Wednesday 25 April 2007

BRIGHT LIGHTS


We have a bit of a light switch thing going off in our house at the moment. We have the low energy light bulbs in all of the rooms now, which potentially saves a small fortune in bill charges over their lifetime. We have two different points of view regarding the low energy bulbs. I think that they are like very small fluorescent lights, apart from the fact that they don’t buzz and flash annoyingly. The old fluorescent bulbs have a starter in them which uses more electricity getting them going than the amount of energy it takes to leave them on all day. This is why you sometimes see large office blocks with their lights on permanently. I think that these low energy light bulbs have the same sort of device, only in a smaller scale.

The mechanisms also have a certain number of times that the starters will be effective before the give up the ghost. Because I am in and out of rooms frequently I tend to leave the lights on because I feel as though I might be saving energy and prolonging the life of the bulb. Although, I might add, I have absolutely no proof that this is the case. Julie, on the other hand feels that the lights should always be switched off when we are not in the rooms. Because of this difference of opinion we tend to spend the evening switching lights on and off in every room. I think a solution could be at hand though. You can get motion sensitive light switches and they will automatically cut the light when you leave the room. Being left in the dark isn’t all that bad though. There was something magical about having no electricity at times over the Christmas period.

I appreciate there will be some who need a constant supply of power and hopefully they will have a suitable generator to hand. The rest of us were forced to blow the dust off some old candles. The cards came out of the drawer and we managed to rekindle the art of conversation without the distraction of the television for a few hours. Our estate was so dark too without the streetlights being on, and there was no familiar orange glow in the sky from the town. Lighting up the towns is something that we take for granted and some say that it’s necessary to keep crime down. Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) have other ideas, they have launched a Dark Skies campaign to make the night sky more visible and save energy at the same time. The FIE would also like to see the 15 million euro spent on lighting non-national roads reduced by either turning the lights off or at least reducing the brightness. The councils are spending about 5 million euro on low energy light bulbs a year and the introduction of the streetlights that only light the ground are being installed in places. There is a simpler answer though, the council could save a fortune by turning off lights that were not being used, and there is a member of our family that would be the ideal candidate for the job!

I think that one day a week could be set aside as a No Electricity Day. We could be free of all things electrical. No TV, washing machines, computers and vacuum cleaners. There would be fewer chores to do around the house. In the evening it would be too dark to do anything but spend time in front of an open fire playing games with the children or knitting or whatever, and only opening the fridge door when it was completely necessary.


Environmental.

ENERGY RATING FOR HOUSES


(Click on the title for a link to the Sustainable Ireland page about energy rating)

New European energy ratings for new houses will come into force next January (Update, already here!). These ratings will have a similar classification to the labels that you see on electrical goods such as washing machines. This initiative will give incentive to builders to incorporate the latest insulation techniques, as energy ratings will have an effect on the price of the property. Sustainable Energy Ireland did a survey and found that houses built before 1990 could lose value because of the poor heating systems and insulation properties. The measurement will be like testing the performance of the house, much the same way you would check a car for the kilometres to the gallon. One off bungalows and period properties with hollow concrete block construction would fare badly, so said Duncan Stuart from the telly. He reckons you wouldn’t think of buying an inefficient car so why by a house that will drain your resources. Denmark introduced the energy rating in the mid 1990’s and this was also included on the rental properties. They found that after the first few months house owners who were renting or selling were improving the insulation and heating in the houses prior to putting them on the market. It will be 2009 when all houses will have a rating and it will cost about €300 each. The rating will be valid for ten years as long as there are no serious alterations to the property. Although the scale hasn’t been decided, an alphabetical rating is planned. The most energy efficient will be A and the worst will be O. Duncan Stuart thinks that even the best-built houses in Ireland would only merit a C or D. The government hopes the rating system will improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock and force the construction industry to build more sustainable houses.


Environmental.

AIR POWERED MOTORING


DRIVE ALL DAY FOR €1.50

French engineers have designed a low consumption and low pollution engine for urban motoring that runs on compressed air technology. The CATS (Compressed Air Technology System) "
air car" from Motor Development International is a significant step for zero-emission transport, delivering a compressed air-driven vehicle that is safe, quiet and has a top speed of 110 km/h with a range of 200 km. Costing next to nothing to run, the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) range - which includes a pick-up truck and van have just come onto the market.

The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) prototype has been in production since 1994. The two-stroke engine is powered by compressed air stored in tanks at about 150 times the pressure of tyres on a car. The expansion of the compressed air drives the pistons to create movement, replacing the burning of fossil fuel in a conventional engine. In an air-refilling station (currently unavailable as service stations have not been fitted yet) it is estimated to take between three and four minutes to re-fuel. At home, with a 220V plug, it takes three and a half hours.

