3rd September, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
The majority of serious cooks have a marked preference for gas cookers over electric ones. Gas cookers can heat food more quickly, and offer more precise control of the heat throughout the cooking process. Electric cookers tend to be preferred by those who are more concerned with saving money than the quality of their cooked food. With the increasing interest in home-based gourmet cookery, fuelled in part by the proliferation of television cookery shows and celebrity chefs, gas ovens have soared in popularity. As a result, the cooker manufacturers have responded with an increasing range of ever more exotic gas cookers aimed at satisfying the culinary desires of this growing market.
A basic gas cooker can be bought new for around £300. This should meet most of your basic cooking requirements and last you for a number of years. If you are not an adventurous cook, or you do not have to cook for large numbers of people on a regular basis, this may be all that you need.
As you begin to start looking at the more expensive cookers, you will notice that they usually have a lot more in the way of features, which may or may not be useful to you depending on your circumstances and cooking habits.The more expensive cookers tend to fall into the ‘professional’ category, and feature a less homely, more industrial-looking sturdy stainless steel aesthetic.
The question that you need to ask yourself, if you are looking at units such as this, is whether you really need a cooker that is powerful enough to be used in a commercial catering kitchen. If you are never out of the kitchen, and always have your nose in a cookery book, then a professional oven could be a great move.
However, if you are hardly ever in the kitchen, it could start to resemble an expensive vanity purchase before long.
If the aesthetics of your kitchen are important to you, but you don’t feel you can justify the expense or hassle of a professional cooker, then there are many semi-professional cookers which share the architectural looks of a professional cooker but have a slimmed down feature set. In the majority of cases, these units— which usually cost between £800 and £2,000 will work exceptionally well and will give many years of exemplary service, providing they are looked after.
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30th August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
Over twenty million households in the UK use gas appliances to heat their homes, cook their food, and provide them with hot water. The majority of us take it for granted that our gas appliances, such as boilers, cookers and gas fires are safe.
In fact, very few of us take any notice of them at all unless there is a problem with them.
Dangerous gas appliance malfunctions occur so infrequently, that it is tempting to think that they never happen at all, but this is not the case.
Therefore, it is crucial that anyone who uses gas appliances in their homes be aware of the potential hazards and takes steps to avoid them. All the gas appliances in your home should be installed, repaired, serviced, and regularly checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
If someone is coming round to install, repair, or service a gas appliance, such as a gas boiler, fire, cooker, central heating system, or radiator, make sure that you see their Gas Safe Register ID card before you allow them to carry out any work.
A Gas Safe Register ID card features a photo of the engineer, a description of their credentials and qualifications, and a licence number that you can check against a register to ensure that their licence is genuine and up to date. Do not allow anyone to work on your gas appliances until after you have checked their Gas Safe Register ID card for authenticity. If you are in any doubt about the credentials of your engineer, call 0800 408 5500 and quote the licence number given by your engineer’s ID card to check whether their license is genuine. If you are still not sure whether the engineer is genuinely qualified after carrying out these checks, you should report them as suspicious to the Gas Safe Register immediately.
Even if an engineer is Gas Safe Registered, this does not necessarily mean that they are qualified to work on the type of appliance that you have asked them to. Be sure to check their qualifications, listed on the back of their Gas Safe Register ID card. You can also check this by using the ‘check an engineer’ service on the Gas Safe Register website.
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26th August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
It may surprise you to know that the gas we use around our homes every day is made up mainly of methane – the same chemical gas that’s found in the gas expelled by humans on an almost daily basis! The gas supplied to our homes is actually called Natural Gas, and here we take a look at its properties.
We are told time and again that our natural gas reserves are finite, and that supply is running out. But where are these reserves, and why are they disappearing so quickly?
The trick to finding natural gas is to look out for other fossil fuels – like coal and oil. Wherever you find these resources, gas is sure to follow.
However, many of these reserves are now running dry, especially in the West, and as a result energy companies are increasingly turning to gas from less conventional sources in order to meet consumer demand.
Right now, you’ll find most of our domestic gas comes from fields in the Middle East – the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as Russia. But all this could change within a generation as their gas reserves dwindle and the world turns to other energy forms.
