We're learning from our experience - and yours - all the time.
The more we live with renewables, the more we're convinced that it's nearly always a combination of a few elements that deliver the optimum solution - whether you're considering renewable heat, power or a combination of both.
Technology Comparison
In this table, we've gathered as much comprehensive information as we can to compare the benefits and disadvantages of a range of renewable heating and power systems. Click here to read more.
Renewables as an Investment
The recently announced RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) for heat generating microgeneration technologies and FITs (Feed In Tarriffs) for power-generating renewables represent an excellent return on investment. For more information see the incentives section of our website.
Interesting!
If all of the UK's 25 million homes were fitted with solar water heaters, this would provide an energy supply equivalent to about four and a half 1000 MW power stations, at about one eighth of their cost and no fuel costs, nuclear waste or CO2 emissions.
Hot water below 100°C is one of the largest domestic energy end uses, often expensively heated by electricity or inefficiently by oil or gas.
Aga Stoves
April 2008 (Sunday Times 21/4/08)
According to AGA, a four-oven model uses 51 litres of oil or 273kWh of electricity per week. This is about 25 times more than a typical electric oven.
Because they're classed as ovens rather than heat emitters, stoves such as Agas are under no obligation to indicate their energy efficiency ratings.
IHS can incorporate stoves such as Agas and Rayburns into the overall heating systems that we design to capture any excess heat delivered and store it in the Hygienik thermal store. This at least helps to increase their efficiency and supplements renewable heating system performance.
Electric Kettles
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs say: "If everyone boiled only the water they needed instead of 'filling' the kettle every time, we could save enough electricity to run practically all the street lighting in the UK"
Switch on or Leave on?
According to the National Energy Foundation, the idea that it is cheaper to leave a flourescent light on than to keep switching it on and off is not true. A 40W flourescent light uses as much electricity to start up as it does to run for 1.5 minutes.
