Mike Jones is a sustainability consultant, advising businesses on how to become more environmentally aware and efficient.
Four months ago, Mike, 48, and his wife Jacqueline, 43, switched from Southern Electric to Ecotricity to help reduce their house-hold's carbon footprint. About a third of all energy produced by Ecotricity is renewable and it invests money received from customers in building new sources of energy such as wind farms.
The couple, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, signed up to Ecotricity's New Energy Tariff, providing 'green' energy produced from windfarms, topped up with conventional energy bought elsewhere. Because there is a mix of energy, customers signing up to the New Energy Tariff do not pay a 'green' premium.
Ecotricity also has a zero carbon tariff called New Energy Plus, where households buy 100% of green energy. There is a premium of 0.5p per kwh. Fewer than one% of all households are signed up to green energy tariffs but the number is growing. All of the six major energy providers, including British Gas, Powergen and Scottish and Southern Energy, offer 'green' energy tariffs.
Smaller providers include Green Energy UK and Good Energy. Green Energy will also buy green electricity generated by customers through solar panels, bio-mass – such as pig waste – and wind turbines. Just as tariffs differ, so do the credentials of suppliers. The major suppliers may offer green tariffs, but last year British Gas, npower, ScottishPower and EDF Energy all increased their CO2 emissions.
Helen Loveless
full article
Monday 26 November 2007
Sunday 25 November 2007
UK's worst polluting regions
The Energy Saving Trust (EST) figures reveal the places with the highest emissions per household in the home countries are South Buckinghamshire (England); Orkney Islands (Scotland); Powys (Wales) and County Down (Northern Ireland).
CO2 per household is the lowest in City of London (England); Glasgow (Scotland); Blaenau Gwent (Wales) and Belfast (Northern Ireland).
The results of the survey will be used as a model to target councils and householders at street level and advise them on how to cut their energy use.
The chief executive of the EST, Philip Sellwood, said: "This latest Green Barometer report isn't about singling out local authorities, as each area is unique and has its own challenges and opportunities.
The survey identified 10 different types of family and individuals which it classified according to the amount of energy they used per household, their use of cars and attitudes towards the environment.
The amount of CO2 emissions from individual homes was calculated using energy bills data and then compared with the average for that type of home. Similarly emissions from cars were calculated using car ownership and mileage data and then compared with average use.
Attitudes towards the environment, including concern for environment, recycling, concern about pollution, were compared against average attitudes.
Breakdown of the 10 groups:
1. Environmentally Mature
Rich, affluent couples, living in large detached homes in the suburbs or more rural villages. Big consumers of household and vehicle energy. Well educate people who understood climate change.
2. Comfortable Conservatives
Professional people, comfortable conservatives resistant to change with house and car emissions above average.
3. Discerning Elders
Professional couples on the cusp of retirement. Pride in homes and cars. Large homes and high energy bills and interested in the environment.
4. Ethnic Tradition
Asian families and other ethnic groups living in suburban semi-detached houses or industrial terrace housing. Large, extended families.Limited car ownership and high energy use.
5. Educated Advocates
Mixture of young city centre professionals and educated couples enjoying a city lifestyle. University educated, likely to be sharing a house, transient but moving towards first home purchase. Car ownership low but company cars common. A key target for future.
6. Britain Today, Reflection of 'modern' Britain:
Household and vehicles emissions not high and attitude towards the environment below average. Relatively low potential for reducing CO2 emissions. Mostly suburban couples influenced by middle-market tabloid papers who like makeover shows and gardening programmes.
7. Financially Burdened
Families with high expenditure on everyday living. Stage of life where money is accounted for by mortgage and household bills.
Housing is newer and large, but the demands of a family result in relatively high energy use. Car ownership is average.
8. Environmentally Indifferent
Poorer families and elderly couples living in council or ex-council accommodation in towns and cities. Focus is day-to-day survival and low levels of concern for environment. CO2 emissions and car ownership below average.
9. Driving Dependency
Young sharers or couples living in new houses in private estates, who see the car as the only way to get around.
Cars are a lifeline for work, shopping, or visiting friends and relations. Most households will have two vehicles with one a company vehicle, leading to high mileage. Public transport links in these areas are poor. Current attitudes towards the environment are below average reflecting a 'live for now' attitude. They will become more conscious of surrounding environment and their 'legacy' as they have families. Low household CO2 emissions.
10. Restful Retirement
Elderly couples and widowers who have low energy use. Still living independently or in housing for the elderly.