Natural gas is a very useful energy resource. It can be used in a variety of processes, form central heating to fuel for cars.
Some automobiles can be converted to run on natural gas, and compared to petrol, it is relatively clean burning and produces fewer toxic by-products.
However, the burning of natural gas still produces carbon dioxide as a by product, which is widely considered to be one of the greenhouse gases that is responsible for causing global warming.
The natural gas that is supplied to our homes is in fact far from natural. One of the initial processing steps is one which strips the Natural gas of any excess chemicals that are not needed, or may be dangerous. These chemicals include propane, nitrogen and ethane.
Once the gas has been purified, a small amount of foul-smelling but non-toxic perfume (if you can call it that) is added. The reason for this is that methane gas is completely transparent, with no smell of its own, and as such it is hard to detect in its pure form.
The addition of odour to domestic gas supplies was made standard practice after a tragedy that killed more than 300 people at a US college in the 1930’s. At this time gas was still scent-free and a build up of the gas went unnoticed, until it was too late.
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22nd August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
Did you know that the laws surrounding gas safety have changed? In the UK, when you’re looking for a gas engineer to help you out, it’s no longer Corgi that is the seal of approval, but Gas Safe. If your engineer isn’t on the Gas Safe register, then don’t hire them, it’s as simple as that. So what does this new Gas Safe system mean for us consumers?
Once you have hired an engineer, there are two ways to find out f they are officially Gas Safe registered. One is to check the Gas Safe website for their details, and the other is to check their Gas Safe Register ID Card, which they are required to carry at all times. Both the website ad card will let you know if the person is registered, and if so what work exactly they are qualified to carry out.
The types of gas work that are covered include: installing, repairing or servicing a gas boiler, installing or repairing a gas fire, gas cooker or hob, any work on a heat producing appliance, for example radiators or your hot water system, if it is connected to either a Natural Gas or LPG (liquid petroleum gas) supply. Some engineers may not be qualified to do all types of gas work so check their credentials carefully before allowing them to start work.
For any landlords, the same rules apply. Any gas work that needs to be carried out, including your usual annual boiler services, must only be carried out by a registered Gas Safe engineer. This rule applies no matter if you are renting residential property, bed and breakfast, hotel or hostel rooms, bedsits or even holiday accommodation. For details of all of your legal requirements, see the government’s official Gas Safe website.
If you suspect that your landlord is failing to comply with Gas Safe laws, don’t let them get away with it, as they could be playing with your life and safety. If you suspect anything, and have yet to see a real gas safety certificate, then get in touch with the Health and Safety Executive.
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18th August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
The UK now has a new gas safety body to replace the old CORGI register. The Gas Safe Register is really a form of quality control for the whole of the UK’s gas industry. Only registered Gas Safe engineers are legally qualified to fix or install any gas appliances in your home or in the workplace. So now instead of looking for the CORGI badge, you must now look for the yellow Gas Safety triangle.
Who’s in charge of the Gas Safe Register? – The Gas Safe Register is run by Capita Gas Registration and Ancillary Services Limited, which is a division of the Capita Group Plc. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have appointed the Capita Group to the running of the official gas registration body for Great Britain.
In 2006 the British Health and Safety Executive carried out a review of UK gas safety, after which it was decided that a new form of gas registration and gas work monitoring was needed. The register in place now has been set up to improve the gas safety of the nation.
What about CORGI and all of its CORGI registered engineers? – CORGI is no longer recognised by law as the UK’s gas safety register, so anyone who is CORGI registered, but not Gas Safe registered is not recognised as a qualified engineer or plumber within the UK. All CORGI gas engineers have had to transfer to the new Gas Safe Register and have been issued with new Gas Safe ID cards that you should ask to see if any engineer or plumber comes to do gas work in your home.
Why are Gas Safe engineers better? – Gas safety is highly important, as the risks posed by improperly fitted or repaired gas appliance can lead to gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning and even gas explosions. Anyone fixing or installing gas appliances such as boilers, hobs, ovens or fires therefore has to be fully qualified, and the standard of their work vetted appropriately. And this is just what the Gas Safety Register does.
What is a Gas Safe registered engineer? – All Gas Safe registered engineers have been checked to ensure that they are competent and qualified to work safely and legally with gas. Gas Safe ID cards are only given to legally registered engineers as proof of their registration, and the card also lets you know how qualified they are to carry out various types of work around your home.
