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Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th December 2008 at 5:29 pm
This is a great week for YouGen to go live, as renewable energy is high on the international agenda. On Tuesday EU leaders agreed that a fifth of Europe’s energy mix should come from renewable sources by 2020. Politicians and green campaigners alike welcomed the decision (“a ray of hope admidst …
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Government fails to lead on energy efficiency
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 23rd December 2008 at 2:36 pm
Energy efficiency is the main way that we can cut carbon emissions fast (also saving us money while we stay cosy and warm). So it's a big disappointment to read in this morning's Guardian that, despite the government's ambitious plans and positive rhetoric, energy efficiency in public buildings is d…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Microgeneration high among Tory proposals
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st January 2009 at 9:07 am
Large scale use of renewables are part of the Conservative party's plans for a low carbon economy published last week. With a feed-in tariff, they hope homes, businesses, schools and hospitals will contribute the electricity they produce into the national grid, earning money in the process. To m…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Monbiot launches war on Agas
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 13th January 2009 at 10:34 am
Agas are the antithesis of energy efficiency and renewable energy, so when I heard on the Today programme this morning that George Monbiot has launched a war on Agas in today's Guardian a lightbulb pinged on. Why didn't I use Agas as the ultimate example of the heart winning over head in yester…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Great British Refurb gets the thumbs up
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st April 2009 at 2:34 pm
Generating your own renewable energy, increased energy efficiency and whole-house eco-makeovers received the thumbs up from the UK public yesterday, according to new research. The survey aimed to establish what is needed for the public to take action to install renewable energy and generation and en…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Building a new home?
Posted by Barry Nutley on 23rd March 2009 at 8:57 am
Houses are being built, even during these hard, economic times, in particular in the self-build market. These homes tend to be more bespoke, and often the client wants them to achieve higher standards of energy efficiency. So I have put together a brief summary of how rainwater harvesting can help. …
Posted in: Rainwater harvesting
YouGen community starts here
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 27th April 2009 at 9:52 am
Last week a dream became reality for me. Three and a half years after I threw my hands in the air and bought a condensing gas boiler because, despite days of research, I couldn't be sure whether the various biomass boilers suppliers were trying to sell me were appropriate for my house; whether there…
Posted in: General
Kevin McCloud champions energy efficiency
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 29th April 2009 at 8:03 pm
Self-build guru Kevin McCloud has added his weight to the call for more energy efficient homes, with the launch of the Grand Designs Great British Refurb campaign. While we know and love him for bringing the ups and downs of building a dream home into our living rooms, Kevin is focusing firmly on ex…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Breakthrough ideas for sustainability
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 6th July 2009 at 10:26 am
Energy efficiency and renewable energy ideas featured heavily in the 19 breakthrough ways to transform the UK into a sustainable society launched by the Sustainable Development Commission last week. In the normal deluge of doom and gloom (and Andy Murray being knocked out of Wimbledon) it made a nic…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Pioneering renewable energy finance scheme wins award
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th July 2009 at 8:50 am
Loan schemes and finance for energy efficiency or renewable energy schemes are thin on the ground, so it's always good to hear about a new one. It's especially good to hear about a pioneering new approach that has the potential to be replicated around the country. I recently wrote about Kirklees…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Old homes can be energy efficient: visit a superhome and be inspired
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 27th July 2009 at 9:08 am
Old homes tend to be the worst offenders when it comes to leaking hot air out into the atmosphere. This means higher than average energy bills, and correspondingly high carbon emissions. Often labelled 'hard to treat', older homes can be more complicated when it comes to installing energy eff…
Posted in: Energy efficiency, Heat pumps, Rainwater harvesting, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Warm Front leaves many households cold
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 26th August 2009 at 2:29 pm
The Warm Front scheme may be failing the poorest and most vulnerable households according to a report from the Public Accounts Committee published last month. Warm Front is meant to improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty through installing heating and insulation in eligible house…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Whole house approach to energy efficiency needed
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th October 2009 at 4:32 pm
Government must make a major shift in policy to transform the energy efficiency of our residential housing stock according to the Committee on Climate Change's first annual report. A whole house, street by street approach in which households are offered an energy audit, with a follow up pac…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
The case for secondary double glazing
Posted by Tim Pullen on 21st August 2009 at 12:08 pm
I recently helped a lady refurbishing a typical 1960s three-bedroom semi with energy efficiency issues. A quick heat loss calculation gave a peak heat load of 8.5kW which should have equated to a use of about 10,000kWh of gas per year. Her actual gas consumption was 15,000kWh p.a. which was used…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Scots pilot loan scheme for energy efficiency
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th October 2009 at 9:43 am
