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Householders and businesses around the country are now beginning the arduous process of drying out their properties after the recent deluge of rain hit the UK, leading to flooding in many parts. Homeowners have had to switch off their fuse board in order to reduce the risk of the electrics becoming dangerous, while still more are counting up the Read more...

Homeowners are set to get a big shock when their winter fuel bill pops through the letterbox, as the cost of heating a property has risen by 63 per cent in the last five years. Research by energy comparison site uSwitch found average heating bills have gone up from £360 in 2007 to £587 today, an average of £45 each year. Of the Read more...

A pub in Wiltshire is facing a costly repair bill after flooding and a fire tore through its bar. The Long Arms in the village of South Wraxall was affected by a burst drain earlier in the month and had to replace its ruined carpet, but then things took a turn for the worse after a damaged fuse board caught fire at the rear of the venue, Read more...

With the inclement weather still sweeping across the UK, bringing with it severe flooding to many parts of the British Isles, it is vital that householders in flood-affected areas prepare their property for the worst. Steve Bratt, chief executive of the Electrical Contractors' Association, has given his advice on prepping homes for an influx Read more...

When choosing LED light bulbs, householders need to be aware that some models can only work if a dimmer switch is installed to operate them, Legrand has pointed out. Alastair Ramsay, sustainable development manager at the electrical installations company, commented: "Unlike incandescent lamps, specific types of LEDs (light emitting diodes) Read more...

Choosing a new gas or electricity tariff can be tricky as there are so many to pick from, and some options can be perceived as being needlessly complex, energy supplier E.ON has stated. Anthony Ainsworth, sales and marketing director at the Big Six provider, noted that there are around 120 different tariffs available, and seven out of ten Read more...

A change of scenery is often prescribed for people who feel stuck in a rut, but recent research reveals many of us take this advice a little too seriously and frequently makeover our homes. A survey carried out by Graham & Brown found one in five householders redecorate their rooms ahead of a big event, such as Christmas or a birthday party, Read more...

With householders worrying about how they are going to pay their energy bills this winter, the government has unveiled plans to make sure gas and electricity prices represent a better deal. Energy secretary Edward Davey announced a proposal to limit energy providers to just four core tariffs per fuel type and move customers off 'dead' Read more...

Tradespeople who have been working for more than ten years in their industry are the most likely to complete projects without getting paid for them, according to new research. A Direct Line for Business survey has revealed that almost three quarters of tradespeople work unpaid overtime every week, totalling 5.29 hours in seven days and 275 hours a Read more...

After many years in the making, LED light bulbs are finally beginning to have the kind of impact early fans of the technology said they would. This is the view of Alastair Ramsay, sustainable development manager for Legrand, who said that the diodes are rapidly becoming economically viable for homes and businesses. Indeed, "they are beginning Read more...

Householders who are looking to build their own homes usually need deep pockets if they want to see their dream realised, the Home Building Federation has claimed. Steve Turner, spokesman for the organisation, commented: "If you look at the statistics, the majority of self-build homes that have been built over the last few years tend to be Read more...

Many householders dream of being able to build their own home, either because their current abode is too small or outdated, or because they believe it will be cheaper than moving to a new property. When it comes to designing a new home, it is essential to consider what the members of the household will be using each room for. According to Jaimie Read more...

Although there are several big investments homeowners can make to ensure their property retains as much heat and uses as little energy as possible, it is cheaper and more efficient to change your behaviour. This is the advice from Issi Lammas of Greenchoices.org, who noted that while double glazing can save money over time, it might be better to Read more...

Mobile App is Now Available on both Android and iPhone !          Features include: Works offline – All 10,000+ products and prices are stored on the device, not only does this mean browsing our catalogue is super fast, but that you always have access to your prices! Read more...

Although a home's lighting system serves an important purpose - namely, to provide illumination for the tasks and activities going on within it - it can also offer plenty in the way of atmosphere and aesthetic. Choosing LED light bulbs in warm, soft colours and wiring them up to a dimmer system could be the ultimate in luxury, according to an Read more...

Actively choosing to monitor your energy usage could cut your winter fuel bills this year, saving you significant amounts of money. Issi Lammas of Greenchoices.org pointed out that it only takes a small shift in behaviour to cut down on electricity consumption. Turning off light switches and TVs, shutting down computers and unplugging equipment Read more...

  Switching to a different energy provider or tariff could be all it takes to significantly lower your energy bills this winter, National Energy Action has pointed out. Sarah Wright, senior campaigns and communications officer at the organisation, said moving over to another supplier could knock off £200 or £300 off your annual gas and Read more...