Where can I find a Gas Safe engineer in my area? – The Gas Safe website has details of all of their registered engineers and their companies. To check whether an engineer you have already chosen is registered, simply log on to the Gas Safe Register website where you can use the Check An Engineer option to see whether your chosen engineer is on the system. Gas work can cover all sorts of appliances, and some engineers may not be qualified to carry out all of these different types of work. The Register will be able to let you exactly what kind of work each engineer can safely and legally carry out. The Gas Safe ID card also shows these details.
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14th August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
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Gas and electricity prices have become a constant source of worry considering their fluctuations on off and on basis. However one thing is certain that these price fluctuations are never going to stop and hence you can expect your energy bills to vary after every price change, which in most cases is going to increase each time. This leaves with no other option than to take care of your electricity and gas consumption if at all you wish to lower your energy bills.
We provide a few valuable tips and guidelines on how to reduce your energy bills to a great extent. A few of them are –
Switch suppliers – You may come to know of a cheaper energy plan and consider of switching over to it. But you do need to check out the cancellation terms of your existing plan and may be required to pay a cancellation charge as well. This point you need to consider as and when you switch. In most cases, the new energy provider extends all cooperation in ensuring you face the smoothest switchover.
Check out for leakages and Gaps – In case you have opted for central heating system, it makes sense to check you house thoroughly for gaps and drafts which could be letting in cold air and making your heating system under perform. You could check out the latches and seals and replace them if required. Also though seemingly expensive it is advisable to go for cavity wall insulation and loft insulation for they work great in keeping your house warm.
Plan your tasks when using domestic electrical appliances – Always use these appliances when they are in a position to operate on full capacity especially dishwashers and washing machines. With regards to laundry, you could segregate the clothes on basis of the dirt and wash them accordingly. Adjusting the temperature cycles of these machines as per requirement goes a long way in lowering your electricity bills. You could even switch over to specially formulated washing detergents which do a thorough cleaning task at low temperatures as well.
Managing Central Heating systems – When you are at home, the heating system can function normally, but in case you are going to be out for a slightly long duration, you could operate it on a minimum level ensuring your water pipes do not freeze or burst open. This step ensures the pipes stay warm by using minimal amount of electricity.
You could lower your energy bills by lowering your thermostat by one or two degrees too. You could go for a better thermostat which allows you to set a timer to switch off the thermostat after a certain period.
You could also check out for grants and subsidies offered by local governing agencies if you go for installing energy efficient heating systems, solar thermal panels, solar photo voltaic panels or eco friendly heating devices. These systems are expensive in the initial stages but in the long run they turn out economical and cost effective.
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10th August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
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Gas prices are a constant source of worry to households. Increasing gas consumption along with increase in gas prices means additional financial burden. You can easily try out a few heat saving devices and enjoy hot waters for longer periods without worrying about your gas bills.
A cylinder jacket over your hot water cylinder is the most affordable way to save upon energy while preventing heat lost. Available at a little less than £15 while adhering to British Standard 75mm, this cylinder jacket can offer you hot water at affordable price. Moreover you can recover its costs in six months itself. In case you have older heating system, this cylinder jacket proves its efficiency even more. By using cylinder jacket over your hot water cylinder you can save approximate £40 per year.
A protective spiral wrap over your hot water pipes means the water within them will stay hot for a longer period and hence you could reduce your hot water requirement considerably. Simply unroll the spiral wrap and roll it around the pipes while you securely tape it at the end. This protective spiral wrap is highly insulating and covers almost 4 -5 metres of hot water pipes. A simple two minute task of wrapping your hot water pipes with spiral wraps makes you save £10 easily.
You have an old, conventional gas boiler which is already 12 -15 yearsToday, most of the appliances have a built in stand by function, through which you can save a trip of visiting the switch point in order to switch off and switch on the appliance. Though stand by appliances have known to reduce electricity consumption but the fact still remains they still consume electricity. In stand by mode, electrical appliances have known to consume 40% of their full running capacity while accounting for 10% of your electricity bill.