For those in private housing there is little they can do, or wish to do regarding reducing CO2 emissions. For the independents there is financial motivation to save energy. Car ownership is low relying on public transport or families.
full article
CO2 per household is the lowest in City of London (England); Glasgow (Scotland); Blaenau Gwent (Wales) and Belfast (Northern Ireland).
The results of the survey will be used as a model to target councils and householders at street level and advise them on how to cut their energy use.
The chief executive of the EST, Philip Sellwood, said: "This latest Green Barometer report isn't about singling out local authorities, as each area is unique and has its own challenges and opportunities.
The survey identified 10 different types of family and individuals which it classified according to the amount of energy they used per household, their use of cars and attitudes towards the environment.
The amount of CO2 emissions from individual homes was calculated using energy bills data and then compared with the average for that type of home. Similarly emissions from cars were calculated using car ownership and mileage data and then compared with average use.
Attitudes towards the environment, including concern for environment, recycling, concern about pollution, were compared against average attitudes.
Breakdown of the 10 groups:
1. Environmentally Mature
Rich, affluent couples, living in large detached homes in the suburbs or more rural villages. Big consumers of household and vehicle energy. Well educate people who understood climate change.
2. Comfortable Conservatives
Professional people, comfortable conservatives resistant to change with house and car emissions above average.
3. Discerning Elders
Professional couples on the cusp of retirement. Pride in homes and cars. Large homes and high energy bills and interested in the environment.
4. Ethnic Tradition
Asian families and other ethnic groups living in suburban semi-detached houses or industrial terrace housing. Large, extended families.Limited car ownership and high energy use.
5. Educated Advocates
Mixture of young city centre professionals and educated couples enjoying a city lifestyle. University educated, likely to be sharing a house, transient but moving towards first home purchase. Car ownership low but company cars common. A key target for future.
6. Britain Today, Reflection of 'modern' Britain:
Household and vehicles emissions not high and attitude towards the environment below average. Relatively low potential for reducing CO2 emissions. Mostly suburban couples influenced by middle-market tabloid papers who like makeover shows and gardening programmes.
7. Financially Burdened
Families with high expenditure on everyday living. Stage of life where money is accounted for by mortgage and household bills.
Housing is newer and large, but the demands of a family result in relatively high energy use. Car ownership is average.
8. Environmentally Indifferent
Poorer families and elderly couples living in council or ex-council accommodation in towns and cities. Focus is day-to-day survival and low levels of concern for environment. CO2 emissions and car ownership below average.
9. Driving Dependency
Young sharers or couples living in new houses in private estates, who see the car as the only way to get around.
Cars are a lifeline for work, shopping, or visiting friends and relations. Most households will have two vehicles with one a company vehicle, leading to high mileage. Public transport links in these areas are poor. Current attitudes towards the environment are below average reflecting a 'live for now' attitude. They will become more conscious of surrounding environment and their 'legacy' as they have families. Low household CO2 emissions.
10. Restful Retirement
Elderly couples and widowers who have low energy use. Still living independently or in housing for the elderly.
For those in private housing there is little they can do, or wish to do regarding reducing CO2 emissions. For the independents there is financial motivation to save energy. Car ownership is low relying on public transport or families.
full article
Be nice to your boiler
Is your boiler struggling to cope with the recent cold snap? It might well be if it hasn't been serviced recently. Recent research by the utilities comparison site uSwitch.com suggests that four out of 10 households neglect regular annual servicing of their hot water and heating system. And this could cost you, says Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch. 'If your boiler packs up you are facing a £500 bill, plus the misery of trying to get somebody out quickly to sort it out - not much fun in winter.'
One solution could be to invest in a boiler servicing and repair policy - but shop carefully. Packages vary hugely in terms of price and cover, and some can be very expensive. Josephine Sackett, a retired teacher from Hackney, pays £290 a year to have her 18-year-old Vaillant boiler annually checked and serviced, through a British Gas service contract called HomeCare 200. This includes year-round call-out cover, parts and labour, and central heating repairs. 'On occasions, their service has been rather perfunctory, or inconsistent. Once I was told I needed a new boiler; another time they said it was fine. But when I have had problems, they have come immediately.'
Still, almost £300 a year could be put towards a more efficient boiler. Keith Mathers, group service director at Vaillant, says boilers become more unreliable with age and that Vaillant's own cover is generally not offered once a boiler gets past the 15-year point. 'Otherwise, we charge £168 a year for an annual service contract, which includes parts and labour, with no annual limit on call-outs.'
