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Pay as you save proposed for 7m British homes The UK Green Building Council, a government advisory body, has made a radical proposal to increase energy efficiency in 7 million UK homes. The group has put forward a plan for a scheme that would give homeowners access to up to £10,000 for energy conservation efforts, which they could then repay through increased council tax.
The importance of energy efficiency is finally being recognised as a vital tool for emissions reductions. As we reported last week, the US could save $1.3 trillion and a gigaton of electricity usage a year simply through energy-saving measures in industry. Now that’s a lot of emissions. In the UK, household emissions account for a quarter of our total, largely through lack of insulation and inefficient appliances. Tackling household emissions will be a key part of our low carbon transition.
"This innovative proposal would provide the finance to trigger a revolution in household refurbishment, creating thousands of new jobs and significantly cutting emissions. Both government and opposition have voiced their support for the principles of a scheme like this – what's needed is to get on with it," Paul King, Chief Executive of the Building Council, told the Guardian last week.
The idea is that councils could take a Local Land Charge out on each house so that the costs would be reflected to the house rather than the owner. Then if the house is sold, the additional cost will be passed on to the next owner. It is thought that the huge savings on electricity and gas bills will offset the higher council tax.
The proposal has not had the best response from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), who are wary of using local councils as funding mechanisms. DECC wants energy-saving initiatives to come from power companies.
Developers claim £80 a year bills for new homes Property developers Saxon Weald have just built some showcase houses in West Sussex that boast such stringent energy-efficiency measures that their annual electricity bills will be as low as £80. Built to meet level five of the government’s sustainable housing code the properties come equipped with solar panels, rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pumps and energy-conserving insulation and double glazing.
With average electricity bills currently around £500 this proves how much can be achieved with decent energy saving standards.
More on the story at the Energy Savings Trust. Light lane goes into production One of our first posts on this blog was about a concept product called the Light Lane. An ingenious idea that projects a bike lane onto the road for cyclists so that cars know to keep their distance.
The concept got such an overwhelming response that the design team decided to put it into production, and are now building a prototype. Keep up to date with them at their site - http://lightlanebike.com
US Could Save $1.2 Trillion with Energy Efficiency
Global management consultancy McKinsey & Company have published a report suggesting the US could save a whopping $1.2 trillion dollars with better energy efficiency. They’ve conducted a detailed analysis of non-transport uses of energy and suggested solutions to energy waste. The huge sum vastly outweighs the estimated $520 billion investment needed to make these changes.
Their measures would save 1.1 Gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the equivalent of taking every car and light truck in the US off the road. In total, McKinsey believes that the US could cut its energy demand by 23%.
This highlights the need for energy efficiency in this country too, as we are guilty of similar inefficiency problems. It raises the important point that energy efficiency should actually be seen as a resource. It’s a tool both in tackling climate change and for saving money.
Following up our story about Nokia’s plans to charge mobile phones with ambient airwaves comes a technology that boasts the potential to replace millions of miles of cables and disposable batteries. US company Witricity have come up with a working prototype for wireless electricity. Sounds crazy? Yup… But it seems like it might actually work.
We’re not going to pretend to understand the “simple” physics, but it’s something to do with resonant frequencies of electronics being transferred to each other. It could revolutionise the way our electronics work, and hopefully stop me running out of battery on my phone, a regular occurrence. From a green perspective, it may finally do away with the 40 billion disposable batteries being produced every year. In fact, why are they still around anyway? Rechargeable batteries last much longer and cost less. Disposables should just be banned.
The Wattson has made it into the royal family! Our most stylish energy monitor the Wattson has been commandeered for energy saving duty at Clarence House, where Prince Charles is hell bent on becoming energy efficient. Click the imag below:
Doesn’t he look happy there? It’s not that Pimms or his £18 million income, it’s the Wattson! You too could be happy if you had a Wattson – click here to learn more.
