The Ebenezer Scrooge Guide to Energy Saving

Without trying to sound like the stingy character in the Charles Dickens novel most people can relate to the need to reduce our energy costs, especially those with teenagers addicted to the latest gadgets and being born without the ability to switch a light off when leaving a room.

With the almost constant rise in energy prices the vast majority of us in the UK are starting to question even switching on an electric light until it’s really dark, either that or we spend our entire day following the kids around the house switching things off all the time trying not to say “Bah Humbug”


Quick Ways to Save on Energy Bills
Remove all the bulbs from the light fittings and use the candles that are at the bottom of the kitchen draw left over from a birthday cake 10 years earlier. Okay maybe a little extreme and I’m not sure I could sleep very well knowing the kids are walking around the house with lit candles.

A safer option If you’ve not already done so is to swap all your light bulbs for the low energy counterparts, low energy light bulbs when they first came on the market where a little pricey but today even the spot light type GU10 and similar have come down to an acceptable price, shop around though as prices vary wildly. If you really want to cut down further then consider the light fittings themselves, do you need 5 bulbs in your living room, even though they all might only be 5 watts individually the total adds up to 25 watts, this could be reduced if you only had one 5 watt bulb, so either change the light fitting or remove a couple of bulbs from the lamp.

If you have an open fire then burning your kitchen packaging waste rather than buying logs or coal is a thought, the amount of heat may not be much though and many people either don’t have open fires or if they do they live in an area restricting the smoke output.

Put an extra layer of clothing on, this could be a jumper or a base layer, ladies can put tights on whilst the men could do the same a set of thermals might be seen as slightly more manly, but who’s going to know, your secret is safe with us!

Keeping doors and windows shut helps a great deal, costs nothing (Scrooge would approve) once a room is warm the last thing you want to do is let the heat escape through an open window, doors on the other hand are a little more tricky as teenagers do struggle with these, closing doors seems to be beyond comprehension, even after spending time training your teenagers they still cannot soak in the complexities of closing a door, what do they teach at school these days?


Is there a Solution to Cheap Energy Bills?
Yes and no, wrap up warm and eat cold food, remove all electrical gadgets from your house, these are all choices that could be made, doubtful as they may sound, for some people they are already heading this way. There is an alternative solution for long term low energy bills in the way of solar energy, here in the UK the government has pledged to buy back any energy you produce for the next 25 years at the current rate of 41.3p per Kw. Whilst initial setup costs of installing Solar energy systems for your home are never going to be cheap this government backed “Feed in Tariff” really does make it a long term investment worth considering.
Energy Efficient Homes

International Removals Advice

Moving overseas can be a daunting prospect, moving locally within the same country can be stressful enough for many but moving internationally can be far more complex with extra paper work and regulations to follow.

If you are planning to move internationally to you will need to enlist the services of a professional international remover, one with experience of the destination country you are planning to move to, be this within Europe or further afield like The Maldives,


Get the Paperwork Right

Most countries have strict custom regulations that unless followed carefully will delay entry and possibly increase costs, Your International remover will ensure all your customs paperwork is in order, you must also ensure you have adequate insurance cover and copies of your passports will need to go with your goods when they are packed into the containers.


Local Knowledge
Get the best of both worlds by choosing an international removers that are members of FIDI (The Federation of International Movers) and HHGFAA (Household Goods Association of America) they will have access to hundreds of agents based all over the world, this way you get the advantage of dealing with one removal company that can deliver a door to door international removal service with global resources. This will prove much smother for you and will also ensure the price you are quoted is the price you pay, thus avoiding those unforeseen extras at your international destination.


International Shipping

Sole use containers or shared loads, check when you have your removal quotes to ensure your comparing like for like. Full container loads for your sole use are filled and sealed at your departure location and delivered direct to the port for shipping, the benefit here is sole use containers tend to be quicker than shared containers. However if you are moving considerably less than a full house then a shared container will be a more cost effective option.


Storage Solutions

When looking to place your goods in storage be this short or long term storage then look for a company that will supply you with purpose made wooden crates these are designed for safer long term storage and are delivered to your property, filled and then taken to secure storage depots, these storage premises often allow self-store access and can also be used to reverse the process if for example you are moving to the UK then look for storage locations that double up as custom clearing houses.

Any professional international remover should be able to offer you good advice and be willing to discuss your options, does the removal estimator fill you with confidence, they should!

Make sure you get three international removal quotes, choice a long established remover and relax in the knowledge your property is in safe hands.

Affordable Housing in Peterborough

Larkfleet Group and L&H Homes provide much needed affordable housing in Peterborough
Larkfleet Group, in partnership with Longhurst & Havelok Homes, has finished work on 42 new affordable homes in the centre of Peterborough.

The affordable development includes sixteen two-bedroom houses, eight three-bedroom houses and two blocks of nine two-bedroom flats.

Thirty-three of the properties are now available at affordable rent and nine of the homes are available as Rent to Homebuy from L&H Homes.

The completion of the development, located on land behind South View Road and Lincoln Road, is good news for many local people who will be able to rent a high quality property at an affordable price.

Despite meeting a need for affordable housing, recent public expenditure cuts have meant the number of developments like this is diminishing, making the amount of affordable housing available fall far short of the demand.

Mel Baker, project manager on behalf of L&H Homes, commented: "I am delighted that the development is complete. I would like to thank all partners involved, especially Peterborough City Council for their support in a long protracted fundings build process. The properties are of a good build standard and L&H Homes will now be able to offer a range of energy efficient and innovative homes to meet affordable housing needs in the area."

Karl Hick, managing director of Larkfleet Group, commented: "This development makes effective use of the land available and will provide much needed affordable housing for local people. The environmentally friendly design will be a great asset to the properties and will save occupiers money on fuel bills.

"Unfortunately, affordable developments like this may not be available in the future due to public spending cuts. There is simply not the capital to provide as many affordable properties and those in need of affordable housing will not be able to benefit in the same way as residents of this development.

"Central and local government must urgently consider how we can avoid creating a situation where many people will simply not be able to have a decent home."

All properties are built to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The high environmental standards highlight the commitments of L&H Homes and Larkfleet Group creating affordable, well-built and energy-efficient homes.

The timber frame construction method that was used on the development is an efficient way of building that allows for quicker construction times. Timber frames for the homes were supplied and erected by Kestrel Timber Frame (www.kestreltimberframe.co.uk), based in nearby Market Deeping, Lincolnshire.
If you are still yet to decide on buying your new home or would like to take advantage of a selection of schemes to help you buy your first home or you are looking to move up the property ladder then Larkfleet Homes who have several developments in and around Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Rutland have a wide range of award winning new homes.

Brand New First Home

Award Winning New Homes

New Home Buyer

Current Developments in Lincolnshire.

Information about current housing developments in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.

The Meadows at Eye
2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes, Properties were awarded for their development. To view more details about properties Click Here

Another development in Eye is parsons Prospect in this location they are developing energy efficient 2, 3, 4 and 5 Bedroom homes which can save up to £600 on heating bills a year. Details here

Home in the Bourne area 1, 2 and 3 bedroom energy efficient homes saving you money on your heating bills. 30 Minutes from Peterborough rail station for easy commute to London. Details Here

Also in the Bourne area 2, 3 and 4 bedroom energy efficient homes saving you money on your heating bills. 30 Minutes from Peterborough rail station for easy commute to London. Details Here

7 New properties being developed in Oakham on the growing Hawksmead development. Details Here

These are just a few of the development in the area, check out Schemes for offers that help you move home and get your first house.

First Home Energy Saving Tips

Moving in to your first home is a fantastic feeling, it’s all yours (well let’s forget for a moment about the mortgage) your very own first home.

No doubt you will have loads of ideas and plans to make it unique and reflect your personality and tastes, that’s great can’t wait to get started on the diy?

Before you start slapping red paint on the walls to match your yellow carpet spare a thought for a few energy saving tips, were not trying to sound like your dad here but sometimes they make sense ( though not always!)

Those of you who have bought a brand new first home will always have the upper hand when it comes to lower energy costs, quality built new homes are so well insulated that once they are heated up they retain their heat all day and enable you to either turn the heating off or significantly reduce the thermostat temperature.

Light fittings in your first house will probably be one of the first things you will want to change, not many people like the plastic dangly things that the builders fit, although they are better than taking down something your granny would have had fitted if your first home isn’t a new one.

So before you go out and buy those chrome effect or black down lighters check what bulbs they accept, having six 60 watt bulbs on in your living room at night will cost much more than six x 7.5 watt low energy bulbs over the course of a year and the new LED spot light bulbs can use as little as 1.5 watts each, although the brightness is sometimes less than that of the full power bulbs. After all the savings will pay for plenty of pizza deliveries for all the parties you are planning.

Loft insulation, again new home buyers can forget about this as your loft space will have been well insulated by your builder, if your first home isn’t a new one then the loft is best insulated to a 200mm depth if possible and get this done well before the colder weather sets in and it’s advisable to avoid very warm days. Either call a reputable company in or have a go yourself, insulating your loft isn’t difficult but it’s not a pleasant DIY job as the fibres do irritate the skin, so have a quick measure up and head down the DIY store.

If you are still yet to decide on buying your new home or would like to take advantage of a selection of schemes to help you buy your first home or you are looking to move up the property ladder then Larkfleet Homes who have several developments in and around Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Rutland have a wide range of award winning new homes

First Home DIY Advice

Moving into your first home give you the opportunity to show off your great design skills, this means that unless you’re a lotto winner you will be doing some if not all the diy jobs around your new home.

Learning new DIY skills takes time so it’s worth being realistic when tackling your first few jobs, if you have a parent or friend who’s knowledgeable then consider cooking them a meal one evening while they show you how to change plastic light switches for chrome ones. Plus it gives you chance to show off your culinary skills, beans on toast anyone?

Buyers of brand new homes will have a much easier time with a lot less time being devoted to repairing cracked plaster or stripping old wallpaper. Having nice smooth wall to start with really speeds up the transformation from a house to a home.

What can appear an easy diy job isn’t always the case, take hanging pictures on the walls, simple enough you would think choose the location and hammer a nail in to the wall, job done! and 99 out of 100 times you will be fine, but be aware of hidden pipes and cables within the wall, experience will help but even tradesmen get it wrong sometimes, a wiser person might invest in one of the many low cost electronic detectors available in all the leading diy stores, place one of these against the wall were you intend to put the nail or drill and it will show if something is beneath the plaster surface.

Carpets and flooring are expensive items, our advice is to try and buy the best you can afford. If you fancy cutting corners ( no pun intended ) on cost it’s far better to do a couple of rooms at a time with good quality rather than having the whole house fitted in cheap stuff or worse still buying remnants and fitting them yourself. Many new home builders offer deals that include carpets throughout the whole house, at first glance this probably doesn’t sound that great, it will when you go down your local carpet shop and get some estimates.

If you are still yet to decide on buying your new home or would like to take advantage of a selection of schemes to help in buying your first home or you are looking to move up the property ladder then Larkfleet Homes have several developments in and around Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Rutland. Larkfleet Homes are a company with an enviable reputation for producing high quality sustainable developments using innovative technology and construction methods, delivered to exceed customer expectations.

FirstBuy

Thanks to the announcement of the Government's new first time buyer scheme in March's budget, you could buy your own Larkfleet home sooner than you thought. All you'll need is a 5% deposit.

Both Larkfleet Homes and the Government help you to lower the amount you'll need for a deposit. If you're an eligible first time buyer this may help you find a more affordable mortgage.