Changing the way we use transport is great example of the kind of energy saving initiatives that work best on a community-wide basis – and car sharing schemes are one of the most effective ways to get started, especially in areas where public transport is limited or inconvenient to use. [...]
Everyone knows that insulating your home is one of the single most useful things you can do to help you start saving energy. Between lagging your pipes, looking after your loft and filling up your cavity walls, there’s hundreds of pounds – and tonnes of carbon – to be saved. [...]
If the Sun went out right now, it’d be eight minutes before we knew anything about it – that’s how long the light takes to travel the distance to Earth. Mind you, it would be awfully inconvenient in all sorts of other ways if it did; a bit of darkness [...]
“Well, if you can’t be green in the greenhouse, what hope is there?” laughs Clare Miles – and she should know; that’s exactly what she and her husband David have started to do in their recently built, eco-friendly plant house in Scotland. As a keen gardener, a greenhouse was high [...]
Britain is home to about 40% of Europe’s wind resource, so it’s hardly surprising that when it comes to discussions of renewable energy and sustainable development, wind power is something that gets a lot of interest. However, despite all the obvious benefits of having such a major source of free [...]
The early 21st Century has seen the sort of time-warp that Dr Who himself would be proud of, as more and more homes have gone back to burning wood – hundreds of years after it was largely abandoned, firstly in favour of coal and then subsequently, oil, gas and electricity. [...]
Solar energy has a strong appeal and interest in it is growing by the day; below you'll find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about solar heating and photovoltaic systems to help you decide for yourself if it seems right for you. What’s the Difference Between the [...]
Wind energy has a lot going for it, but it's not suitable for everyone - or every home. If you're thinking about installing a wind turbine, there are a few questions to ask yourself first, before you decide to go ahead - and the answers to many of them can [...]
There's nothing quite like a real fire - but for many people there are a one or two questions about it's suitability, benefits and costs to be considered first. Below are some answers to a few of the most commonly asked ones, to help you decide. What Kinds of Wood [...]
Although the interest in renewable energy and microgeneration is growing rapidly, finding an installer to fit your system can sometimes be a bit of a problem. So how can you find a reputable person, what qualifications should you be looking for and where can you go for some advice? Here [...]
Saving energy needn't cost the earth and there are plenty of ways to do it, but it's always nice to know what things are really going to cost you and how much benefit you'll get, before deciding what to do. Below are a few straightforward answers to some of the [...]
We’d all like to cut our fuel bills, but knowing where to start can be confusing. Are energy efficient appliances really worthwhile, how much can insulation save us and what can you do to save money that doesn't cost a fortune in the first place? The answers to these and [...]
Any discussion of insulation always seems to bring up a whole range of questions - not least the likes of how much it's going to cost, how you should go about it, and what real benefits it's likely to produce. Although a lot depends on the particular home or building [...]
Getting an energy saving project up and running can be costly, so any help from grants or other sources of funding can be really helpful - but it's not always easy to know what's available or where to apply. You'll find the answers to these and some of the other [...]
Whether you're buying a washing machine or a light bulb, there's no shortage of low energy appliances to choose from - but how do you know which to buy and what sort of energy saving are you really likely to make? What Makes Low Energy Appliances so Important? Principally it’s [...]
We're all keen to reduce our energy bills and the good news is that we cut our carbon footprint at the same time - as the following answers to some of the most commonly asked questions will show. What’s Energy Saving Got to do With Carbon Footprints? Saving energy is [...]