The funding is an add on to the Big Green Challenge competition that will see £1 million worth of support for 10 finalists and their emission reducing plans. The DECC have been so impressed with the quality of the applicants they have now extended the offer to a further 17 projects. “Local solutions to the global problem of climate change are vital if we are to make the shift to a low-carbon future. Yesterday we set out how the Government will achieve this in our UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, but we also need the support of householders and communities across the nation. The winners of Big Green Challenge Plus provide an example of the grassroots action we need to encourage in order to meet our goals… We want to support people in their efforts so they can reap the benefits of cleaner energy, a better quality of life, and stronger, cohesive communities.” Said Ed Miliband, Energy and Climate Change Secretary.
As well as funding NESTA will provide 10 days of business advice, one on one project management support, free workshops and assistance from University of East Anglia’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre on how to monitor emissions reductions.
Greener Homes Campaign Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud is on a mission that we like. The TV presenter has launched the Great British Refurb Campaign that calls upon the government to concentrate on reducing emissions of existing homes rather than building new ones. Backed by WWF-UK, the Energy Saving Trust, and the UK Green Building Council the campaign estimates that by retrofitting existing houses 9 million tonnes of CO2 can be saved every year. And the changes can be simple – insulation, energy efficiency, double glazing etc.
Kevin McCloud demonstrated outside the houses of parliament last week by building a sustainable mock house as seen in this video:
The Good Energy Shop is all in favour of regulations on making new buildings more sustainable and energy efficient, but this measure alone is not enough. New buildings only make up a small fraction of the total in the UK, so the real win will be to fix the current heat-leaking, energy-sapping homes already built.
In a similar theme a new site called There, I fixed it, promotes some crazy examples of fixing things instead of throwing them away and buying new. Again there are some hilarious ideas, and some pretty unsafe looking ones at that – Good Energy accepts no responsibility if you try these at home!
Energy Savings Trust release domestic wind energy report The most comprehensive study ever undertaken in the UK has revealed the wind “hotspots” for domestic turbines. The Energy Savings Trust published a report last week that highlights the importance of getting the location right and concluding that in the right circumstances turbines can be highly effective low carbon generators.
The two-year research followed 57 case studies, testing all kinds of turbine from the South West up to northern Scotland. The best case, a 6kW free standing turbine in the Orkney Islands, generated a whopping 22,000 kWh of clean electricity, which equates to a saving (or profit) of £2,800 at average electricity prices.
As we have always said, microgeneration has to be tailored to the conditions. In the worst case, a small turbine mounted on a house in Essex with very low wind speeds, couldn’t even generate enough energy to power its own equipment. This is a case of inappropriate technology and bad location, something we hate to see at the Good Energy Shop. It wouldn’t have happened if the owner had come to us.
But the good news is that the Energy Savings Trust has managed to put a number on the amount of homes suitable for small-scale wind – they reckon it’s around 450,000. That’s not a bad figure for just one technology.
To find out if your home is suitable, they’ve made a very simple form that just needs your postcode and a few other pieces of information. Take a look at their site here.
If your home is suitable then visit our brand new Generate Your Own site here, we have the best range of highly efficient turbines and will guide you through every step of the process. And if the savings aren’t enough, Good Energy also has a scheme that will pay you for the electricity you generate – even if you use it yourself! This pioneering scheme has helped hundreds of people move to low carbon energy at home. Take a look at our homegen schemes here.
Anyone for £100 million? The Carbon Trust has just announced a scheme that will allow small and medium sized businesses (SME) access to £100 million worth of interest free, unsecured loans for energy efficiency. The government loans are to help organisations cut their carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption.
If you are an SME then make the most of this while you can – it’s while stocks last, on a first come, first served basis. You can apply for any amount between £2,000 and £400,000 right here. They’ll be doling out the cash over the next two years.
US College runs efficiency programme and saves $5 million At the risk of sounding like a broken record – saving energy saves money! Here’s a fine example. Ten months ago, the University of Illinois decided to reduce their energy consumption by 10% over the course of a year. They’ve already hit that target and in doing so have pocketed $5 million extra dollars for drinks at the union bar. Oh we joke! The refurbishments have actually cost around the same amount, but the college has already broken even, and is estimating a $1 million a year saving from 2010 onwards.
