Anne and Peter Watts installed solar panels and an air source heat pump this summer. "It had better work," says Peter, a retired businessman. "I disconnected my oil tank last week, so if it doesn't we're going to freeze this winter."
The Watts say their decision to invest £10,500 on the panels from Jack Elam and £7,700 on the pump from Ardenham Energy was motivated by concern for the environment and about soaring fuel bills.
"Our oil bills were £95 a month - and rising - and I was beginning to worry about how we were going to cope in the future," says Peter.
"I've worked out that even if fuel prices stay the same, the heat pump will have paid for itself in five years and the panels in under 10. It's too early to see how much money we're making from them but on a sunny day our electricity meter goes backwards. It's a wonderful sight."
It is also a rare one in Britain, which generates less renewable energy than most other European countries - a mere 1.3 per cent. Only around 98,000 homes in the UK have some kind of renewable energy source. The Government is consulting on how it is going to meet its EU obligation to raise its renewable figure to 15 per cent by 2020. However, at present there are no plans to top up the £10million pot of grants for homeowners (more than £8.6million has been spent already, so you had better act quickly, especially as British Gas is to raise prices by 35 per cent).
full article
Monday, 11 August 2008
Sunday, 10 August 2008
There's a cool £3bn on offer to insulate you from fuel costs
Thousands of householders who have seen their fuel bills rise could be missing out on money to help them improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
A government initiative, the 'Carbon Emission Reduction Target' (Cert), a home-insulation programme funded by energy companies, was launched in April. Under it, the companies must offer grants to enable householders to make their homes more energy efficient in order to hit carbon emission reduction targets.
Cert spending is expected to reach £3bn over the next three years. Forty per cent of the money has been ring-fenced for the over-seventies and vulnerable households in receipt of qualifying income benefits, but the bulk is aimed at all other householders, and very few have taken it up.
In London, for example, British Gas runs a DIY insulation offer on behalf of the office of Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. It runs until the end of the year and provides DIY loft insulation for £99. There is £50 cashback available once the insulation has been delivered and payment received.
full article
A government initiative, the 'Carbon Emission Reduction Target' (Cert), a home-insulation programme funded by energy companies, was launched in April. Under it, the companies must offer grants to enable householders to make their homes more energy efficient in order to hit carbon emission reduction targets.
Cert spending is expected to reach £3bn over the next three years. Forty per cent of the money has been ring-fenced for the over-seventies and vulnerable households in receipt of qualifying income benefits, but the bulk is aimed at all other householders, and very few have taken it up.
In London, for example, British Gas runs a DIY insulation offer on behalf of the office of Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. It runs until the end of the year and provides DIY loft insulation for £99. There is £50 cashback available once the insulation has been delivered and payment received.
full article
Friday, 8 August 2008
Energy suppliers face anger over price rises
Energy companies are set to impose another round of punishing price increases on consumers, despite a steep slide in the wholesale price of gas.
Scottish Power is among those expected to announce double-digit price rises for its 5.2 million gas and electricity customers in the coming days.
E.ON, npower and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) are also thought to be preparing further rises to household bills.
The increases will be particularly galling for British families already battling with rising mortgage, food and fuel costs, because they follow a sharp fall in wholesale gas prices.
The price of gas for delivery the following day has dropped 32 per cent over the past month, from 69p per therm in early July to close at 47p last night.
Forward gas prices have also fallen. The price of gas for delivery this winter has declined from 104p per therm last month to about 88p per therm.
The decrease has accompanied a near-20per cent drop in the price of crude oil, to which most commercial gas contracts are linked. That touched a high of $147 per barrel on July 11 and is now at about $118.
full article
Scottish Power is among those expected to announce double-digit price rises for its 5.2 million gas and electricity customers in the coming days.
E.ON, npower and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) are also thought to be preparing further rises to household bills.
The increases will be particularly galling for British families already battling with rising mortgage, food and fuel costs, because they follow a sharp fall in wholesale gas prices.
The price of gas for delivery the following day has dropped 32 per cent over the past month, from 69p per therm in early July to close at 47p last night.
Forward gas prices have also fallen. The price of gas for delivery this winter has declined from 104p per therm last month to about 88p per therm.
The decrease has accompanied a near-20per cent drop in the price of crude oil, to which most commercial gas contracts are linked. That touched a high of $147 per barrel on July 11 and is now at about $118.
full article
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Can you still get a `green' fuel deal?
THE GREENEST DEALS
Some tariffs include electricity from 100 per cent renewable sources, and some offset the carbon dioxide emissions from the gas you use.
Confusingly though, when you buy a 100 per cent renewable package, it doesn't guarantee that the company will produce any additional renewable energy. It could simply mean that someone else, on a standard tariff, gets a bit less renewable energy.
Companies that confirm they do not divert renewable energy from other tariffs include Good Energy and Utilita.
Ecotricity's energy is not all renewable, but, for every £1 spent by customers, the company has invested at least £1 in building new wind turbines.
These `darker green' products are among the most expensive, so there is a trade-off between how much you want to spend on fuel and how green you want to be.
GOVERNMENT ACTION
In March 2007, providers only sourced around five per cent of electricity from renewables. The government wants this figure to increase to 20 per cent by 2020. Energy regulator Ofgem is devising a voluntary scheme showing the fuel mix and carbon footprint of fuel tariffs. It hopes to launch it later this year.
full article
Some tariffs include electricity from 100 per cent renewable sources, and some offset the carbon dioxide emissions from the gas you use.
Confusingly though, when you buy a 100 per cent renewable package, it doesn't guarantee that the company will produce any additional renewable energy. It could simply mean that someone else, on a standard tariff, gets a bit less renewable energy.
Companies that confirm they do not divert renewable energy from other tariffs include Good Energy and Utilita.
Ecotricity's energy is not all renewable, but, for every £1 spent by customers, the company has invested at least £1 in building new wind turbines.
These `darker green' products are among the most expensive, so there is a trade-off between how much you want to spend on fuel and how green you want to be.
GOVERNMENT ACTION
In March 2007, providers only sourced around five per cent of electricity from renewables. The government wants this figure to increase to 20 per cent by 2020. Energy regulator Ofgem is devising a voluntary scheme showing the fuel mix and carbon footprint of fuel tariffs. It hopes to launch it later this year.
full article
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