Kettle Ma Swede

Not the most scientific experiment of all time but here goes, I'm attempting to determine if it's more efficient to boil a standard electric kettle or use a hob top kettle on an induction hob...

1 litre of water, electric kettle and hob kettle

 First off I boiled 1 litre of water on the induction hob using the power setting

 

Then I did the same with the electric kettle

The induction hob drew a little more power but boiled the water slightly quicker than the electric kettle, so not very groundbreaking but it looks as if the difference is negligable.Potentially different electric kettles vs different hob top kettles could have little differences, I guess the key is to ensure I'm not boiling more water than I need for that wee cup of tea!

INSPIRATION - Tracy Island goes zero carbon

When I was 8 the most famous Blue Peter 'here's one I made earlier' happened

Tracy Island

Twenty-two years later there's a project happening that's not too dissimilar (well minus the rockets and Lady Penelope) ZIRA ISLAND in the Caspian Sea will be a self contained island, completely independant of external resources, it will be zero carbon using wind, sun and water to produce the energy required for the inhabitants, forming a model for future sustainable urban development. Pretty awesome huh?

Zira Island, Caspian Sea

Magic carpet

Uninsulated floors can loose up to 15% of a rooms heat, ideally the solution is to add underfloor insulation but this isn't always easy, especially with wooden/laminate floors like we have so an area rug is a low-cost, quick-fix energy saving solution. Luckily for me rugs were included in the items available through the MSLH project, so after some 'debate' we decided on the Randlev for the dining room and Gaser for the living room. 

I love the design and scale of this rug and being made of pure new wool it feels really nice too :)

Hand-made in Uttar Pradesh, India it's reassuring to know that through the IWAY programme IKEA have ensured that my new rug was made by an adult who was paid a fair wage, has safe working conditions and receives all the benefits they are due. So not only was is sustainably and responsibly produced but it's going to help me save energy and money too - winner!

 

Tea-picker Mary

On the theme of Indian working conditions when I was in India last month I went to a tea plantation in the southern state of Kerala, it was really thought-provoking to hear about how the workers there work and live on the tea plantation. The plantation I visited had about 400 workers, they all lived in housing provided on the estate, they received free medical and dental care, all the children went to school, there was communal kitchen and dining facilities and the plantation had both christian churches and hindu temples. Although the wages sounded really low, the ladies who pick tea earn 10 rupees (about 10 pence) per kilo picking on average 20kg per day, six days a week, our guide assusred us that this is a decent living wage and many people travel from the neighbouring poorer state of Tamil Nadu to gain employment on the tea plantations. Their tea was pretty tasty too!

Tea pickers

Tea factory

Tea workers cottages

Pulp Fiction

A bit like the best films this blog isn't in perfect chronological order - it's going to start a few weeks in, I'll go back to the beginning at some point then carry on.

The MSLH project is an opportunity for Ikea co-workers in the UK to kick start a more sustainable lifestyle then share their knowledge, findings and inspiration with other co-workers, customers and the public at large, but more about that later.

Firstly I'm going to tell you a story about how I slayed a vampire (stay with me people, there will be NO Twiglet saga references here)

One dark and stormy night (okay so it's winter in Glasgow, it's always like this, even during the day) I went Vampire hunting (cue eerie music)

But I didn't find this guy (shame)

What I found was much scarier...

To be fair Grandpa Munster was probably least scary vampire of all time but I'm not mentioning those 'other' vampires from modern day, maybe Tom Cruise from Interview with a Vampire would be a better comparison?

Anyway I digress, you'll find that will happen a lot, this isn't a debate on films greatest Vampires, you'll find that here. I procrastinate a lot as well as you can probably tell.

Creeping around by torchlight, hand driven LED torch light nonetheless, I found this bad guy

Looks like an ordinary living room scene doesn't it? Naine, this bad boy is actually a vampire in disguise,

VAMPIRE POWER!!

Eh?

Vampire power refers to the electric power consumed by electronic and electrical appliances while they are switched off (but are designed to draw some power) or in a standby mode

Ah

So using my brand new Koppla extension lead from IKEA I split the cables. Now the only things plugged in continuously are the Virgin TV box and the broadband router. The TV, DVD player, Wii and printer are on the separate extension lead which can be switched off when not in use. And this is the results

On the left is my smartpower meter reading with nothing plugged in, the middle with the Virgin TV box and router on and on the right with everything plugged in but still in standby mode, not switched on, just in standby.

By slaying this vampire I'll save 1p an hour, doesn't sound a lot? £87.60 per year sounds better, that sounds like a pair of shoes to me. It's also made me realise that by having the broadband and Virgin recorder box is costing an additional £7.20 a month just in electricity bills, on top of the subscription fee, Usain Bolt doesn't mention that does he?

I'll leave you with a nice wee infographic, it's from across the pond, but the principles are the same

Vi ses snart!

Hayley

source: http://www.good.is/posts/vampire-energy-2