Morning Rituals: Harnessing solar power for a bright start to the day!
I count myself lucky to have been able to install solar panels at home. Some 12-13 years ago, I persuaded my wife that we should invest our life savings in 16 solar photovoltaic panels for the roof of our house. At the time, solar panels on domestic properties were quite rare and the UK government introduced a feed-in-tariff scheme to incentivise installations by obligating energy suppliers to pay a higher rate for green electricity fed into the grid.
Since the day the inverter was switched on, I’ve taken a greater interest in affecting when electricity will be consumed in our home. In the morning, if the laundry basket is full, my last action, before leaving for work, is to programme the washing machine to run at around midday when the sun is at its highest. That way, there is a greater likelihood that it will be powered by electricity from our panels rather than the national grid.
Commuting Choices: Walking the talk (literally!)
My wife and I are fortunate enough to live close to our respective offices at a school and an insurance intermediary. We embrace the simple joy of walking to work, and I enjoy the conversations with her en route (sorry kids, you can be distracting!) In previous roles, I have had to take the train to London, but have been fortunate that I’ve never had to drive to work. Of course, these days many people work from home, but I very much prefer being in the office so it’s great that I can achieve this, carbon-free, and get some exercise along the way.
So that’s the start to my day. Next week I’ll share what we are doing at home for The Big Plastic Count which started today and reveal our results. More than 14,000 school classes and over 98,000 households from all over the country signed up to take part.
Roland at One Tree Travel 🌳