And how did they do it? Mostly through switching to energy efficient lighting – which we can all do – and with the installation of intelligent energy sensors that control light and heat based on room temperature and number of people in room etc. They upgraded over 40 buildings and re-fitted 80,000 light fittings!
Solar flight challenge Around the world in 25 days, in a solar powered plane. That’s the bold new challenge facing Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard and his Solar Impulse team. They have come up with an innovative and highly impressive solar powered plane to promote renewable technology and its capabilities.
With a wing span of 61m and a very modest weight of 1,500Kg the plane has solar panels lining the top surface of its wings. With sophisticated aerodynamics and advanced computer system to help minimise energy usage, the Solar Impulse aims to show the capability of low impact flying. The panels will charge batteries that will keep the plane in the air at night time.
The first Atlantic crossing is set for 2012 and will be the first manned solar powered plane to date. The entire world trip will take 25 days, which theoretically the plane can do non stop if it weren’t for pilot fatigue. Piccard reckons he and his project counterpart will share the flying in five day stretches. Five day stretches! That sounds pretty tough to us, but perhaps that’s why we’re sitting behind computers and Mr Bertrand is an Adventurer as a career (nobody ever told me that was an option in sixth form!)
The objective is to raise awareness for renewables. Mr Piccard says "The real success for Solar Impulse would be to have enough millions of people following the project, being enthusiastic about it, and saying 'if they managed to do it around the world with renewable energies and energy savings, then we should be able to do it in our daily life'."
Government pamphlet cites energy saving as climate solution The UK government has long been criticised for missing a trick when it comes to educating us citizens on energy efficiency. The likes of the Energy Saving Trust and the Good Energy Shop have been pointing out that the quickest and cheapest way to cut emissions is to stop emitting them! Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well it is…
If you visit the Energy Saving Trust site you’ll be amazed by figures that show, for example, switching our appliances off standby would prevent 240 million tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere annually; If everyone in the UK installed just one energy saving light bulb, we'd save enough CO 2 to fill the Albert Hall over 1,200 times etc etc..
Better late than never, Gordon Brown has ordered 20,000 pamphlets to be issued to every public library, school, citizens advice bureau and health centre in the country about simple measures to achieve these savings. The pamphlet drills home that ordinary citizens can make a difference by walking to work, by switching lights off, by hanging clothes out to dry instead of using a tumble dryer.
The efforts are (supposedly) part of a plan to engage the UK’s public with climate issues in the build up to UN talks in Copenhagen at the end of the year. Members of the government are trying, at least in their rhetoric, to position themselves as leaders at the talks and are presumably trying to get the public to buy in now. Why would they need public support? Perhaps because Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband have realised that de-carbonising our economy could cost the taxpayer a lot of money in the coming years. Raising awareness of the issues now will ease the blow.
The pamphlet is pretty good. Would have been better if it had been printed on recycled paper using vegetable inks, and of course, if it hadn’t missed out a vital step in lowering your energy use: visiting the Good Energy Shop to see our wide range of energy saving products!
Microsoft unveils energy management software Microsoft is trying to grab turf back from google with its new search engine, and now its energy management programme Hohm. Their BETA system is being trialled in the States and so far so good, it is proving popular enough to launch in the UK.
The software doesn’t actually use electrical reads but works on your postcode and estimates based on your answers to 180 questions about insulation, lighting, habits etc. It will then give you !”reads”and advice on where you can cut back to save money.
But as the software is not real time energy usage it’s difficult to see the long term value in it. The form filling and energy conservation recommendations that come from it will be useful and probably raise awareness, but after that I can’t really imagine people logging on to find out an estimate of their energy use.
Avoid the form filling and guess work and get yourself a real life, real time energy monitor from the Good Energy Shop. Energy monitors plug directly into your cabling and give you instant reads of what your electricity is actually doing at that time. They are so sensitive you will see when lights go on and off and when people plug their phone in to charge. Having one of these will give constant reminders on energy efficiency, and so will be more effective than logging into microsofts Hohm.
