Generating my own electricity

Renewable energy grants still available

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th January 2009 at 9:23 am

Homeowners who want to install energy generating equipment such as solar panels, wind turbines or biomass boilers will be able to apply for grants until June 2010. It is anticipated that a feed-in tariff should be in place by then, which will incentivise homeowners and communities to invest in micro…

Posted in: General

Bring some heart into renewable energy

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th January 2009 at 4:31 pm

I’m fascinated by the psychology of how we spend money. Is it our heads or our hearts that rule? While we probably like to think of ourselves as rational, logical human beings – and we even sometimes spend lots of time researching things to back up our beliefs – my feeling is that the he…

Posted in: General

Wind power: accessible yet frustrating

Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 8th January 2009 at 1:57 pm

Wind power is one of the most accessible and yet frustrating renewable technologies. It is accessible because it’s relatively easy to install, cheaper than many other renewables at small scale; you can buy it at any size from laptop to leviathan; it produces electricity – which is a very fl…

Posted in: Wind turbines

Five ways to recognise a solar shark ... and make sure they don’t eat you

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 19th December 2008 at 10:51 am

It used to be double glazing that was renowned for dodgy salesman. Now some of the techniques they used are being kept alive by companies selling solar thermal panels, heat pumps and wind turbines. The BBC and the Mail on Sunday are just two of the media who have been watching out for fins. The…

Posted in: Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines

Maldives to be powered by wind and solar

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th March 2009 at 10:35 am

The President of the Maldives has set an example for the world by announcing that his country will be carbon-neutral within a decade. Half a square kilometre of rooftop solar panels, 155 large wind turbines and a biomass plant burning coconut husks will generate the electricity the island country ne…

Posted in: General, Biomass, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Support for microgenerators increased this month

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 20th April 2009 at 8:42 am

Financial incentives for people generating electricity with photovoltaic solar panels (PV) are provided though the system of renewable obligations certificates, (commonly referred to as ROCs). All electricity providers have to buy these certificates each year, in proportion to the amount o…

Posted in: Combined heat & power, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

What size and type of turbine is most suitable for my site?

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 26th June 2009 at 10:28 am

Choosing the best wind turbine for your site will depend on a number of factors. The first thing is to determine if you have enough wind. A national database of wind speeds is available and will give you an indication of the wind speed at your home. This can be accessed fr…

Posted in: Wind turbines

What the renewable energy strategy and low carbon transition plan mean for your home

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th July 2009 at 3:01 pm

Households are expected to make cuts in their carbon emissions of 29% by 2020 according to the Government's Low Carbon Transition Plan, announced by Ed Miliband last week (houses currently emit more than a third of the UK's carbon). This will be done through a combination of cutting the amount o…

Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Feed-in tariffs are not fair to renewable energy pioneers

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th August 2009 at 9:17 am

Renewable energy pioneers have been dealt a dismal hand by DECC's proposed rates for the feed-in tariff. Existing microgenerators (whose installation has been accredited under the Renewable Obligation) will be automatically transferred to the feed-in tariff on a rate of 9p per kWh (kilowatt hours)…

Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Off-grid versus on-grid microgeneration in practice

Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 17th August 2009 at 11:57 am

I really needed a holiday this year. So when we arrived at the holiday cottage we had rented in Orkney and saw the 6kW wind turbine outside my heart sank a little. We had accidentally opted for two weeks of off-grid existence – and slightly dodgily designed off-grid existence at that – with only…

Posted in: General, Wind turbines

Wind turbines: is vertical or horizontal best?

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 24th August 2009 at 12:05 pm

There are two main categories of small wind turbines you will see as you travel around the UK today. Horizontal axis turbines look like traditional wind turbines and typically have two or three blades. Vertical axis turbines come in a number of designs, a spiral or some paddles blowing around in the…

Posted in: Wind turbines

Are roof mounted turbines any good?

