VPhase device save 10% on electricity

The UK electricity distribution network operates at a nominal 230V, although in practice average voltages are more likely to range between 240V and 245V. The VPhase unit manages voltage to a stable level, normally 220V in the UK, regardless of the incoming supply voltage.

The amount of energy saved is device specific, for example: testing by VPhase on fridges and freezers shows 17%, 15% on normal light bulbs and 10% on energy saving light bulbs. One digital cordless phone showed an extraordinary saving of 44%. Savings will vary dependent incoming voltage and individual devices.

Further savings can be made on washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers, televisions and numerous other electrical appliances across the whole house.



VPhase plc is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Eaga Heating Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Eaga plc, for the nationwide supply of the VPhase device that is the smart new way to help homeowners immediately and significantly cut their electricity bills typically by 10%, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy use; all without changing their lifestyle or supplier.

Eaga will be offering to supply and install the VPhase unit for £349 including VAT.

New solar fuel machine 'mimics plant life'

A prototype solar device has been unveiled which mimics plant life, turning the Sun's energy into fuel.

The machine uses the Sun's rays and a metal oxide called ceria to break down carbon dioxide or water into fuels which can be stored and transported.

Conventional photovoltaic panels must use the electricity they generate in situ, and cannot deliver power at night.
If as in the prototype, carbon dioxide and/or water are pumped into the vessel, the ceria will rapidly strip the oxygen from them as it cools, creating hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide.

Hydrogen produced could be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells in cars, for example, while a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be used to create "syngas" for fuel.

It is this harnessing of ceria's properties in the solar reactor which represents the major breakthrough, say the inventors of the device. They also say the metal is readily available, being the most abundant of the "rare-earth" metals.

Methane can be produced using the same machine, they say.

It has been suggested that the device mimics plants, which also use carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to create energy as part of the process of photosynthesis. But Professor Haile thinks the analogy is over-simplistic.

"Yes, the reactor takes in sunlight, we take in carbon dioxide and water and we produce a chemical compound, so in the most generic sense there are these similarities, but I think that's pretty much where the analogy ends."

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Cost of Going Green as Energy Reform Will add £500 a Year to bills

Environmental reforms to the energy market, to be unveiled this week, will result in huge gas and electricity price increases over the next ten years.

Under the changes, householders will have to pay an extra £500 a year by 2020 effectively to subsidise the cost of new nuclear power plants and wind energy.

The Government is also expected to propose capacity payments for low-carbon electricity generation. This would reward companies for making their electricity generation capacity available to the grid, even if it is just as a back-up.

It is also expected to stop the building of new coal-fired power stations unless they are equipped with carbon-capture technology.

These measures will cost money. Britain now pays about £1 billion a year in subsidies for renewable energy, which adds about £80 to a typical household's annual bill.

Energy experts say that propping up nuclear and renewable energy could cost every household more than £500 a year by 2020.


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Cheap Boilers

The Magic Boiler Scheme run by PTS Plumbing was a very successfull promotion and was discontinued over a year ago now.The good news is that it has been replaced and is called Energy Smart and can be found at www.energy-smart.org.uk.