20th March 2012 by Drew | write a comment
The 2011 Energy Act includes the provision for a new ‘Green Deal’ which is intended to reduce the cost of carbon emissions by overhauling the energy efficiency of British homes and Businesses. The ‘Green Deal’ is a financial mechanism intended to eliminate the upfront cost of energy efficiency measures and instead assures home and business property owners that the cost sh… Read more
29th February 2012 by Stephen | write a comment
For those people with holiday homes, a second house, family home or other property which may be unoccupied for significant parts of the winter there are important steps to protect them from the worst ravages of the weather. Many Insurance companies now insist on steps such as these, if they are aware that the house will be unoccupied for any length of time. 1. Make sure that your tenant or p… Read more
7th February 2012 by Stephen | write a comment
Given the relatively high price of home heating oil in the UK, most families are understandably very cautious about their oil usage. However, when the frost is on the ground, your home needs to be warm, especially if there are young children or elderly persons present. We all know that setting the timer is a sensible idea and only having the heating switched on for a few hours each day will reduce… Read more
23rd January 2012 by Mark | write a comment
We’ve taken a look at some extensive data and produced a map showing which areas of the UK use heating oil the most. It’s fair to say that traditionally heating oil has been used mostly in rural areas, but is there any significant use within our towns and cities?
16th January 2012 by Mark | write a comment
The government’s Winter Fuel Payment scheme offers some welcome support for the elderly and infirm during the cold winter months. But how much of the fuel and heating needed will the payments cover? We’ve put our heads together, crunched some numbers and done some sums on our abacus to come up with some figures…
9th January 2012 by Mark | 3 comments
We gaze into our crystal ball and take a look at the factors likely to affect the global price of oil within the next 12 months.
Joshua Trumbo David,
I think there are some do-gooders ot there trying their best for the community and its people - especially rural areas. They are to be commended for their efforts.
BUT - the unfortunate side of this is for every good person, there any several trying to make a buck for themselves and this can get out of sync very quickly. For example, using the community group name, I was approached to join a so called "buying group" - yes with a £20 up front payment. They were even giving 50% of "profit" to the local parish fund to help with community activities. Like you David, I'm a bit of a sceptic and did some digging around. The individual running the "group buying scheme" was not appointed by anyone from the community ! Also, he had told me that he had been doing this for over a year - then the local treasurer in our village told me he had never received or been promised any funds from this person but he had been aware that a scheme existed.
Needless to say, I quickly pulled away from being involved. I dont want to mention names as it is a small area and everyone knows eachother and they will know me. The scheme quickly dried up and we mostly buy from our local distributor who seems to treat us fair.
Mairead set up two weather resistance wireless cameras
somewhere in a tree, fake frogs mouth or bird house
get a recorder to tape in house and watch or take
turns on watching on your tv screen call the Garda
and show him or her what you have recorded..
County Clare
Mark Thanks for your comment, David.
Of course individuals should weigh up the benefits of any scheme before joining, but if doing so will save them money above the cost of participating, why not?! Surely most people would agree that a "blatant attempt to reduce prices" is actually a good thing - by not paying up front, consumers will always pay more in the long run, so I fail to see the merits of your argument unfortunately.
David Brown Sorry Mark, buty I cannot agree with you entirely on this. The only problem that I see with this scheme is that every householder, organisation or business that pays a fee is paying upfront money to "middlemen" for doing very little apart from feathering their own nests. What safeguards are there? Have the officials been investigated? Bet not.
Let me explain, a householder pays the £20.00 which is 2000 pence. The average heating oil consumption per annum is about 2000-2200 litres. Oh my, oh my! why spend the £20 with this organisation when you could put the £20 to negotiating a price down with your supplier ( same difference). The clever bit about is the "community county" gets your money irrespective of whether you the customer buys or not through the group.
Sorry, not for me and I discourage this sort of blatant attempt to reduce prices by having customers part with money up front. What a con!
Vernon I was victim and lost the lot on two occasions. Fitted new Oil Tank in a locked shed in garden and. filled the original one with water and a few litres of oil. They drained the tank and have never returned in two years!