If you keep tabs on your annual energy consumption of stand by electricity, you will be using almost 65 -70 pounds of electricity and offsetting approximately 85kgs of carbon dioxide as well. These revealing facts highlight the importance of opting using stand by power saving devices which reduce your electricity consumption to a great extent. Most preferred stand by power savers includes TV Standby savers and PC Standby savers.
By opting for a TV standby saver you can save up to £30.00 and reduce your carbon emission by 111kg/year. The TV stand by saver device is designed to switch off the power when press the stand by button on your remote control The TV stand by saver also switches of power consumed by DVD player, satellite box, games console or speakers. This power saving device is compatible with most TV sets. It contains multiple sockets for attaching additional appliances such as DVD player, games console and speakers. You simply need to plug in the device you wish to control.
The PC Standby Saver is yet another great power saving device which reduces your electricity consumption through the pc to a great extent. If you know you are going to be away from the PC for a long time you simply need to plug the standby saver device into your PC’s USB Port. The PC standby saver comes with multiple sockets allowing you to attach 4 devices at a single time. By using the PC Standby Saver, you can easily save up to £30.00 annually.
Also available in the market are power savers which switch off electrical devices attached to them by a single touch of a button. Using such power saving devices is easy as it requires a simple installation procedure and one remote control for operation. You can attach up to 4 appliances in each power saving device. You can switch off the electrical appliance quickly by a single press of a button on the remote control which saves multiple trips of visiting individual plug points in order to switch them off and save power.
Considering that electrical energy is a precious and vital resource, you do have to do your bit in saving it and lowering your electricity bills to a great extent, simply begin using stand by power savers!! old, and then the time is right to replace it with a new, A-rated condensing boiler and lower your energy bills by one third at least. The A-rated condensing boiler is capable of converting 90% of the gas you use into useful heat against the existing one which will convert only 65% of the gas into heat. By opting for a new A-rated boiler you could easily save up to £4,000 over the entire lifetime of the boiler. You do need to make sure you get the right boiler for your requirements and get it installed through Gas Safe registered engineers who are qualified to do a thorough job of the task.
Latest gas boilers, spiral wraps and hot water cylinder jacket are time tried and tested heat saving devices which are safe and easy to use. You need to make sure you get the certified and approved heat saving appliances installed in your home. It would be best if you approach your gas provider for them as they prove to be the best guide and even offer to install them for you. Once installed, you can easily use heat without worrying about your gas bills for they are designed to lower your gas requirements.
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6th August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
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Gas boilers are meant to provide heat and warmth to your home. You can enjoy working around your house in the winters if the house is sufficiently warmed up due to a well maintained gas boiler. Imagine a time when your gas boiler simply stops functioning when the winter is at its peak and you are left shivering and cold within your home and unable to do your routine tasks. In order to prevent such happenings, it is always advisable to seek professionals to service and check your gas boilers on regular basis.
Since gas boiler is an appliance, it pays to get it serviced once in a year especially when the winter is just about to begin. This means that your boiler is without any problems and will function faultlessly all throughout the cold winter months. In fact some gas boiler manufacturers even advise you to get a maintenance check even during the summer months in order to avoid large expenses
In case you have acquired basic technical know-how of how the boiler operates you could check out the outlets for any blockages and even for congestion of exhaust gases. You could also clean the boiler at regular intervals.
Meanwhile a professional gas boiler service expert will check out for
Boiler’s condition
Leaks within the boiler
The gas pressure
The valves and pumps
The working condition of boiler
The carbon monoxide production of boiler
Provision for adequate ventilation
If at all you feel you can handle a simple and routine check of your boiler you could proceed to do so. At the same time you could seek assistance from various sources such as customer support telephone lines from gas boiler manufacturers or online support from them through their interactive websites. In case you are sure about how to solve the issue, you could always approach your local hardware store and ask for suitable parts and replacements.
If you find your boiler extremely old and consuming a lot of power, you could always opt for replacing it with a better and energy saving boilers. There are many cheap gas boilers available in the market. You could always check out their specifications and energy consumption charts before going ahead with replacing them. The best place and resource to do the same is by logging on the Internet and visiting a couple of websites which have detailed information, guides and tips on how to use boilers, maintain them and the new replacement boilers available in the market.