With the temperature starting to dip, it is time to review the energy efficiency of your home to ensure it retains as much heat as possible. Sarah Wright, senior campaigns and communications officer at National Energy Action (NEA), warned that the situation could get more financially precarious for many homeowners because of the rising cost of fuel Read more...

Wondering about how to pay the hefty winter fuel bills is the main cause of sleepless nights among British householders, according to new research from insurance provider Zurich. A survey from the organisation revealed that household bills form the basis of anxiety for 45 per cent of people in the UK, ahead of children and family issues (36 per Read more...

With hundreds of thousands of householders all bracing themselves for the inevitable hiked up gas and electricity prices this winter, many will be considering taking extra precautions to ensure their heating system does not falter in the colder weather. But research from Defaqto has revealed that some of the home emergency policies available on the Read more...

With energy suppliers announcing that their prices for gas and electricity are going up yet again this winter, worried consumers will be trying to cut down on heating their home in order to save on bills. But research by uSwitch has revealed that a seven per cent - roughly £90 - rise in bills will tip a further 314,000 households into fuel Read more...

LED light bulbs are becoming more popular with consumers, businesses and public sector organisations because of their energy efficiency and ability to cut lighting bills. But now a new LED bulb allows users to control their illumination wirelessly by way of a smartphone app. The bulb was launched by Philips and has been championed as the world' Read more...

Homeowners who are looking to save money on their winter fuel bills are advised to choose heating appliances that are designed to allow the central heating system to run at lower temperatures. With many of the Big Six energy suppliers announcing price hikes this winter, Christian Engelke, technical director at Viessmann, explained that radiators Read more...

Now that the clocks have gone back for winter, it is important that road users are able to see what they are doing when they get behind the wheel. However, an investigation by the Sunday Telegraph has revealed that more than 3,000 miles of motorways and A-roads in England have had their street lights switched off in a bid to save money on Read more...

With the cold now sweeping in from the Arctic, British householders will be looking at ways to keep their homes warm without breaking the bank. And according to Big Six energy supplier E.ON, the best way to do so is to take a look at the boiler to check it is working correctly. Chris McLain, head of home energy services at the provider, noted that Read more...

With weather forecasters predicting the UK is about to be plunged into an Arctic cold snap, it's time to start thinking about how we're going to keep our homes warm without breaking the bank this winter. And according to Consumer Focus and Citizens Advice, the first step we should take is to shop around for energy tariffs to see if we are Read more...

LED light bulbs are set to replace traditional lighting in more than 300 hotels after the owner of accommodation chains Radisson, Radisson Blu and Missoni kicked its sustainability plan up a gear. Rezidor hotel group will look to save 25 per cent on its current energy consumption by 2016, which is expected to deliver a saving of €25 million (& Read more...

LED light bulbs are set to become a more prominent feature in households across the UK as the government launches a new initiative to cut winter fuel bills. Energy secretary Edward Davey introduced the £40 million competition designed to drive local programmes for keeping homes warm and energy bills low. "With prices rising and Read more...

Price rises from some of the biggest energy suppliers in the UK have led to the government introducing a new energy policy making it mandatory for members of the Big Six to offer the cheapest available tariff to customers. However, with the policy being roundly criticised in the Commons, research released by price comparison service uSwitch.com Read more...

A new forecast from international think tank Pike Research indicates that shipment rates for LED-based street lighting could exceed 17 million units by the year 2020 as LED lighting technology becomes more widespread. According to the firm's research, the market for street lighting is transforming, with more local councils at home and Read more...

Energy giant npower has become the latest member of the Big Six monopoly of fuel suppliers to raise its prices this week, with the announcement that gas prices would rise by an average of 8.8 per cent with electricity jumping up by 9.1 per cent. It's expected the rise will affect three million UK households, with the average annual bill going Read more...

Major energy supplier British Gas has today (October 12th) announced that it is set to raise gas and electricity prices by six per cent across its range of residential and business tariffs, with the changes scheduled to come into effect on 16th November. And the price hike is expected to add £80 to the annual dual fuel bill as a result. The Read more...

Price comparison websites and consumer watchdogs are urging homeowners to take control of their energy spending ahead of predicted price hikes from the UK's Big Six energy suppliers. October sees the first big supplier - SSE - raising energy prices by nine per cent, and price comparison service uSwitch.com reports many are concerned that E.ON Read more...

Fire chiefs in Suffolk are leading a new campaign to check the safety of electric blankets before the winter frost truly starts to bite, and the scheme should serve as a reminder to householders across the UK to ensure their appliances, switches and sockets are all safe ahead of the mercury starting to dip. As the Haverhill Echo reports, a Read more...

