Britons shine a light on energy use at home

A retired customer service representative for the local power company, Jeffrey Marchant, admits to a lifelong obsession with household energy, born originally of thrift rather than green environmental consciousness.

"I'm like one of those fellows who stands at the station spotting trains, only what I do is electricity," he says.

Even today, a meticulous handwritten chart on the wall of the sitting- room documents yearly electricity use since the 1960s, recording how the birth of each child in the 1970s — Phillip, Catherine and Helen — now all fully grown, affected the home's average daily electricity consumption.

For further information: International Herald Tribune