When Lorraine Wong (right) decided to borrow an electricity monitor from our loan scheme, she had very little idea how much electricity she was using in her everyday life. Six months later, at the close of the scheme, the monitor has helped her to make behavioural changes that have saved her money, reduced her carbon footprint and won her a prize of a local food hamper for her efforts!
Lorraine says: ‘The biggest surprise was how much energy my ceiling lights used as they are all halogen bulbs, so I decided to limit my use of these and use table lamps instead’
She has made many other changes too, such as making sure she dries her laundry out on the line, rather than using a tumble-drier, and washing clothes at a lower temperature. She says ‘I leave nothing on standby, and now I only turn my router on when I am actually using my computer’. Well done Lorraine!
The aim of the electricity monitor loan scheme was to help people to make a sustainable reduction in their consumption of energy. Sixteen participants in this free scheme were able to see their electricity usage in real time using a monitor with a portable display which helped them to understand where energy was being wasted in their homes. They were also invited to attend meetings where energy saving advice was available, and everyone that gave feedback at the end of the scheme reported that they had made a saving.
We only have 2 energy monitors left!… available for households in Dorchester (rented or owner occupied homes). The monitors are a great tool for taking practical steps towards saving money on utility bills and to reduce carbon emissions.
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Remember: your bills won’t go down unless you Change Your Attitude! The sooner you do, the more money you can save!!
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To take part in this FREE loan scheme of an electricity monitor for up to 6 months please complete & return the simple downloadable application form below, email to: energy@transitiontowndorchester.org or by telephone to Sally Cooke on 01305 267758
The energy monitors are available to Dorchester residents participants who will be able to view their electricity use from a portable display, thereby helping to take steps to save energy, and money.
All participating households will be offered a free home energy saving advice visit during the 6-month loan period by a volunteer with professional experience in the sustainable energy sector (note: it is not compulsory to have a home energy advice visit in order to participate in the scheme).
At the end of the project there will be an opportunity for participating households to comment on the energy savings they have made and energy saving tips they believe are worth passing on to others.
There will be a prize of a local food hamper worth £50 to the household judged to have made the greatest energy savings (including changes in behaviour, i.e. not only based on meter readings).
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Video explaining how the Minim monitor works (TTD has no connection with British Gas):
Please read the instruction booklet in the minim electricity monitor box or look at the
You Tube set-up video from British Gas(Note that the Transition Town Dorchester electricity use monitor loan scheme is not linked to British Gas or any commercial company).
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Follow the safety guidance carefully and if in doubt about the safety of your existing wiring call an electrician. Do not connect the minim transmitter to an unsafe installation (e.g. with loose, base or corroded wires near the meter or fuse box). If you have any questions about set-up please contact Transition Town Dorchester member Pete West on 01305 251378
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Simple tips
Make a note of the date you first start using your electricity use monitor
Make a note of your electricity meter reading at the same time
If dual tariff Economy 7 meter you only need to note the daytime (normal rate) reading
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After 2-3 weeks check the accuracy of the minim electricity monitor. Check the electricity used over the last 30 days shown on the minim display compared to the electricity used as shown by your electricity meter. The minim may be inaccurate by up to 20% compared to the true reading from an electricity meter. This should be borne in mind, but does not affect its usefulness as a real-time electricity display.
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See how much electricity you have used over the last 7 days and compare with the last 30 days, once the minim has been in use for a month.
The reading on the left shows 70.29 kWh of electricity use used over 7 days or 10kWh per day.
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This reading shows 272.38 kWh over 30 days during late January and February, or 9kWh per day.
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Electricity use would be expected fall as less lighting is used during summer months and central heating pumps operate for fewer hours.
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British Gas customers explain how they have used their electricity monitors on this You Tube video
The next Transition Town Dorchester Energy Group meeting is…
our usual bring-and-share meal and Energy discussion/meeting where we will be putting the final touches to plans for the Energy Monitors project which goes live soon! All welcome!
Date: Monday 10th January Time:7.00pm Place:53 Great Cranford Street, Poundbury DT1 3SQ Tel: 01305 266548
Please bring a contribution to our meal – a dish or an item of food to share.
The next Transition Town DorchesterEnergy Group meeting is…
Date: Wednesday 1st December Time:7.00pm Place: 53 Great Cranford Street, Poundbury DT1 3SQ Tel: 01305 266548
This will be our usual bring-and-share mealand Energy discussion/meeting.
“All you need to bring is some food, just something simple…. just bringing a single food item is fine… a nice loaf of bread, a pudding, a potato dish, a soup, fish pate, free range chicken drumsticks, whatever!!… the menu is totally unplanned…. we just group together whatever it is that everyone happens to bring and then sit around the table and eat it…..”
The Transition Town Dorchester Energy Group has a regular meeting to informally meet up, share some food and drinks, discuss Energy projects, etc (it’s all very relaxed and not like your average business meeting). There’s further info about this meeting on our events calendar
Sunday 16 May starts 10.30am, lasting about 1 hour
Guided visit and description of the design and build process by architect Sam Goss – places limited to 15, 11, 10… looks like you’d better be quick!!… oh, sorry, too late!…
Renewable energy information sheets from Dorset Energy Group (Dorset County Council)
These provide up to date information (October 2009) on the measures that Dorset residents can incorporate into their homes, businesses and community buildings.
“This remarkable book from an expert in the energy field sets out, with enormous clarity and objectivity, the various alternative low-carbon pathways that are open to us. Policy makers, researchers, private sector decision makers, and NGOs, all will benefit from these words of wisdom.” Sir David King FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, 2000-08
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“a cold blast of reality … a must-read analysis … I found MacKay’s book by turns exhilarating and terrifying. His calculations are always thought-provoking even when his assumptions had me banging the table in disagreement. My objections often faded as his analysis unfolded.” 19 June 2009 – Science magazine -
These provide up to date information (October 2009) on the measures that Dorset residents can incorporate into their homes, businesses and community buildings.
by David JC MacKay (FRS Professor of Natural Philosophy, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge)