The Claim

The Watergreen is a syphon that allows you to remove greywater from sinks and baths and put it into your water butt or storage device.

How does it work?

The WaterGreen Syphon Pump is simply a 3.5m tube with a built in syphon primer bulb and a standard hosepipe fitting on the end. You just put one end in the bath and the other connected to a hosepipe, through your bathroom window. The water can then be syphoned off into a water butt or used straight on the garden.

How did it work for me?

For those of us on water meters, saving water can be really worthwhile. This device helps move your greywater to where it can be reused in a straightforward and practical manner, at a price point much cheaper than an expensive drainage system. It’s also ideal for those who just want to save their water and ‘do your bit’ in times of drought.

It might be a bit fiddly to get used to sticking a hose out of your window, but it really does work better than other techniques, and the syphon works really well. As long as the end of the pipe is a few feet below the bath in terms of height, the water will drain away in a few minutes. I found that this takes a bit of getting used to, but it does work quite well, especially out of the first floor window.

Who is this going to be useful for? Those of us with gardens to water, frequent users of the bath and those on water meters are going to see the payoff the most. And it is the sort of product you have to make a bit of an effort with – not an install and forget bit of tech, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be really useful.

It is advised not to use the water on edible crops or to store it for too long, as it can start to smell in warmer weather.

The Claim

DraughtEx claims to be a real improvement over previous draught proofing technology for your floorboards. The material fits between boards and contracts and expands with the floorboards, creating a perfect seam. The product claims that the extreme expand and contractibility of the product means it stays in place and does the job better than other materials.

How does it work?

The material is manufactured with lots of concealed air pockets, that means it can be compressed by 90% of its volume. This means that the product can contact and expand as the floorboards change through the cold and warmer weather, preventing gaps from forming. The product is also coloured to make it aesthetically pleasing, mimicking a shadow, in case you are using it on bare floorboards.

How did it work for me?

I have a house with original floorboards and it can get a little draughty. Floor insulation seemed like such a big job, but draught proofing seems much more straight forward and is supposed to pay back much more quickly, so I thought it was worth giving a product like DraughtEx a go. It has big claims, and is a little more expensive than other more basic draught proofing, but I thought that if it does the job it says, it would be worth it.

The installation was fairly straight forward, and there was little mess. The material fits to the width of the crack and it is really compactible, so that was never a problem, even though the gap between boards varied significantly.

The look of the finished product is impressive. It fits nicely between the boards and does not distract from the look of the floor. I also notice that the boards don’t squeak as much as well. The proofing is acting as a cushion cutting down on the movement of the boards.

Is it noticeably warmer? Well, it is summer time at the moment, but I can feel less draught in the room, so it should improve the situation in the winter and help cut my heating bills.

The Claim

Radflek is a revolutionary energy saving radiator reflector that reflects 95% of the wasted heat energy radiated from the rear of a radiator back into your room and claims to cut heat escaping through the walls by 45%.

Radflek is a laminated aluminium foil with a long lasting coating that prevents oxidation and preserves its high reflectivity. With Radflek, less energy is needed to heat the room to your desired temperature and so your energy bills will be less. Radflek is at least 23% more efficient than any saw-toothed reflector and will typically pay for itself in under a year. It also lasts many times longer and is much better than using standard foil.

How does it work?

The aluminium foil is positioned down the back of the radiator and then as heat is emitted, instead of going out through the wall, the infrared heat hits the foil and gets reflected back into the room thereby reducing heat loss from the radiator.

How did it work for me?

Radflek is really easy to install for starters. You simply unroll it, cut to the desired length, then hang it behind the radiator. It requires very little maintenance, just the occasional dust, which is easily done by lifting it out by its hooks.

How well do they work? Well, the science tells us that they do reduce heat loss. Practically, you probably have to be careful that instead of making savings, the house will just be a little warmer. The difference between 21 degrees and 22 is pretty small, and you will only get the energy saving benefit if you consequently use your heating less. If you have a good thermostat you may find the heating is on a little less. If you rely on a programmer, try just cutting the time it is on by 15 minutes.

I have a couple of radiators on internal walls so I thought it might be worth putting the reflectors on them. Although it wont affect the energy bills, it will make the room heat a little quicker, as more heat is reflected into the room, instead of heating the walls.

It is really important to manage expectations with these reflectors. They will reduce your heat loss and you should see a little fuel bill benefit, but given the relatively small cost, you may only see savings of ten or twenty pounds – worth it in the long run, but easily going unnoticed.

The Claim

The clever device monitors water going down the plug hole when you shower.  Memorising your first shower and using it as a benchmark, Waterpebble then indicates, via a series of ‘traffic lights’ flashing gently from green through to red, when to finish showering.  Each time you shower Waterpebble automatically fractionally reduces your shower time helping you to save water without needing to think about it.

Set it and forget it!

How does it work?

The first time you use the Waterpebble you calibrate it using the ‘reset’ button. Once this has been pressed you place it near the plug and shower as normal. The Waterpebble records the time taken for this first shower and then going forward uses this as a benchmark for future showers. The Waterpebble glows green when the water starts, goes orange to show when you should start thinking about getting out of the shower and red when you have gone beyond what is necessary.

How did it work for me?

The first thing to mention is that the Waterpebble looks great – a hell of a lot better than those really cheapy hourglass shower monitors the water companies used to give out. It really is very easy to use to – you literally press the reset button and put it on the floor of the shower so it gets sprayed with water when you turn the shower on. It senses the water and starts flashing green letting you know it is good to go. It is great that it is automatic – it starts as and when you turn on the shower, however herein lies the problem.

My shower takes about 1 minute to run hot, but I know that my girlfriends shower takes about 3 or 4 mins to run hot (she has a combi boiler) although the amount of time changes depending on if the shower has been used relatively recently before. The issue is then that the Waterpebble springs into life the minute you turn on the tap however, I don’t necessarily jump in straight away, so already my shower time is ebbing away.

I know when you calibrate it you can take into account the warming time, but as this varies from day to day you can hopefully see the issue. On the whole though, this is at most going to vary by only 20-30 seconds a day and the point is that over time the Waterpebble reduces the time it takes for the red light to flash slowly weaning you off the longer showers.

As far as water saving bits of kit go, the Waterpebble did work well. The fact it is automated makes it so easy to use and the use of the traffic light system really does cause a feeling of guilt if you shower for too long.

Priced under £10, these are a great idea if you are on metered water and have to pay for the amount of water you are using, but even if not, the less hot water you use in the home, the less gas used thereby saving you money, so in my opinion well worth taking a look!

The Claim

Simple and effective, The Chimney Balloon is the must-have for every energy-conscious home. Specially engineered, it stops warm air going up your chimney and draughts coming back down. What’s more, it’ll pay for itself within 3 months.

How does it work?

A chimney balloon is an incredibly simple concept, it is simply a balloon is inflated up within the chimney flue where it sits in position preventing the draughts. Normally chimneys allow cold draughts to enter properties and hot air (produced expensively by your heating system) to leave the home. The chimney balloon limits the movement of air through the chimney, helping to keep cold air above it and preventing warm air rise up out of the chimney.

How did it work for me?

When we moved into our new homes we had two open chimneys. One was in the lounge where we decided to put a wood burner, however the other one was located in the bedroom. Although unlikely we are ever going to light a fire in the bedroom, never say never so we thought it would be more prudent to temporarily block the chimney with plastic bags to help keep the draughts out.

After complaining for the hundredth time to my wife that the chimney was still draughty I tool to the internet to try to find a better solution. I quickly came across the chimney balloon and thought I would give it a try.

So the balloon arrived and I opted to get the inflation tube as well since I had little interest in putting my head right up into the chimney. Obviously chimneys come in all different shapes and sizes so they do a whole range of balloons to fit different sizes. After measuring the flue with a tape measure we opted for the middle size (60cm x 30cm).

Attaching the inflation tube to the balloon you need to inflate it a little which allows you to get a rough feel of the shape it will eventually become. Once partially inflated, I positioned the balloon into the flue and fully inflated it, which holds it into position and then simply turned the tap to prevent the air leaving the balloon. They mentioned in the instructions that it might need a bit of topping up once the air had cooled down, but actually we didn’t find this at all.

They give you a little reminder card to make sure you don’t light the fire with the balloon still in place. I haven’t tested the result of lighting a fire with the chimney balloon in place, but not sure the result would be pretty to be honest!