As the colder weather and shorter days start to take hold across the UK, many of us are considering the prospect of turning the heating on in order to keep our homes warm. But with the latest announcement that power bills will be going up again for millions of Britons, the radiator is going to have to stay turned off until it is absolutely Read more...

New LED lighting is to be installed in Milton Keynes' underpasses as part of a project to make them brighter, more visible and safer for those who live in the city. The council will be using the latest lighting technology to undertake an energy saving conversion of all underpass lighting across the city, due to be completed by the end of the Read more...

Residents in Dorset claim that a new scheme that hopes to save £150,000 from council budgets has led to a rise in crime. Dorset County Council this year decided to implement a programme that turned all 20,000 street lights in the area out at 1.30am, turning them back on again at 6.30am in the morning. But following a string of late-night Read more...

A rise in fires caused by electrical appliances in the home has led to the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) issuing a warning to home owners to take more care when it comes to their own safety. According to the ESC, fires from appliance misuse and safety blunders - such as leaving appliances on unsupervised or overloading electrical switches and Read more...

Autumn is a great time for homeowners to get out and about in the garden and tidy up their outdoor space in preparation for the onslaught of the British winter - and there's plenty of tidying up to do. With damp bits of woods and dead leaves falling from the trees, autumn can certainly be beautiful, but it gets messy. And while there aren't Read more...

Major retailers are set to embrace LED lighting, with both Tesco and IKEA announcing plans to convert stores and stocks to LED-only within the coming months. Earlier this month supermarket giant Tesco announced its first LED-only lit store, part of the retail group's drive to cut carbon emissions across its network. It's expected that the Read more...

With the economy being what it is (bad) (not very good), businesses are cutting costs wherever they can, and they are doing that in a number of ways: fitting devices to fleet vehicles to monitor fuel use, downgrading or moving out of their commercial property into more affordable, manageable premises, and even restructuring their staff. One Read more...

Ever since we all started sitting up and taking notice of the impact of short-life, high energy spending incandescent lightbulbs and switching them out for longer-lasting greener alternatives, there has been a little push and pull as to which technology is better: LED lighting or compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). While CFLs offer typically a lower Read more...

As industry expert Peter O'Connell of the Federation of Master Builders noted this week, health and safety guidelines remain the "number one priority" for those in the construction industry, whether they are carrying out building work or overseeing a project. However, while fittings such as switches and sockets are subject to strict Read more...

A tropical fish display at an aquatic centre in Scunthorpe has been unveiled, newly lit using LED light bulbs. The Deep's Lagoon of Light display houses 66 species of fish and aquatic creatures, with a tropical coral reef and over 1,100 individual fish housed in the 200,000-litre tank. And as This is Scunthorpe reports, the lighting Read more...

Milk is the greatest, milk is the best. If you leave milk untouched for long enough, it turns into cheese. If you put it in a pail and shake it, it turns into butter. There really isn't any need for any other food. But what does LED lighting have to do with milk? Well, kind of a lot, if the new range launched by Intershape Ltd is anything to Read more...

A three-year EU directive focussed on phasing out the sale and supply of traditional incandescent lightbulbs has finally seen sales of the non-sustainable lighting source outlawed across Europe.  The multi-stage ban - which began in September 2009 and was completed on September 1st - has now ruled that low-wattage incandescents are no longer Read more...

LED lighting has been on every 'big this year' forecast ever since the technology really broke through, becoming affordable for businesses and homes alike, in 2009. But as Arlen Schweiger reports from the CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis, the rate of innovation in the field of LED lighting could see an avalanche of new products hit the market Read more...

Street lighting in Sheffield is set to undergo a transformation after a five-year plan to improve the streets, pavements and roads in the city was announced by council authorities. Sheffield Council will work with contractor Amey on the £2 billion Streets Ahead scheme, which aims to overhaul the inner-city streets and roads by 2017. Areas Read more...

Electric lighting is, it has to be said, pretty important for your home. Unless you spend a lot of your time reading Victorian classics by a roaring fire or wallowing in a bath by candlelight, be it a gloomy day or an early evening, electric lighting is probably going to be illuminating your way. And with around five per cent of the average Read more...

With the British summer being what it is, outside lighting is always going to be useful: when the grey clouds overshadow your garden party or barbeque, it's always worthwhile to have a little illumination to cheer you up in the drizzle. However, lighting a garden on the odd occasion the weather holds out long enough for you to throw a get- Read more...