Energy Sources
Between being blamed for two Lancashire earth tremors in 2011, and making a surprise appearance in George Osborne's 2013 budget, the once little known term of 'fracking' has now firmly entered the language - and become one of the most hotly debated energy technologies in Britain today. Fracking fans point [...]
Many ‘green’ rules that apply to new build bathrooms don’t yet cover renovations, but you should still make sure that any bathroom make-over is a planet friendly one. If you are planning a major renovation – including replacement of the bathroom suite – then you need to look for low-water [...]
Generating your own power has never made quite so much sense thanks to new government incentives. And if you’re planning a new build or renovation, then incorporating power generation into your design now makes sound financial – as well as environmental – sense. Under recently introduced schemes, people generating their [...]
When domestic solar panels first became available in the UK, many families were keen to “green” their homes and save on electricity. Unfortunately, thousands were put off by the need to apply for planning permission from their local council before they could install the panels. Happily, this is no longer [...]
Growing willow for energy is nothing new for the UK – it’s has been done for very nearly the last 40 years – but with today’s mounting interest in both energy saving and renewable energy, the idea is becoming increasingly popular. While the whole issue of growing energy crops instead [...]
Wood burning stoves are enjoying a huge surge in popularity of late as more and more householders seek out eco-friendly heating options – and with the price of gas, oil and electricity increasing, the growing interest seems unlikely to be about to end anytime soon. For all their advantages – [...]
Improvements in small power generating technology have begun to make hydro electric power look an increasingly attractive option for relatively small-scale projects. Like the more familiar large hydro electric power plants which have been in operation for many years around the world, small scale systems use moving water to drive [...]
Heat pumps extract thermal energy from outside sources such as the air or the ground and use it to heat our buildings – and with some designs of air source heat pumps able to absorb heat from external temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees, interest in these systems is [...]
If you’re looking to make some energy savings and reduce your carbon footprint, combined heat and power (CHP) is one approach you might want to consider – especially if it’s time to replace an ageing boiler. With the promise of generating your own electricity alongside keeping your house warm and [...]
For many people contemplating producing their own electricity supply by micro-generation, part of the attraction is the possibility of exporting any surplus to the national grid. Whether you’re planning on installing a wind turbine or adding photovoltaic solar panels to your roof, if you have an existing grid connection, it [...]
Micro-generation is the production of heat and power by individuals or communities – typically by renewable energy – enabling them to meet their own requirements at, or approaching, zero-carbon cost.As an approach, it has much to recommend it, both in terms of its energy efficiency – generation takes place at [...]
Solar photovoltaic – or PV – is probably one of the most familiar types of renewable energy technology, generating electricity from light which can either be stored in batteries or fed into the national grid. As a result, although PV solar panel systems are often seen as an ideal way [...]
When it comes to community energy projects, owning your own stake in a major renewable scheme has got to be one of the biggest signals that any neighbourhood can give of its intent to go green. Large wind energy projects are particularly suitable for promoting community ownership and involvement, and [...]
More than 95 per cent of off-grid renewable energy electricity supply systems use some form of lead-acid battery to store the power they generate – but despite their importance, the whole issue of batteries is generally little understood. However, getting to grips with the basics of battery power is not [...]
Power is one of those things we all tend to take for granted – and it’s not until you flick a light-switch during a power cut that you begin to realise just how much. We’ve all know that the electricity that drives so much of modern life is generated and [...]
Working together as a community to implement an energy project offers enormous benefits – to the participants every bit as much as the environment. Whether it’s energy saving schemes, green awareness programmes or a drive to promote renewable energy, there’s a clear case for saying, the more the merrier! Waste [...]
Installing solar panels to heat water offers a relatively cheap way to benefit from solar power, with installations typically costing very considerably less than the alternative approach of generating electricity by photovoltaic systems. Able to make a major contribution to meeting the hot water demands of an average UK household [...]
Although the idea of using “heat pumps” may seem a little out of the ordinary, the technology is something with which we are all very familiar – the same principle drives our fridges and air conditioning. Just as these common-place examples remove heat from where it’s not wanted, leaving cool [...]
Photovoltaics are cells made from glass and steel that convert light into electricity. Inside the core of the cell are components known as photodiodes, which feed the incoming solar rays into semiconductors, which react with the sunlight, thus converting to electricity. This is an extremely effective way of harnessing power [...]
Passive solar design is a technique that uses the heat of the sun to regulate a building's temperature without using other energy sources. It is one of the ultimate forms of sustainable building design as if 100% successful, the buildings design and construction incorporates enough means to allow solar energy [...]
The need to find new types of renewable energy is urgent - oil reserves are running out, and quickly. The lifestyles that we in the Western world have developed as a result of seemingly plentiful energy resources either have to dramatically change or we need alternative sources to produce the [...]
Wind generators are generating a lot of interest right now, due to a high street DIY chain offering the first small wind generator commonly available for the home. We understand the argument that we need to dramatically reduce the emissions from the fuel and carbon we use, and wind as [...]
The debate about the use of fossil fuels has reached a heightened pitch, with environmental campaigners, scientists, politicians, representatives of the fossil-fuel companies, such as Bp, Shell, and Esso, all pitching in with their arguments. The general public often gets lost in the midst of all this frenzied, passionate debate, [...]
Solar panels are known to be effective in trapping and collecting the heat of the sun. In countries in the Middle East for example, you can see panels on the roof of many if not most houses, utilising the hot temperature that lasts for a nine-month season. Such panels, in [...]
The term bio-energy means energy that comes from organic materials such as living plants. There is a lot of research into both the production and potential of bio-energy as a fuel and energy source that could equal or take over from the traditional usage of oil and gas. This clearly [...]