It is a good move to check your boiler on regular basis and keep abreast of the latest developments in the boiler segment ensuring your house stays warm while the boiler works efficiently at all times.
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2nd August, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
The news that gas and electricity bills are due to rise has come as a shock revelation to all customers. Centrica, who owns British Gas, has blamed the increasing cost of gas and power as the reason behind the increase. Wholesale gas prices rose an incredible 92% from last year with wholesale electricity prices doubling, which is not good news for anybody.
Earlier this year the price of utilities were increased by an average of 15%. In terms of what this means to you and me, there would be a rise of 10% (£105) to our household bills and a further 15% rise expected in 2009. This all means that our pockets are being hit hard by the squeeze and means saving for a rainy day is becoming increasingly important but also more difficult as the clouds start to gather.
Finding cheap electricity and gas is becoming increasingly difficult because of all the price increases that have come to fruition in the past few years. If British Gas does go ahead with the increase, other companies are likely to follow suit which is bad news for the public and its wallets.
The best way to find the most competitive deals around is to compare electricity prices online where you can search through the leading providers to find the best deal that suits your needs and your pocket. As the credit crunch and increases in gas and electricity bills stretch our spending power, it is imperative we all cut down on unnecessary spending.
Finding prices on utilities may be harder at the moment but deals are still available online and to compare electricity prices and tariffs shop around for the best deals. Prices may have risen but cheap electricity is still attainable.
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29th July, 2010 - Posted by admin - Comments Off
New Delhi, July 23, Slamming the move to regulate gas prices, global giants British Petroleum, Hardy Exploration and British Gas have warned the government of investor backlash if it reneges on its commitment of giving freedom to sell gas at market price from areas auctioned under NELP.
India has attracted 7.2 billion dollar investment in oil and gas hunt through New Exploration Licensing Policy that promised the right to sell the discovered oil and gas at market prices. However, international investors took a serious note when the government formed a committee to look into pricing of gas from Reliance Industries’ NELP-I block.
“Were the Government to consider the reintroduction of some form of administered pricing for natural gas, we would be concerned since, as a long term investor in India, of primary importance to us is fiscal stability for the life of our contract,” Ashok K Jhawar, country head, BP, which had won to areas for extraction of gas from coal seams (CBM), wrote to Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.
BG India managing director William Adamson on July 10 wrote to Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar that such a development “would dampen the pace of exploration and erode the confidence of the international companies in the forthcoming bidding rounds”.
India is planning the seventh round of auction in August. Chevron India president John R Digby wrote to Deora on July 2 that “market forces should drive the destination, customer selection and pricing of gas in India”.
Hardy Exploration vice president Ashu Sagar wrote “any action to renege on commitments will weaken investor confidence not only in NELP but also in Indian contracts.” MORE PTI ANZ UPD 07221340 DEL BP said subsidies in energy pricing should come at the consumer end, not at exploration end. Otherwise, “countries which set an unrealistic wellhead price for gas suffer from lack of exploration and development since exploration investment tend to flow to higher-priced locations”.
Niko Resources, one of the first foreign firms to invest in country’s oil and gas hunt, said “we are concerned with the recent developments, wherein there is sustained pressure and coercion being exerted (on Reliance) from various sectors (notably power) to reconsider market-determined price”.
“We consider such influence being made on gas pricing to be non-compliant with the rights provided to the contractor for marketing of gas at ‘arms-length prices to the benefit of parties to the contract (Reliance and Government)’ under the Production Sharing Contract,” Niko chairman Edward S Sampson wrote to Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan on July 3.
Hardy said the Production Sharing Contract for areas auctioned in six NELP rounds guarantee a market determined price. “By artifically imposing (price) restriction, the Government shall impose a country and political risk.”
BG said Indian exploration and production scenario had undergone profound changes post NELP and some dramatic results have been obtained in terms of discovery of large oil and gas reserves as well as the emergence of the East coast offshore as a major hydrocarbon province.
Niko said contractors like Reliance invested in fields “keeping in mind the favourable fiscal terms offered under PSC and the anticipated decent return on investment based on competitive hydrocarbon pricing that the PSC provides for.
“The establishment and realisation of a market determined price is what will allow for ensuring the fiscal terms remain internationally competitive, which in turn will induce more such investment from companies like ours,” it said.
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