Despite the heat (is it trying to tell us something?) we had a wonderful day at Cranleigh Carnival. Lots of people stopped to have a go at the quiz and receive a fair-trade banana as a reward. We are very grateful to Cranleigh Co-Op, who donated the bananas. Only one banana was left at the end of the day – a reward for one of our stall holders!

Joining us were volunteers from the Zero Carbon Guildford home energy advice team (HEAT), who talked to visitors to our stand giving out advice and low energy light bulbs.

Thank you to everyone who stopped to have a chat and have a go at the quiz. We really enjoyed all our conversations with you and eating fairtrade bananas!

CARNIVAL QUIZ

1. Why are bananas a good buy?
2. How much does 1 unit electricity and 1 unit of gas cost?
3. Think of 3 tips for keeping your house COOL in summer.
4. In winter, how does most heat escape from your house?
5. How thick should loft insulation be?
6. Can you think of three more ways to Save energy / money?

Here’s a peep at the quiz – with Cynthia and John enjoying their fairtrade bananas after getting it 100% correct (but you only needed to enter to get a prize).

Intrigued? Here are the answers:

1. Bananas are good because they have loads of nutrition (140 calories, Vitamins C, B6, potassium and fibre). They grow in natural sunlight (don’t need a greenhouse). Travel well and are shipped by sea (~1% air travel). They don’t need packaging: they provide their own!
2. Electricity: 26p/unit, Gas: 7p/unit. (1 unit = 1 kWh)
3. Three tips to keep your house cool:
   Close doors, windows and blinds when it is hotter outside than inside. Open when the other way round,
   Cover the outside of the sun-facing windows with sheets, towels, silver foil, to shade the glass and stop the sun getting through,
   Don’t use the oven.
4. Most heat is lost through walls (~35%), roof (~25%) then windows (~10%).
5. Loft insulation should be 270mm
6. Lots of options for this one: reduce drafts, turn down heating thermostat to 18C, lag hot water tank, draw curtains at night… And that’s just in the house – there are loads more things you can do elsewhere. See our pledges post for more ideas.