A quick review of our last blog first. We've definitely signed up with Haven Power with their 100% renewable biomass generated electricity, and it all seems to be going fine. As I write, Mosaic is also out at a 'Pig Club' meeting, and they are currently planning to start in late November. At the moment the work is all planning, and hence indoors. But at some point very soon it will involve building an ark for the pigs, which will be outdoor, cold work. I'll take along a flask to warm them all up.
As you will appreciate, it gets ever harder to make big strides in reducing your environmental impact, but we think we've recently made another one. As I'm Chair of the local hoteliers association, I got contacted by a company called SaveMoneyCutCarbon.com, and I assumed it was another website selling aerated shower heads and water displacement devices for toilet cisterns (we use old plastic milk cartons). And whilst it is, it is so much more. They have invested a serious amount of time - and hence money - into road testing the gear they sell. To cut a long story short Mark - the guy behind the business - lent us an EcoCamel JetStorm shower head. As a result of that test (Mosaic, who hates 'dribbly' showers, gave it the thumbs up) we have invested in 10 JetStorms for our own property, and we also - courtesy of Suffolk County Council - gave some samples to other local hoteliers.
The JetStorm shower head looks good, feels robust, and gives a hell of a shower. It's a bit noisier than a normal shower head, but it uses about 40% less water than a normal shower head. We actually just got a guest review which referred to the 'powerful shower'.
The basic fact is that water is relatively cheap. However, hot water ain't cheap, and saving potentially 40% of the hot water that is used in our showers, whilst actually enhancing the guest experience, is a no brainer. I can't remember the exact numbers, but the payback for the shower heads should be within a year (they are £40'ish each from memory).
We have also invested in a load of soaker hose and a pump to water the garden direct from the - now 1500 litres - of rainwater storage we have around the house. It saves us a bit of time, which we wish we spent sitting down instead!
Finally - not in terms of importance or achievement I hasten to add - Mosaic was recently filmed by the Green Suffolk team as part of a promotional video - you can see the results here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuD8WVjCnPI
If I think of anything else, I'll add it when I do!
Thanks for reading.
Martin and Mosaic