Homeowners in Scotland can apply for interest free loans to improve their insulation, replace inefficient boilers or install small scale renewables thanks to a new government pilot scheme. The £2m Energy Saving Scotland home loans scheme is being administered by the Energy Saving Trust in Scotla…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Energy: out of sight, out of mind?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th October 2009 at 10:17 am
This week is Energy Saving Week, so it seems as good a time as any to think about energy and what it means to us. Despite the constant calls on us to be more energy efficient, the reality for most people is that we know next to nothing about our energy consumption. Most of us have a grasp of how …
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
How to find the best energy efficiency information and advice for your home
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 29th January 2010 at 9:24 am
Making your home as energy efficient as possible makes sense for many reasons. Whether it's keeping warm, reducing bills or reducing carbon pollution emitted. YouGen is a first resource for many householders, but it's worth looking at where else you can go for help and advice on energy ef…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
500 households to try Pay As You Save schemes
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 1st February 2010 at 8:53 am
Talk on how to finance making your house more energy efficient has turned to action - that's the good news. The bad news is that it's a small scheme that will only reach about 500 households in five areas of England between December 2009 and April 2011. Households in Birmingham, Sunderland, Londo…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency a priority for M&S home insurance
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th February 2010 at 9:41 am
Recently I asked whether renewable energy affects your house insurance. In the twittering that followed the blog's publication I discovered a home insurance policy that stands out from the crowd for the approach it takes to energy efficiency. Ever since Stuart Rose announced its Plan A, M&S h…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency a priority: call to politicians
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 2nd March 2010 at 10:05 am
Companies and NGOs set a benchmark to measure energy efficiency policy against with the release of an energy efficiency statement yesterday. Signatories included Cooperative Group, Friends of the Earth, Green Building Council, Marks & Spencer, the TUC and YouGen. The statement said: We are fa…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
5 tips on choosing a home energy advisor
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 8th March 2010 at 9:35 am
Every home is different so a visit from a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) or Home Energy Advisor is the best way to get energy efficiency advice. However, choosing the right advisor can be a challenge. A DEA can provide the same energy audit that is legally required if you are selling or l…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
How much loft insulation is enough?
Posted by Tim Pullen on 19th April 2010 at 10:22 am
Everyone understands the need to insulate the loft but few people know how much is enough. The loft is second only to the walls in terms of the proportion of the heat lost at 25%, but it is by far the easiest to deal with. I often get told that the house is “super-insulated” as …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
The future of home energy advice
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 30th April 2010 at 9:16 am
Regulation of Home Energy Advisers (HEAs) is one of the recommendations of a recent strategy report from the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes has recommended. In addition, strategy document Warm homes, greener homes identified a need for well qualified, regulated HEAs to advise and encou…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency is focus of the Coalition's Green Deal
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 25th June 2010 at 9:09 am
Domestic insulation is top of Chris Huhne's plans for A Green Deal for housing he said yesterday at the Economist UK Energy Summit. He also touched on the (much awaited) renewable heat incentive as he revealed measures in the pipeline from the self-acclaimed "greenest government ever". To summarise…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Can Greg Barker, and his Green Deal, make insulation sexy?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th July 2010 at 10:56 am
Energy efficiency has been the poor relation of British energy policy, according to Greg Barker, minister for climate change in the coalition government. Speaking in the debate on energy efficiency on 30 June, he outlined how he plans to raise its status. He will: 1. Introduce t…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Get ready for winter: make your house cosy
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 5th November 2010 at 9:40 am
Last winter was one of shivering on the sofa, extra jumpers, and exorbitant heating bills. If you haven't already done anything to make your house a bit cosier, and warmer for winter, now's the time to get on and do it. The great news is that there are lots of small, practical and cheap things t…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Win a GEO Minim energy meter
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 23rd November 2010 at 11:37 am
What's the best energy efficiency measure you've taken at home. It may be the one that saved you the most off your heating bills, or the easy, quick fix that blocks off the draught that used to howl around your ankles while you watched TV. Or maybe it's the ingenious bodge job, that didn't cost you …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Finance for energy efficiency: how the green deal will work
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 17th December 2010 at 10:10 am
More detail about the Green Deal - the government's plan to encourage us all to make our homes and offices energy efficient - were revealed in the Energy Bill earlier this month. In essence this is a mechanism to enable people to make improvements without having to bear the up-front cost. The 'go…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Energy grant of £1,000 available for community buildings in the south west
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th February 2011 at 3:28 pm
Grants of £1,000 are still available for community groups across the South West of England and South and West Wales, who are looking to reduce their energy use. The Western Power Distribution Community Chest is open to all eligible groups (although applications from Cornwall and Wales are partic…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Radiator reflectors: are they worth the trouble?