Recycling week 22nd – 28th June Now all the readers of this blog are surely first class recyclists. (Recyclists? Recyclers? I like recyclists more – sounds scientific.) But there’s always room to learn a bit more or exchange ideas. Or, if you have any friends or evil housemates that aren’t as on top of their separated bins as you are forward them a link to this website: http://www.recyclenow.com Because it’s recycling week!
The site is a non intimidating route into rubbish greening and a forum for fresh ideas on what you can do with what. It even has resources for schools and businesses.
While we are at it, here’s another great recycling site: www.recyclethis.co.uk Lets just remember that great as recycling is, it should be the last resort. Reduce, re-use, then recycle (yup it is that way round for a reason!).
Product of the future: Flexible solar roof tiles Yet another advance in solar technology of late. Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a research organisation funded by the US department of Energy, have just unveiled a new type of flexible and weather proof solar panel that can replace standard roof tiles.
What started as an encapsulation process to protect flat screen TVs from moisture damage could well help the development of flexible solar panels. They’ve named this new typ of panel a catchy “Building Integrated Photovoltaics” (BIPVS) – hmm, that’s what happens when you leave marketing to the scientists.
PNNL are collaborating with construction and consultancy companies to make the most of their expertise for getting the units into production in the most efficient way possible. The thin film panels will hopefully reduce the cost of traditional solar dramatically as it doesn’t rely on heavy glass or complicated installations, and they even hope to compete with the Standard US utility rates of 10 cents per kilowatt hour that electricity companies charge. http://www.pnl.gov/topstory.asp?id=376
New electric car hire scheme in London A partnership between Camden Council, Transport for London and Streetcar hire firm is launching an electric car hire scheme, the first of its kind in Europe. As of this week streetcar’s 55,000 members will have access to converted Toyota Prius’ that can get as much as 100mpg efficiency!
Another green ideas competition We mentioned last week that Yahoo are running a competition for green ideas, with a prize of $25,000. Well here’s something to top that: The Postcode Lottery Green Chellenge is running a similar competition and this time you can win €500,000! Don’t tell them, but we reckon you can get away with submitting the same idea to both!
“We're looking for products and services that contribute to an eco-friendly lifestyle, directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and score highly on convenience, quality and design. Take the challenge and act now!”
DIY vertical access wind turbine We always keep an eye on what our Eco-DIY husband and wife mad duo at Green Power Science are up to, and this week they’ve made a video on how to make your own vertical access wind turbine.
Here’s a chance for you to get some Good Energy flowing through your brains. We know you’re full of good ideas because you read this blog, so get working, get typing and get winning this competition to find green ideas to save the world. It’s sponsored by Yahoo, who’re asking for the most original ideas for climate solutions which they’ll help turn into real-life products.
Remember
Mufti days at school? They were always more fun. Well we don’t have a
uniform here at GE (beards and sandals aren’t compulsory) so we imposed
a green dress code for the day to mark the occasion. The money raised
was donated to our partner the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. We had a really interesting chat with their Head of Biochemistry Bill Jenman, who came to visit and give us the low down. Take a look at their site to see what great projects they have got running…
The
day was also a perfect time to launch our all new Green Team who head
up environmental initiatives in the office. As you can imagine, we’re
already pretty good, but there’s always room for improvement. We ran a
competition for the best low-cost eco-ideas and as a result are
starting up a swap shop in the building for clothes and furniture etc,
along with a plastic bag recycling scheme.
No special day at
Good Energy would be complete without a cake. So we had a competition
to see who could bake the tastiest and most eco-friendly cake – out of
organic local produce, natch. The taste off was a tough job, but
someone had to do it.
The winner was David Hodges for this beauty….
What talent!
We
all had loads of fun ... it was a good way of reminding us why we work
for Good Energy and a chance to step back and think about the big
picture.
