
the British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC), has launched a ratings
system, based on the energy label found on all new washing machines and
tumble dryers. All windows are rated from ‘A’ to ‘E’ with ‘A’ being the
most energy efficient. This labelling allows householders to simply and
quickly compare the energy efficiency of competing products.
So what are Energy Efficient Windows? They are windows that help to
contain and conserve heat within your home during the winter, cool it in
the summer, keep out wind and resist condensation. They can be made
using any frame you choose, timber, PVCu or aluminum.
If you live in a single glazed house and install EEW’s, you could reduce
the energy you use by 0.30 tonnes or 18% - almost reaching the
Government target of 20%. Add to this other energy saving measures and
you could be making a real impact in reducing your carbon footprint.
For more information on Energy Efficient Windows and details of
suppliers and fitters in your area please visit the Glass and Glazing
Federation website – www.ggf.co.uk or alternatively telephone 0870 042
4255. For more information on the BFRC and its energy ratings system
visit the website, www.bfrc.org or telephone its advice line, 020 7403
9200.
* in an electrically heated house taken from DTI Quarterly Energy
Prices, Tables 2,2,3
Cut your fuel bill
and save the planet!