The company estimates a full tank of air will cost around €1.50 to fill and that the extra reward is knowing that you are pumping nothing harmful into the atmosphere. The hidden environmental cost with the CATS is that electricity must still be generated and the means of that production may still employ fossil fuels that discharge pollutants. Still, the savings to the pocket and environment appear well worth investigating. Four models are available for the commercial market - the MiniCAT car at approximately €6,860 euros, or the CitiCATs, including a taxi (with room for up to 5 passengers), a Pick-Up truck and a van, all retailing for approximately €9,460 euros plus taxes.

Safety Concerns
Air powered vehicles have a long history of use in Europe but were discontinued for safety and efficiency reasons. The CATS air cars have undergone stringent safety testing for modern conditions and requirements and appear to have conquered the concerns of air compression engines.

In the case of an accident with air tank breakage, there would be no explosion or shattering because the tanks are not metallic but made of glass fibre. The tanks would crack longitudinally, and the air would escape, causing a strong buzzing sound with no dangerous factor. It is clear that if this technology has been tested and prepared to carry an inflammable and explosive gas, it can also be used to carry air.

In order to avoid the so-called 'rocket effect', this means to avoid the air escaping through one of the tank's extremities causing a pressure leak that could move the car, MDI made a small but important change in the design. Where the valve on the buses' tanks are placed on one of the extremities, MDI has placed the valve in the middle of the tank reducing the 'rocket effect' to a minimum.






MY FIRST CAR CECILIA KEAVENEY

Photo: Cecilia at the opening day of the Lifestyle Garden Crentre at Newtowncunningham.






This week Cecilia Keaveney reminisces about her first experiences in the daunting world of young car ownership. It certainly highlights the problems of first time buyers!

What was your first car?
A blue Ford Fiesta

How old were you?
23

How did you get it?
I was teaching in Coleraine and completing a masters degree in Belfast so I needed a car. Given my limited budget as an eternal student at that point (6 years at university so far), I went to a reputable garage and asked for a demo range small car. I had many concepts of what I wanted but money decided it fairly swiftly and I got a 2 year old Fiesta that had previously been on a mobility scheme and so was deemed to have been well looked after and not abused.

What was it like?
It was what would now be seen to be a very old fashioned style but as it was my first car, it "had no faults" –even though it didn’t even have a radio! The first job was to get a radio sorted!

Was it reliable?
Funnily enough I thought it was. I had nothing to compare it with. I took it to my teaching job in England and when it came to MOT time, an astute teacher friend indicated that my front wheels were "Hen toed" and that this would need to be rectified if I were to pass the MOT. As a music teacher my spare time was limited but took the car to a garage. The interest that my alignment test gave the entire staff gave me some considerable concern! They explained that it went off the scale that they used! They said that in their opinion to align the car would leave it impossible to drive. They said the car’s symptoms were consistent with a car that had been in a crash and had had the steering wheel replaced in a manner just to keep the car on the road! The guys were very informative as to what I could do and suggested I take the car to a particular garage to be sorted. As I went in search of the garage that they had suggested, I unfortunately went to the wrong location where I subsequently had another nightmare experience with a second garage who basically offered to take the car off my hands for me - leaving me with neither a car or money for another. I realized m mistake and by retracing my steps I found the right garage where they gave me the confidence just to leave them the car and they would sort it all out.

How did you feel about being a car owner?

At first elated then frustrated. At first scared to even drive it in case I damaged it. Eventually with that first car I could have quite happily pressed the button on the scrap yard machine to see it squashed into a box!

Fondest memory of the car?
Saying goodbye to it.

Did you give it a name?
I described it as many things and called it many names but never labeled
it with any affection.

What happened to it?
I left the garage to do what they could. They said they would put it through the MOT. I got a call at school to say it had failed the test. I was surprised to hear it failed on a scratched windscreen. This scratch had been caused by our cat. She used to climb onto the roof via the windscreen so that she had a vantage point to see into our kitchen. The garage resubmitted the car. When I got the certificate I went straight to a car dealers and sold the car with its full MOT and bought a Rover Metro 1.1.

What was the best car you ever owned and why?
I have bought much more expensive cars in the recent past due to the amount of driving I must do in my job. Comfort and reliability have moved me to using BMWs. In reality I suppose I see a car as a tool to get me from A to B rather than a luxury. As long as they serve that purpose they are all my best cars.

What was the worst car you ever owned and why?
My first one. The man who sold it told me that as I was a young person buying my first car, he would ensure that I got a car that would be so good that I would always use his garage again. However the sales pitch didn’t match the car’s performance and subsequently I would never encourage anyone else to that garage.

What are you driving now?
An 03 BMW 320 diesel - blue again!

What is your dream car?
One that will react in a Star Trek fashion to my words "Beam me home Scottie".




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