Posted by Tim Pullen on 18th May 2011 at 9:31 am
Like a lot of things in improving energy efficiency, radiator reflectors can devolve into a complex argument. For example, radiators are not actually radiators. They are also convectors and conductors. And radiator reflectors only deal with the radiant heat. A single panel radiator will have 50%…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
EPCs should make financial benefits clearer says Consumer Focus
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 30th June 2011 at 12:08 pm
Clarity, credibility and comparability are key if EPCs are to be meaningful for consumers, and lead to them increasing the energy efficiency of their home, according to a new report from Consumer Focus. Published today, Easy as EPC looks at the content and format of the Energy Performance Certificat…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Choosing a Wood Pellet Stove: Five things to look for
Posted by HETAS on 5th July 2011 at 9:28 am
For many, fireplaces are the embodiment of the British household, with the hearth taking pride of place in the home. With the advent of climate change awareness, people are looking to reinstate period features such as these, whilst using an appliance that is efficient, economical and environmental.&…
Posted in: Biomass
Ashden Awards winner lists ways to increase uptake of retrofit
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 18th July 2011 at 10:20 am
Hampshire-based Radian housing association won the Gold at this year's Ashden Awards, for an ambitious and innovative programme of retrofitting hard-to-treat homes and building eco-homes that far exceed the current minimum standards for energy efficiency. Paul Ciniglio, Radian's sustainability a…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Incentives, education and more power to the consumer are the way forward for successful energy efficiency retrofit
Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 27th July 2011 at 9:45 am
I was astonished to discover today that I last blogged about Retrofit for the Future over 18 months ago, in October 2009, when I was optimistic about the scheme and the way it seemed to be mobilising the whole sector to think about innovation and change. Since then Encraft has been lucky enough t…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
How to maintain and service your ground source heat pump
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 3rd August 2011 at 9:03 am
The Government's microgeneration strategy states: "More work is required on understanding the durability of microgeneration installations, including their key components. We want consumers to be aware, at least in general terms, of the minimum requirements for aftercare service and maintenance for e…
Posted in: Heat pumps
House buyer's & renter's guide to reading an Energy Performance Certificate (part 1)
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 26th August 2011 at 9:30 am
This is a detailed house-buyers / renters guide to reading an energy performance certificate (EPC). It covers what you should look for and what it all means. This first part, of two, looks at some first impressions, and how to read page one. Why is it important to me? People are sometimes…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Auto control enables use of solar PV for immersion heater
Posted by Chris Rudge on 16th September 2011 at 10:38 am
Chris's previous article on how to use excess solar generated electricity in the home generated so much interest that he has written a follow up that goes into more detail about about the control he has built to use solar-generated electricity to heat water. One of the side issues of the Feed…
Posted in: Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
How SAP ratings are used to measure the annual efficiency of a biomass boiler
Posted by HETAS on 23rd September 2011 at 10:15 am
Q: I understand that biomass boilers come with SAP ratings to measure annual efficiency. Please can you explain what an SAP rating is and how effective it is as a measure of efficiency. A: What is SAP? Standard Assessment Procedure (more commonly known as SAP), is a home energy rating that i…
Posted in: Biomass
Can solar panels improve the efficiency of your ground source heat pump?
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 3rd October 2011 at 5:05 am
There is a growing interest in using solar panels to deposit heat within the ground during the summer periods and then using a ground source heat pump to extract this deposited heat during the winter. These systems are commonly called inter-seasonal storage systems and can usually be classed as:- …
Posted in: Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water
Solar PV tiles: the pros and cons explained
Posted by Paul Hutchens on 14th October 2011 at 9:06 am
Q: We are currently in the planning process to build our own house and have lots of questions regarding the use of solar roof tiles. 1. Do you generate as much electricity with these roof tiles with the equivalent amount of panel space ? 2. I have noticed you can have panels that heat water an…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity
Can wooden doors be as energy efficient as uPVC?