We have had the chimney balloon in place since February and it has made an massive difference to the warmth of our bedroom, gone are the days of the howling gales flying down the chimney. It is difficult to gauge the bill savings from just this measure, as we are also putting lots of other measures into practise, but despite the extended cold winter we used 10% less energy than last year for the like for like quarter.

The Claim

The Water Saving Monitor helps you keep track of the water you are using in the shower, with an alarm telling you when you have used your target amount, so you don’t waste water.

How does it work?

Showertime works by gauging the average output of water from your shower and programming it to a timer with an audio alert. By filling the bag provided from your showerhead you can calibrate the unit. Once this is done you can set your own target (eg. 35 litres or 4 minutes). Every time you have a shower, you press the start button, and the gadget lets you know your usage with a little digital display.

How did it work for me?

The Showertime is a lightweight cool looking gadget that gives a bit of a fun looking way to save water. Once again, this product is going to be more useful to those with a water meter, but anyone looking to save water and do their bit for the environment is going to benefit. Using less hot water will obviously cut your energy bills as well since you don’t need to heat water that you are not going to use, so this is another reason to try and cut your water use.

Unfortunately where the device failed for me was that the suction cap didn’t work that well at keeping it in place – I am not sure if it was because the suction cap was not  not big enough to hold the unit in place, but in the 6 weeks that I have had it, it has fallen off the wall about half a dozen times, aside from that though I have no complaints!

But if you remember to use it, this device really does make you aware of how much water you are using. It was really difficult in the past to translate time in the shower with actual litre usage, but now it is really easy to find the exact amount I have used.

The Claim

Wind-up lanterns have been around for a little while, but recently they have got a lot cheaper and brighter. There are no batteries, no electrical charging required and instant light on winding. There are 3 brightness levels to choose from, so winding the handle for 3 minutes will provide 20 minutes of light with all 12 LED bulbs on, 30 minutes when 8 of the LED bulbs are lit and 40 minutes if only 4 of the LEDs are on.

How does it work?

The lantern has 12 LED bulbs, with settings to use all 12, 8 or 4 for varying levels of light. It is charged by winding a handle, which drives a dynamo. There are therefore no batteries required, and no carbon emissions, other than the emissions in creating it.

How did it work for me?

Well it is camping season, the festivals are well underway, and that generally means stacks of batteries in the rucksack and a standard battery powered torch and lantern. After hearing about these LED wind-ups I really wanted to give them a try, so I packed my bags for Glastonbury and put in a couple of these lanterns for the tent.

After taking it out of the box, I wound the handle and got an instant white light. The settings do seem to make a difference, but even on the highest setting, it wasn’t overly bright. But with two of them I had ample light to see what I was doing in the tent and made it possible to get changed without falling over things, and under different circumstance (if I was on a camping trip for example) I am pretty sure I could have read a book, although the light is a little white for me – I miss the warm light that I get with my LEDs at home, but I appreciate this is a personal choice!

I also found there was an initial brightness that tends to wear off after a few minutes. So, despite lasting as it said it would for the 20 mins with all 12 bulbs illuminated, it was certainly brighter in the first 2-3 minutes, but if you were looking to read or something it would require you to wind repeatedly. The lantern would however be really useful in a power cut or when you need to get out of your tent to go to the toilet during the night though.

So the lantern is are a great little product if you need to do pretty simple tasks in the dark, like getting changed, or find the toilet, however for doing things like reading a book it works less well due to the continual winding to keep the optimum brightness. Perhaps one of the more expensive models has a better light and lasts longer, but that will need another review…

The Claim

The kettle is supposed to use 60% less energy than a conventional kettle, by better controlling the amount of water being boiled. The kettle has 2 compartments and releases only the required amount of water into the boiling compartment, preventing waste. 

How does it work?

You can fill the kettle with up to 1.5 litres of water, but you then control how much is sent to the boiling compartment via a knob. The kettle can boil up to 800ml of water at any one time. It is a simple idea, but often the simple ideas are the best.

How did it work for me?

I had to buy a new kettle after moving into my new apartment. It seemed sensible to try a model like this since the price point was fair for a kettle, and I hoped to save a bit of money on my electricity bill.

The first thing to say is that the kettle is quite bulky, it might not be ideal for the frail or elderly who tend to find heavy appliances difficult to handle, conversely though it looks well built, much better than those budget kettles you can get on the highstreet.

