Live webchat with domestic energy expert Charlotte Lawrance, Mon 12 January, 1-2pm

[GeraldineMumsnet]

Charlotte's visiting MN to answer your questions about how to save money on your home's energy bills. As usual, if you can't make the chat but have questions you'd like to ask, please post them here. Charlotte has two children under six and a third on the way, plus four dogs, so she'll need a cup of tea and a sit down! Join us on Monday.

hello, this may echo some of the above i am a full time mum and am at home most of the day and ususally from 12pm. Is it best / most efficent for me to keep the heating on at a reasonable temp - our thermostat is set at 50 degrees F or have it on 2/3 times a day and allow the house to cool inbetween. Thanks x

Are energy monitors worth the money? Which ones work best and are most reliable?

Is it worth fitting secondary glazing if we can't afford to replace the windows? What sort would be best? I want something more permanent than the film you blast with a hairdryer but less permanent than fully fitted secondary glazing - so I can take it down in the summer. Someone on MN said all this does is reduce draughts but I thought it was the air-gap between the two layers that works as insulation? To be effective then, does secondary glazing have to be completely sealed?

How can I tell if my walls are suitable for cavity insulation? How to find a reputable supplier? The various websites run by Energy bods are impenetrable and seem just to be advertising portals. Local authority no help either. VERY difficult to find out good information about whether to buy loose bead, fibre, the stuff that is sprayed with glue and what to ask of installers.

Same question for solar hot-water panels: they seem to be the double glazing of the current era: peddled by sharks and charlatans. Please advise the average consumer on how to find good products and service.

Assuming all possible energy saving and insulation things have been fitted, what would you do next as a strategy for micro-generation?

Charlotte, do you have any views on what, if any, forms of microgeneration are worth investing in? I expect the answer will be different if I am looking for microgen that washes its face financially, rather than microgen which is most effective at reducing your carbon footprint.

Wilfsell, having just written a rather dull gripping paper on domestic energy displays I can tell you that they will all go some way towards helping you manage your energy consumption, but they won't necessarily agree with what your energy company is billing you. For something that does that, you'll probably have to wait until the country finally gets comprehensive smart metering, which is going to take five years as a bare minimum.

Sorry, to be more specific, you said: 'Are they worth the money?' There are quite a lot of studies out there that show people can make reductions of 5-10% on their energy consumption (sometimes much more) with the help of energy monitors. How much you personally can make probably depends on how energy conscious you are right now.

Thanks gizmo. We have been thinking about a smart meter for a while but have choice inertia . If they're all much the same, I guess we'll just give it a go. I suspect we consume far too much energy and will be able to make savings.

if the standard suppliers of roof insulation tell you there is insufficient space to insulate your loft but there is not enough room to loose space by lining the wall internally where do you go?

Insulating the loft would have been the first thing we did if it wasn't considered a health and safety impossibility!

BTW to tell if house has cavity wall check how the bricks look - if you see only whole bricks it probably has a cavity. If you see whole then half bricks it probably doesn't. But ask a supplier and they'll soon tell you. And if you have it done make sure they check for cold spots with a thermal imaging camera afterwards.

I'd like to know how I should dry the laundry. We do as much as we can draped on dryers but often get overwhelmed with piles of damp laundry with that "wet-dog" smell. So, do we use the tumble dryer or drape it all over the (gas) radiators?

this is a test

Are these statements true or false please?

I read somewhere that the clock on my microwave uses more energy than I use in a year to cook.

also putting my vista machine on sleep uses very little power.

leaving a computer on sleep is better than booting it up 7 or 8 times a day

my tumble dryer is the most energy greedy appliance

charging appliances such as mobiles and Nintendo ds uses a negligible amount of energy

washing at 30 degrees isn't much different than 40 degrees

our house is made of solid concrete so obviously there is no cavity to insulate. i have read that concrete houses lose 90% of the heating straight through the walls.
what is the best solution? Creating an outside wall and insulating inbetween or doing it internally? Which method is cheapest and which saves more energy and therefore money?
Currently our house is damp and wallpaper just peels off. Are there grants available, we are not on any benefits?

Do Landlords (private) have any obligation to insulate the house to a certain level?

our house has cavity wall insulation, but we've only lived here for 2.5 years and we have no idea when it was done, there was no information on it at all with the house details when we bought it, as it was done before the previous owners lived here, which makes it at least 12 years old. does cavity wall insulation ever need replacing/topping up at all? i ask because the house is a cold house, does not seem to retain heat very well (is double glazed).

also, the boiler is quite old (fitted 1988), is it worth thinking about replacing it now to a newer one which may run more cost effectively, or wait till it packs in of it's own accord? it has had a service 2 years ago (booked in for another next week), and we've had no problems with it other than concern that it may not be very efficient.

which uses more energy- an old gas fire on medium (often a small new oil-radiator on medium as well), or 5 radiators on high (and 2 on low)- decent combi boiler?

NB I'm not wasteful but it takes this to warm the main living area to 14-18degrees many days this winter as radiators are woefully inadequate downstairs.

Also is it cheaper to turn an energy saving bulb/flourescent tube/normal bulb off for 5/10/15 minutes before needing it again, or to leave it on? Constant debate at work.

Can UPVC panels be insulated in anyway?

I second Cadelaide's question - is the tumble-drier the height of all evil, or is it more efficient than parking damp laundry near or over radiators?

Also, we live in an ancient draughty farmhouse, we have two log burners and an open fire, plus oil fired heating as an alternative - ecologically and/or financially, which are the best heating options? Burning the main burner with logs (also heats water), but we need at least one fire in the other end of the house as the heat just doesn't get that far, or the oil fired option which is cleaner and more convenient, but greedy on fuel?

hunker, I bought (at vast expense - about a tenner) an energy-efficient bulb that works with a dimmer. Got it in Homebase I think. TBH, it's not great - the light it casts is a bit gloomy when dimmed (sort of more clinical than a traditional bulb in a dimmer), but it does dim, and is fine when on full beam.

I'd like to ask whether it's true that the foil for radiators is really only worth doing if your radiator is against an outside wall.

don't know if this makes any difference, but further to my question earlier about cavity wall insulation - the type we have is mineral wool.

hi, do you know of any company that does green checks in your house as we 'high users' of electricity and i can't figure out why. Families I know of the same size and similar size house seem to pay less and do more, ie. more dryer use, lots of lights on, things on standby etc... I would just like someone qualified and 'green' to come in and test everything including the meter and give me a report that says, here's why (or hopefully prove that there is a problem somewhere). And on that note is it possible to have an electricity 'leakage' - where the electricity is being drawn somewhere but not 'used' for anything - like a leaking tap?

Is it really cost-effective to turn the lights out when leaving a room (I am always running upstairs after DH leaves the upstairs blazing)? He would say it uses more energy to turn them on again.

Is it less expensive to run electrical items during the night?

Hello all
Hope you've all got your sandwiches and any unasked questions ready.
We're delighted to welcome Charlotte on so over to you...

Hi, hopefully I will be able to answer as many questions as I can with answers that make sense!

Unfortunately there will be some questions that do not come under the expertise of a Domestic Energy Assessor but I will do my best

Clarissimo, Pinkjenny and Cath999, Its nice to see that I am not the only one who has this arguement with their husband! But although I am on the side of leaving the heating on at a lower tempreture rather than switching it on and off all the time as a DEA I don?t have a cast in stone answer for you. When we assess a house for the EPC we assume that the main living room would be kept heated to a tempreture of 21 degrees.

Wilfsell, with regards to energy monitors its a tricky one and one that as a DEA I don?t have an answer to.