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YouGen Blog
Can you switch energy supplier without it affecting your FiT?
Posted by Sandra Hayes on 11 July 2017 at 12:40 pm
We have recently heard from readers with concerns about how switching energy supplier might affect their Feed in Tariff (FiT) payments. From personal experience I can confirm that this is not an issue, although it might help to explain why this is the case. Firstly, everyone receiving FiT pay…
Carbon Coop leads the way to new models of retrofitting
Posted by Károly Gergely on 7 July 2017 at 11:30 am
Community Green Deal, a project by Manchester-based social enterprise, Carbon Coop has provided useful learning in three areas: technical, social and business-models. A summary of the report can be found here and the full report here. Our Community Green Deal project ran f…
UK renewable energy industry breaks another record! A look at other achievements across the world
Posted by Shanics Olton on 5 July 2017 at 4:35 pm
Despite lower wind speeds and less rainfall than in 2016, from January to March this year renewable energy contributed a record breaking 26% of the total electricity generated in the UK. Onshore wind accounted for the biggest increase from 6.4 TWh to 7.7 TWh with bioenergy, offshore wind, hydro a…
Should cogeneration be considered a green energy technology?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 22 June 2017 at 3:01 pm
We consume energy in two main ways, as electricity and as heat. These are produced, distributed and used in very different ways. Most electricity is generated by centralised power stations, with a relatively small fraction being produced at the point of use. It is then distributed, potentially ov…
Why buy a hybrid inverter for your solar PV system?
Posted by Aderanti Kudehinbu on 21 June 2017 at 9:45 am
The initial cost of a hybrid inverter is quite high, but this is offset by the ability to use your generated power more flexibly, rather than having to buy energy from the grid when the solar panel isn’t generating. Hybrid inverters have proven reliability across various grid types. Modern …
Condensation and ventilation: preventing damp in your home
Posted by Anna Carlini on 20 June 2017 at 4:50 pm
Ventilation is a surprisingly important element in keeping your heating bills down. How? Because a home that can’t “breathe” is one which traps moisture on the inside and causes damp. Even if a home has high levels of insulation, a damp wall can lose up to 40% more heat than a d…
Greener than most by leaving a lighter footprint
Posted by Chloe Lloyd on 19 June 2017 at 3:01 pm
Have you ever considered the carbon footprint of a funeral? You may be thinking this is a bit of morbid topic for a YouGen blog, but believe it or not 0.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to a variety of modern day funeral methods. Although the environmental impact is likely to be the …
How do you assess the efficiency of a ground source heat pump?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 13 June 2017 at 10:57 am
Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) extract heat from the ground, and use it to produce hot water. The temperature in the subsurface remains around 11-12oC throughout the year [1]. By burying pipes just a few metres below the ground you can take advantage of this readily available supply of thermal e…
Solar Chimneys: Passive solar ventilation and electricity generation.
Posted by Alex Barrett on 7 June 2017 at 3:15 pm
The solar chimney is designed to harness the fact that hot air rises, providing passive ventilation for a building. A solar chimney can be used to cool a house during warm weather, and generate heat during cold times of the year. There have also been efforts to build industrial scale solar chimne…
What does biomass boiler maintenance involve?
Posted by Trish O'Flynn on 31 May 2017 at 11:50 am
If you are thinking of installing a biomass boiler, I'm sure you are thinking of how (and when) the boiler will be maintained. In the video below, SuperHomer Mark Brown tells us about the operation and maintenance of the KWB Easyfire wood pellet boiler fitted in 2009 in the five bedr…
Exciting battery storage trial for Milton Keynes estate residents
Posted by Chloe Lloyd on 30 May 2017 at 10:40 am
Everybody loves a freebie right? Especially when it involves sustainable energy. Western Power Distribution’s (WPD) Low Voltage (LV) Connect and Manage project is currently offering a free trial to residents in Furzton, Milton Keynes to help develop battery power technologies. Some hous…
M & S Community Energy Fund applications now open!
Posted by Chloe Lloyd on 25 May 2017 at 10:30 am
Last year we were able to bring you the good news of the Marks and Spencer Community Energy Fund and we’re happy to announce that for the third year running, the competition is back with a share of £300,000 for local community groups. Funding is available to support renewable energy p…
A giant gain for wind power: World's biggest wind turbines go online near Liverpool
Posted by Richard Vale on 24 May 2017 at 9:51 am
On a momentous day for renewable technology, the biggest and most powerful wind turbines in the world have begun generating electricity off the Liverpool coast. Dong Energy, from Denmark, has installed 32 turbines in Liverpool Bay, each standing at an impressive 195m tall. To put this into pe…
Urban permaculture: farms in the city
Posted by Anna Carlini on 23 May 2017 at 12:21 pm
“You can solve all the world's problems in a garden.” ― Geoff Lawton Perhaps not completely, but it is certainly a good place to start. The ingredients in our meals travel thousands of miles just to get on to our plates. Our cities are physically and mentally…
What are the financial pros and cons of a biomass boiler?
Posted by Trish O'Flynn on 17 May 2017 at 4:55 pm
The environmental case for biomass is unquestionable - we can grow more of it, unlike oil, gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). But what about the cost of a biomass boiler? The price of installation, fuel and maintenance are important considerations when choosing a new boiler. In this v…
What plumbing does a biomass boiler need?
Posted by Trish O'Flynn on 10 May 2017 at 2:33 pm
Thinking of installing a biomass boiler? Have you considered the plumbing involved with this? In the video below, SuperHomer Mark Brown shows us the plumbing and 500 litre buffer tank installed for his wood pellet boiler. Mark chose this biomass boiler for the five bedroom house in South Buck…
Are Infrared panel heaters a good way to heat a room?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 9 May 2017 at 2:50 pm
Infrared panel heaters are a relatively new way to heat your house. They work very differently to radiators, and have some advantages when it comes to energy efficiency. Infrared panel heaters use radiation to heat the room instead of convection. This means that they deliver heat directly to …
How green is Hydroelectricity?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 5 May 2017 at 4:24 pm
Large hydropower schemes account for the majority of the world’s renewable energy supply. Unlike wind and solar, hydroelectricity can provide a constant stream of renewable power, regardless of the weather or the time of year. Hydroelectric dams can be used to store power, and can quickly b…
Is it true that people in passive houses roast in summer?
Posted by Joanne Spurrell on 2 May 2017 at 2:45 pm
Passive House is a voluntary energy performance standard that results in buildings that are extremely airtight and have good levels of insulation. In such buildings, little energy is required for space heating and cooling so you can do away with conventional heating systems. But this begs the que…
Are sunnier days always the best for solar PV generation?
Posted by James Page on 28 April 2017 at 11:35 am
People often remark that solar panels do not need a sunny day to generate. Turns out a cloudy day can sometimes generate more than a sunny one. Three years ago, JoJu Solar installed a 10kW flat roof system on Artsadmin in Central London. It was the first project with panels facing East and We…