Posted by Tim Pullen on 27th June 2011 at 10:05 am
Q: I need to fit a new back door and want to make it as energy efficient as possible, but my carpenter seems a bit ignorant about what is the best way to go about this. I want to install a wooden door, not uPVC. Should I fit a sill? Or will it rot? It will sit on concrete. Or is one of those brush …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
The Green Deal explained
Posted by Adrian Wright on 17th October 2011 at 3:23 am
Any home or business in Britain will be able to carry out a full energy efficiency refurbishment of their property and fund it through a loan of up to 25 years from October 2012. Under the Green Deal, the loan will be lodged against the property (not the occupier). Repayments will be added to the p…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Keep warm; spend less
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 24th October 2011 at 5:28 am
Being cold is miserable. Yet, as energy prices rocket, lots of people will be cold this winter. The dominant narrative about how to get round this focuses on knocking the big six energy companies, and urges us to swap supplier to find a lower price. While I don't argue with this, it's also a grea…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
How to bring sunlight into a dark room
Posted by Tim Pullen on 28th October 2011 at 8:51 am
Q: Are solar tubes a good idea? A: Solar tubes – also known as sun pipes, sun tunnels or light pipes – could also be called remote windows (but they are not). They are a way of bringing daylight to rooms or spaces with no natural lighting. They consist of a light collector – essential…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
My top five energy saving tips
Posted by Adrian Wright on 3rd November 2011 at 3:03 am
1) Insulate!! Insulation is a no brainer. Why allow all of that expensive heat to escape through your walls and roof when you can receive grant funding from energy suppliers to have your home professionally insulated? Enact Energy can now do this for you completely free of charg…
Posted in: Energy efficiency, Solar electricity
Solar Thermal - a guide to life expectancy and maintenance
Posted by Gabriel Wondrausch on 7th November 2011 at 4:15 am
The UK will see a huge increase in solar hot water (solar thermal) installations, with the recent announcement on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). When you’re investing in a new technology, you want to be sure that it’s going to be reliable and not over-costly in terms of maintenance and repa…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
Do I need to clean my solar panels to maintain efficiency?
Posted by Chris Rudge on 17th November 2011 at 7:33 am
Q: Research seems to suggest that solar PV panels are not especially durable and suffer from failure. Even if they lasted 25 years of time (and I have not seen one company offering the domestic user anything like that length of guarantee), I have read that they deteriorate in efficiency and nee…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Products are more energy efficient, yet household electricity use is going up
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st November 2011 at 10:20 am
Despite buying more energy-efficient products than ever before, energy use in the home is on the rise. This is because we are using more gadgets than we used to, and we are using them differently. In a new report, The Elephant in the Living Room, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) points out that: "w…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Reducing your energy bills: how to find efficient appliances
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 23rd November 2011 at 9:20 am
How we buy and use electrical appliances in the home has a significant impact on how much electricity we consume - and thus, how high our bills are. So how do we make sure that we buy the most efficient appliance for our needs? With difficulty, it seems, according to The Elephant in the Living Ro…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Homebuyer & sellers' guide to reading an EPC: part 2
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 25th November 2011 at 10:30 am
Energy performance certificate (EPC) gives information that can be very helpful to both homebuyers and homesellers, but only if you know what to do with it. This article should be read in conjunction with previous guides to reading page one of the EPC for the buyers and renters, and for sellers. I w…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
£30m of new funding for energy efficiency in communities and public sector
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th December 2011 at 9:13 am
The good news: there's £10m worth of funding for local communities to use to assess the potential for energy efficiency and local renewable energy generation. The bad news is that the deadlines for applications are tight, and the work must be finished by the end of March 2012. There is also £20…
Posted in: General
Solar is not just about the feed-in tariffs
Posted by Paul Hutchens on 9th December 2011 at 9:57 am
There has been much talk and debate about solar panels recently; most of it about solar PV and the Feed-in Tariffs (FIT). However, there is another game in town and it is potentially far larger than solar PV. Space and water heating in buildings accounts for nearly 70% of the energy consumed by the…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
Freezers: out of sight, out of mind, and eating electricity
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th December 2011 at 9:49 am
'Now here is a serious energy saver,' writes David Ham, one of our shortlisted contributors. 'For years we have run without question - out of sight out of mind - two modestly sized freezers purchased probably 15 years ago. Over the summer with no heating on I questioned why our utility room always …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Secondary glazing for sash windows cuts cost and increases comfort
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th December 2011 at 9:55 am
'I bought my existing house in 2009 and, although the walls had been well insulated in 1994 by the developer with 100mm expanded polystyrene fitted between the studs, there were improvements that could be made,' writes Brian John Griffiths, one of our shortlisted contributors. 'Firstly, I topped …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Does cavity wall insulation cause damp & condensation?
Posted by Tim Pullen on 19th December 2011 at 3:58 pm
Q: I am considering having cavity wall insulation but have read that it can cause damp and condensation. Would be interested in your views. A: Cavity wall insulation is a great idea if you have a clean cavity. It is true that filling the cavity with insulation can cause damp and this is usually…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Using range cookers and wood burning stoves with a back boiler to heat your home
Posted by HETAS on 4th January 2012 at 11:29 am
There are several ways of using biomass to heat the home. I recently blogged about independent biomass boilers that run on pellets, wood chip and logs. However, there are two other noteworthy ways of using a biomass fuel source in conjunction with a central heating system. Although these appli…
Posted in: Biomass
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