It isn’t too noisy and boils the water fairly quickly, which is a big advantage for the impatient among us. I guess this is because I am not overfilling anymore.

The reservoir on the kettle is fairly large and can hold plenty of water, which is nice as you don’t need to keep topping the water up every time you use it. Unfortunately for larger households, or when you have a lot of company, you might find yourself having to boil 2 lots of water, as 800ml doesn’t stretch past 3 or 4 cups!

A minor quibble I think, as the vast majority of the time it is plenty enough for a few cups of tea or to boil some water for cooking. Without putting a meter on it to check how much energy I am saving, it is difficult to give figures, but it is self evident that this model definitely saves some energy and is probably worth it in the long run, if you can get past those little annoyances.

The Claim

The Eco Media Player claims to allow you to play music and videos on the go, without the need for a wall socket for charging. A wind up handle lets you charge up the device easily, and 1 minute of winding should provide about 45 minutes of playing time. Fully charged, the device is supposed to last 55 hours. There is also a connector which allows you to charge your mobile via the device.

How does it work?

Powered by neodymium magnets, the wind-up generator is twice as effective at charging than other budget windup radios for example. Other than that, it works like any other mp3 player, with USB compatibility to plug into your computer, 4GB of memory with an option to add a 16GB SD card to boost capacity. The lithium battery means that once charged, it will run for just as long as an iPod or equivalent.

How did it work for me?

The first thing to say is that this is not an iPod. If you think you are getting a state of the art mp3 player with all the bells and whistles, you’re not. The ‘Spin’ however, isn’t really meant to be that.

Out of the recycled packing the Spin comes in, you will find quite a bulky looking device (110 x 60 x 25 mm). The screen is only 2” in size, and the buttons are a bit unwieldy looking, but perhaps we have all been a bit spoiled by the iPod.

The good news is that there are some great features. There is a full range of compatibility that apple devices lack, so you can play MP3 / WMA / OGG / AAC / WAV audio files, plus AVI and WMV video files. It also comes with an FM radio and the ability to charge mobiles, which comes in really handy when you are using this when out hiking or away from civilisation.

For those who don’t want to bother with the winding up, there is the facility to charge conventionally and this means your battery will last up to 55 hours. It is only 4GB memory-wise, but you can add a 16GB SD card to increase the size.

So how to sum this up? It really is a bit of a love it or hate it kind of product. It is ideal for someone who is always on the move, and can’t be bothered to keep worrying about charging their player. If you do lots of camping trips, or long walks, this could be a good gadget. If you want to be really green and use less grid electricity, then this is also a good gadget, but there are a number of negatives that mean the average consumer is going to go for an iPod or other slimline modern mp3 player. This just isn’t stylish enough for many people I’m afraid. Having said that, it does have its charm, and I will happily keep using this when I’m away from home.

Unfortunately these gadgets are now about 4 years old, which makes them a dinosaur in computer years. They are still on the market, but the lack of any update or replacement means that these have obviously not sold particularly well. The future looks bleak for eco media players if this is anything to go by. It’s a shame because it is such a clever gadget.

The Claim?

This device claims to extend the lifespan of your appliances by 15%, reduce our energy use and carbon emissions, and make it possible to turn all your entertainment system off by the remote.

How does it work?

The Media standby eliminator is placed between the television and the wall socket, or a multi-adaptor. The Media standby eliminator works by sensing when the device has been turned off via the remote control, then after approximately twenty seconds the Media standby eliminator cuts out power. To set up the user presses the button on the Media standby eliminator twice and presses the off button on his remote control. The Standby Eliminator then learns this device.

How did it work for me?

There are plenty of these sorts of devices out there, but the Efergy is one with a decent reputation, so I thought it would be a good way to go. It is relatively straight forward to set up.

Working with the remote is a bit of a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, it makes turning the TV on and off straight-forward, without the need to go and flick the switch on (which for me is right behind the back of the TV). On the other hand, the remote goes walkabout often and it is a bit of a pain to turn everything on if you don’t have it.

You have to compare this to similar products like the footswitch I suppose, and whilst this has he added benefit of turning everything off with the remote, the footswitch is a lot easier to get to grips with.

For those of you with multiple rooms with television equipment, you can get a device for each room, but beware that the device has a bit of a habit of syncing up with the other rooms when you hit the remote, which could get pretty irritating.