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
You can do this a few ways:
If you invest in renewable power (Solar PV, Wind, Hydro), you can sell back excess power to the grid. See the section below.
Proper insulation, construction combined with well designed and properly sized systems (key), will ensure significantly reduced running costs.Properties with minimum running costs and power-generating systems installed are making significantly more on the open market.
Grid Connection
This information was correct in June 2008.
If you install power-generating renewables such as solar PV, wind, hydro, you should be able to sell any excess electricity you don't use back to the national grid. In the UK, energy firms pay for surplus electricity generated but there is no standard system and rates vary. In its recent renewable energy strategy, the government proposed a premium “feed-in” tariff to offer more to consumers who send energy back to the grid but they gave no details.
The current market rate for electricity is about 9p per kW
British Gas offers 5p per kW for electricity sold back to the grid.
It charges 12.27p per kW
Scottish Power pay the least – 4.25 p per kW
SP charges 11.2p per kW
In Germany, customers receive up to 22p per kW hour (nice)
An export meter is required to record how much energy is used and how much you send to your supplier. Scottish Power and SSE provide this free. EDF charges up to £200. British Gas charges £30.
(Germany has developed 200 times solar capacity of UK).
This really is something to lobby your local politician, planners, decision-makers for. At Invisible Heating Systems, we are lobbying for proper financial recognition for investors in renewables. It could be by way of Feed In Tariffs, reduced council tax or payback schemes through the energy companies.
Poor ventilation and draughts account for up to 20% of heat lost from a typical house. For more on insulation, please click here.
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 U.K."
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.
