Green Daily

It's a grim London morning and I am curled up on the sofa, laptop perched on my knees, trying to keep snug with thick socks, a cozy sweater and a fleece throw tucked around my legs. I could easily stay warm simply by running upstairs and flicking the switch on the boiler but I'm alone, and it seems insanely wicked to switch on the central heating and heat up the entire house and all those unused rooms.

As a concession to the chilly day, I have pulled the sofa closer to the fireplace and have a small fire burning on low. (It's a gas-fuelled fire. I live in a smokeless zone). It may sound a bit extreme, but honestly, I am quite comfortable and, apart from keeping my heating bill down, I'm also aware that I'm doing a little bit to reducing my carbon footprint. Which is rather nice.

Now, if you're even more keen than I am to keep heating costs down, and to further reduce the carbon emissions caused by central heating, you might want to invest in this weird-looking Kandle Heeter. (I know, that name raised my eyebrows too.)

It's not just a candle in a terracotta planter either. I doubt that would provide any significant amount of heat. This odd-looking contraption has a 'well-engineered design'.

Inside the upturned pot is the heart of this little radiator, a steel inner core and three ceramic modulators. Heat rises from the candle and then is absorbed into the ceramic, which is a high 'thermal lag' material. (High thermal lag materials store heat well.) The designer says it gets hot - very hot.

I can't imagine this little gadget heating an entire room, but I guess if you keep it close by, it should be sufficient to keep you warm (ish). If anything, it would be enough to stop you from developing that red-nosed Rudolph look.