In America in the 1890s an advertisement described Stanley's snake oil as "A wonderful pain destroying compound." It was "the strongest and best liniment known for the cure of all pain and lameness." To be "used external [sic] only," it treated "rheumatism, neuralgia, sciatica, lame back, lumbago, contracted muscles, toothache, sprains, swellings, etc." It also, the ad said, "cures frost bites, chill blains, bruises, sore throat, [and] bites of animals, insects and reptiles," in fact being "good for every thing a liniment should be good for." Promising "immediate relief," it sold for fifty cents a bottle. (http://www.csicop.org/sb/9812/snakeoil.html)

Such Snake oil type health remedies are still being peddled perhaps without the outlandish claims of yesteryear but the idiom that "there is one born every minute" has made its way to the energy sector preying on those who want to do the right thing for the future by saving Energy and Money.

A product that recently came to my attention claimed that heating bills will be reduced by 30% if the product was installed. Such a claim warranted further attention and, indeed, the cost of installation was small compared to the fuel savings that could be made. The leaflet described the benefits of the product and how it worked, it cited testing by a number of bodies. The product which is a reflective panel fitted behind radiators claims that heating bills will be reduced by 30%.

The Galway/Mayo institute of Technology, The UK Atomic Energy Authority, Queens University Belfast and the Building Services Research and Information Association.. a venerable bunch of institutions to have any product referenced to. The problem is that the two institutions that I managed to make contact with( GMIT and UK Atomic Energy Agency) state that they never did any testing on this product and in the extensive website of the BSRIA there is no reference to any testing of this wonder product.

Either way, I have forwarded a copy of the leaflet on to the Advertising Standards Authority.

(Copy of Letter Below)

I wish to direct the enclosed leaflet for the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland as the claims made in the leaflet do not stand up to scrutiny. 1 have spoken with John Lohan and Patrick Delassus at the Galway Mayo institute referenced in the leaflet and they state no trials were done on this product. They did acknowledge that this product could in some circumstance be of benefit but nothing to the scale being alleged in the leaflet. No Record of testing could be found at the Harwell laboratory computer and science division. 1 spoke with Chris Broad at the UK Atomic Energy Authority and sent him a copy of the leaflet so he could verify or dismiss the claims of savings made in the leaflet. Pat Stephens of the Limerick Clare Energy agency had done some testing on this type of panel and he did say that in old badly insulated buildings this radiator panel could provide savings of around 15% which although is a worth while saving is nothing near the 30% being claimed by for the product. In a well insulated building the savings were minimal . 1 don't have any commercial interest in complaining the manner in which this product is advertised.. It is important that people are given the best information on the benefits and limitations of energy saving products so real change can take place in the amount of energy we use.

Kind Regards Cllr Brian Meaney

But I wish it would only stop there. There is down right fraud being perpetrated also Fuel Magnets (http://www.britisheco.com/product.aspx?productid=416) are being sold along side products that do actually work, such as energy efficient lights. What is a fuel Magnet I hear you ask

One or more magnets are clamped around or installed inside a car engine fuel line between the fuel tank and the carburetor (or fuel injectors). Claims for these devices include decreased hazardous gas emissions, more complete combustion, improved engine power, longer-lasting engine components, and a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in KPL. Prices for these magnets range from about 50 Euro to 300 Euro. Let me make this Clear… Magnets do nothing…to car performance My own background is in transport Engineering and it is one of the few areas I have a knowledge in.

However, there are other products that make claims that don't stand up to analysis . Andy Wilson at the sustainability institute (www.sustainability.ie) has written about some of these products "Another example is Tri-Iso Super 10. This is the name given to a multi-layer foil based insulation product produced by the French company Actis. Super 10 is the latest in a line of multi-layer foil products produced by Actis. Although it is only about 30mm thick, Actis claim that tests have shown that it has the same insulation value as much greater depths of mineral wool. This has lead to great interest from within the building sector. Super 10 is more user-friendly than mineral wool and its lesser bulk means it can be deployed much more easily in confined spaces.

Actis's claims, however,appear to defy the laws of physics. Although Tri-Iso Super 10 is credited with being able to efficiently reflect back radiant heat losses, most heat losses from buildings occur as a result of convection or conduction. Then in July 2005, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK investigated two buildings in Scotland which had been fitted with Tri Iso Super 9, the predecessor to Super 10. The results of the study2 indicated that the thermal resistance of the Super 9 was about 1.71M2K/W. Actis had claimed a figure almost three times as great. The research carried out by BRE was funded by the ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).

The BRE findings have some serious implications. Anyone assuming that a building insulated with Tri-Iso Super 10 (or other similar product) will be compliant with building regulations is likely to be disappointed. The architects who specify such products and the building engineers who sign off houses insulated with them may be leaving themselves open to litigation from clients who will understandably be very angry that their new home is not insulated to the required standard."