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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
Welsh ease planning rules for renewable energy
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th August 2009 at 9:40 am
Welsh planning rules for domestic renewable energy installations have been changed to make it easier for homeowners to generate their own heat and electricity. Following Scotland's lead, the Welsh Assembly has announced new regulations which mean that some microgeneration technologies will no lon…
Posted in: General, Biomass, Combined heat & power, Heat pumps, Hydro electricity, Rainwater harvesting, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines
Prices vary hugely between renewable energy installers
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 27th November 2009 at 11:17 am
Prices for renewable energy installations vary wildly, making buying decisions difficult for homeowners, according to Power from the People, a new study by researchers at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. In addition, there is little correlation between price and the generation …
Posted in: General, Biomass, Heat pumps, Rainwater harvesting, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines
Five energy sources for heat pumps
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 10th May 2010 at 10:02 am
A number of energy sources can be used as the heat source for heating buildings. Most commonly, heat pumps draw heat from the air or from the ground. The heat drawn from the ground is, in most cases, stored solar heat, and should not be confused with geothermal heat, though the latter wil…
Posted in: Heat pumps
Heat pumps: 10 things a good installer should ask
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 24th May 2010 at 12:20 pm
Finding an installer for a renewable energy technology should be a straight forward exercise. With all the certification an installer has to meet, such as the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), to enable a client to access grants, the installer has to know what they are talking about and be…
Posted in: Heat pumps
Eco-renovation transforms Devon village hall
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 30th June 2010 at 9:02 am
With thick insulation, ground source heat pumps feeding underfloor heating, and solar panels on the roof to power the heat pump, Branscombe village hall in East Devon must be one of the most energy efficient in the country. However, managing an ambitious project like this wasn't an easy task. It …
Posted in: Energy efficiency, Heat pumps, Solar electricity
Renewable Heat Incentive: yes please, but with changes
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 9th July 2010 at 11:16 am
First let's get something straight. I think the renewable heat incentive (RHI) is a good idea. Rewarding people for their contribution to reducing carbon emissions is great and will stimulate the market. However, in its current form the RHI may not reduce emissions, and due to lack of Government cla…
Posted in: Biomass, Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water
Heat pumps: field trials reveal good and bad installations
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 13th September 2010 at 9:17 am
The good news is that heat pumps can operate well in the UK, as long as they are well-designed and installed, and the customer understands how to use the controls. The bad news is that the Energy Saving Trust’s (EST) field trial of 83 heat pumps found that isn’t always the case. System effici…
Posted in: Heat pumps
Heat pumps: 7 top tips for installers
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 22nd September 2010 at 9:08 am
"Many heat pumps appeared to be installed incorrectly." reports the Energy Saving Trust in its recent report on field trials into 83 installations of air source and ground source heat pumps. This is disheartening news, and we thoroughly endorse its recommendation that guidance to, and training of, i…
Posted in: Heat pumps
Grants will be available for renewable heat as interim measure
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 11th March 2011 at 10:57 am
Domestic installations of renewable heat will be eligible for a grant, while we wait for the full renewable heat incentive scheme to be introduced in October 2012. From July 2011 RHI Premium Payments will be available. These will be a one-off payment to help with installation costs - essent…
Posted in: General
Can heat pumps provide domestic hot water?
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 16th May 2011 at 9:20 am
Can ground source heat pumps provide domestic hot water (DHW)? This is a question which is asked again and again. The answer? Yes, but there are some considerations you need to be aware of: 1. Efficiency. Due to the higher temperature required to generate hot water, the output temperature has to …
Posted in: Heat pumps
Will Renewable Heat Premium Payments kick start the domestic market?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 11th July 2011 at 9:47 am
The government is putting up £15m for the renewable heat premium payments between September (probably) and October 2012 when the domestic version of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is due to start. In essence they are a grant to help with the capital cost of installation; but will they kick sta…
Posted in: General
How to use an air source heat pump to heat your hot water
Posted by John W Lightfoot on 20th July 2011 at 11:32 am
Q: Can you use air source heat pumps for heating domestic hot water? A: If you are reading this and looking for a quick answer, it's yes! For those of you who would like a little more information here we go... Just because you can use a heat pump, should you? Well, of cours…
Posted in: Heat pumps
Renewable Heat Premium Payment rates confirmed - but are they enough to kickstart renewable heat?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st July 2011 at 11:22 am
Capital grants to help with the cost of installing renewable heat technologies will be available from 1 August. Any householder in England, Scotland or Wales can apply for the £300 renewable heat premium payment for solar thermal panels. However, payments for biomass boilers (£950), air sou…
Posted in: Biomass, Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water
'World's first RHI' launch over-shadowed by FITs debacle
Posted by Stewart Boyle on 7th December 2011 at 10:08 am
The long-awaited Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) officially ‘opened for business’ on 28th November. With £864 million available for the cashback scheme to support biomass boilers, solar water heating systems, heat pumps and bio-methane projects, it should have been a day of great celebration…
Posted in: General
How a ground source heat pump works (video)
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 16th January 2012 at 8:15 am
This introduction to how a heat pump works will be of considerable interest to people who are thinking of installing a ground source heat pump at home or at work. Made by Kensa Heat Pumps it is one of a series of short videos aimed at educating installers of ground source heat pumps, or those lookin…
Posted in: Heat pumps
Can I use a compressor to boost my solar hot water?
Posted by Paul Hutchens on 22nd March 2012 at 12:44 pm
Q. I’ve been looking at different websites about solar hot water and you all basically say the same thing, “a supplementary heat source will be needed at some point”. Has anyone thought of using a small compressor in between the collector(s) and the hot water tank to heat the transfer fluid to…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
A cautionary tale of a heat pump gone wrong
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 13th April 2012 at 9:06 am
"Our Peak district farm offers self-catering accommodation in eco-renovated barns," write Paul & Elspeth Walker. "When we recently developed an adjoining building as a venue for courses and public events it was an opportunity to enhance the alternative energy potential of the site. "So in 20…
Posted in: Heat pumps
New MCS heat pump standard should improve performance
Posted by ChrisDavis on 30th April 2012 at 11:11 am
Are you thinking of installing a heat pump? Well there’s good news for householders and businesses in the shape of new standards to improve the performance of heat pump installations. Snappily titled “MIS3005 v3.1a”, the new standard affects all new heat pump systems since 1 March 2012 and …
Posted in: Heat pumps
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