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 24th September 2009 at 10:43 am

Roof-mounted turbines were very popular a year ago or two. However, over the last few months a couple of reports have been published that suggest building-mounted turbines may not deliver as much electricity as hoped. One of the major manufacturers has just closed and stopped supplying turbines to …

Posted in: Solar heat & hot water

Island grid increases energy security aspect of microgeneration

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th September 2009 at 10:04 am

Security of electricity supply is one of the main reasons that people install their own solar panels or wind turbine. However, a system that is connected to the national grid currently doesn't afford total control. The benefit of grid connection is that you can sell any excess you generate to the…

Posted in: Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Learn how to generate your own electricity

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th October 2009 at 2:19 pm

Wind farms - you either love them or you loathe them. I'm on the side of love. Ever since the first time I drove down the A395 in Cornwall, and they loomed, eerie and magnificent in the bleak dusk, I've been a wind turbine fan. So I'm excited to hear about Good Energy's Power from the People day …

Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Wind power without the guesswork

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 10th June 2009 at 11:01 am

Measuring wind power to see whether it makes sense to get a wind turbine has, until now, been either expensive or inaccurate. Now with the launch of the Power Predictor, it’s possible to take the risk out of what is a significant investment. The device is the invention of Toby Hammond, managing…

Posted in: Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines

Act now if you want to measure wind speed

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 29th October 2009 at 11:45 am

Measuring the wind speed on your potential site is the only sure fire way of knowing how good an investment a wind turbine will be as regular readers of the YouGen renewable energy blog will know. Until recently this wasn't either cheap or easy, but that changed earlier this year with the l…

Posted in: Wind turbines

How noisy are wind turbines really?

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 2nd November 2009 at 9:50 am

When discussing noise and wind turbines it is important to be clear what size of turbine you are thinking about. The noise from large, commercial wind turbines is very different to that generated by smaller turbines installed at homes, offices and schools. The rotors on smaller turbines rotate much…

Posted in: Wind turbines

Learn how to build your own wind turbine

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 9th November 2009 at 8:22 am

As a nation of DIY fanatics it's surprising that more of us aren't getting out there and building our own renewable energy. Given the rapid increase in energy prices this century, and that DIY solar hot water kits and courses are popular in Austria and Germany, I'd expect more people to be doing it.…

Posted in: 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

Can you heat a house with a wind turbine?

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 18th December 2009 at 9:39 am

A reader has asked if it is possible to heat a house with a wind turbine. The simple answer is that it is possible, but it's unlikely to be the best solution. Heating demand depends on the construction of the home and the weather. A home requiring a 13kW boiler will need a maximum of 13 x 24 kWh …

Posted in: Wind turbines

Public wants ambitious support for microgeneration

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th January 2010 at 9:32 am

Renewable energy in homes, communities and businesses got a public vote of confidence this week, but needs ambitious goals and support from government to succeed. A new survey found that people are prepared to pay higher energy bills to support a stronger feed-in tariff. Two thirds of the pop…

Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Wind power trial results published

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 15th July 2009 at 9:41 am

The results of the Energy Savings Trust wind trial were published this week. This trial monitored both the performance of building-mounted turbines and turbines mounted on free-standing poles. In line with the previously published Warwick Wind Trials the study concluded that location is the most im…

Posted in: Wind turbines

Feed-in tariff: your questions answered

Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th February 2010 at 12:02 pm

The introduction of the feed-in tariff (known as Clean Energy Cashback scheme) opens a new and exciting era for microgeneration. Here we answer some of the most common questions on the new scheme. If you've got any more, please add a comment below and we'll do our best to answer. The information bel…

Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines

Will shadow flicker affect a wind planning application?

Posted by Graham Eastwick on 26th February 2010 at 10:20 am

In a recent planning application I was asked to comment on shadow flicker for a very small turbine installation. The turbine in question had a rotor diameter of only 1.7 m. Shadow flicker is caused by the blades of a wind turbine passing in front of the sun and causing an effect similar to drivin…

Posted in: Wind turbines