Which? recently picked through a huge range of boiler service contracts. British Gas, which sells two-thirds of all UK contracts and covers most of the UK, generally came out well, with a wide range of deals, starting from £132 a year, provided you pay the first £50 of each repair. But Which? found the best value cover was offered by Powergen, with cover starting from £108 a year provided you stump up, again, the first £50 of each repair. This cover, however, is not available nationwide.
Or you could simply opt to have your boiler serviced every year and hope for the best. When Cash called several independent installers in London, we found annual service quotes from Corgi-registered engineers ranged from £65 to more than £90.
If your boiler is well and truly past it - most last 15 years - then it certainly is worth replacing it with the now compulsory fuel-efficient condensing type. The Energy Saving Trust reckons this will save you at least £150 a year.
Be careful, though, how much you pay for one. Prices start at £750, and installation can cost as much as £1,300. Tim Wolfenden, head of home services at uSwitch, says: 'Large energy companies might offer what seems a good deal for the boiler but they often recoup their profit with the installation.'
Wolfenden recommends buying a boiler through a wholesaler, or local heating specialist, then hiring a Corgi-registered gas engineer to fit it. Be aware that, though modern boilers can be vastly more efficient, they're also potentially more expensive to fix: a heat exchanger can cost up to £350. So Wolfenden recommends keeping your boiler in peak condition as it ages: 'Annual services will prolong a boiler's life. Do invest in them, especially after the warranty runs out.
Adrian Holliday
full article
One solution could be to invest in a boiler servicing and repair policy - but shop carefully. Packages vary hugely in terms of price and cover, and some can be very expensive. Josephine Sackett, a retired teacher from Hackney, pays £290 a year to have her 18-year-old Vaillant boiler annually checked and serviced, through a British Gas service contract called HomeCare 200. This includes year-round call-out cover, parts and labour, and central heating repairs. 'On occasions, their service has been rather perfunctory, or inconsistent. Once I was told I needed a new boiler; another time they said it was fine. But when I have had problems, they have come immediately.'
Still, almost £300 a year could be put towards a more efficient boiler. Keith Mathers, group service director at Vaillant, says boilers become more unreliable with age and that Vaillant's own cover is generally not offered once a boiler gets past the 15-year point. 'Otherwise, we charge £168 a year for an annual service contract, which includes parts and labour, with no annual limit on call-outs.'
Which? recently picked through a huge range of boiler service contracts. British Gas, which sells two-thirds of all UK contracts and covers most of the UK, generally came out well, with a wide range of deals, starting from £132 a year, provided you pay the first £50 of each repair. But Which? found the best value cover was offered by Powergen, with cover starting from £108 a year provided you stump up, again, the first £50 of each repair. This cover, however, is not available nationwide.
Or you could simply opt to have your boiler serviced every year and hope for the best. When Cash called several independent installers in London, we found annual service quotes from Corgi-registered engineers ranged from £65 to more than £90.
If your boiler is well and truly past it - most last 15 years - then it certainly is worth replacing it with the now compulsory fuel-efficient condensing type. The Energy Saving Trust reckons this will save you at least £150 a year.
Be careful, though, how much you pay for one. Prices start at £750, and installation can cost as much as £1,300. Tim Wolfenden, head of home services at uSwitch, says: 'Large energy companies might offer what seems a good deal for the boiler but they often recoup their profit with the installation.'
Wolfenden recommends buying a boiler through a wholesaler, or local heating specialist, then hiring a Corgi-registered gas engineer to fit it. Be aware that, though modern boilers can be vastly more efficient, they're also potentially more expensive to fix: a heat exchanger can cost up to £350. So Wolfenden recommends keeping your boiler in peak condition as it ages: 'Annual services will prolong a boiler's life. Do invest in them, especially after the warranty runs out.
Adrian Holliday
full article
Friday 23 November 2007
The Real Cost of Going Green
Making your home carbon neautral could prove surprisingly costly – but the investment could soon reap dividends with big savings on electricity and gas bills, as well as helping the environment, new research suggests.
Making a three-bedroom, semi-detached home more carbon neutral can cost up to £9,000 if you want the bells, whistles and wind turbines, a study from Alliance & Leicester Personal Loans reveals.
The first steps on the way to helping make a home carbon neutral is fitting energy-saving light bulbs and ensuring it is insulated properly.Energy-saving bulbs last around 12 times longer, use 75% less power and are estimated to save around £65 during each bulb’s lifespan.
An estimated 5 million homes already have cavity wall insulation which cuts the amount of energy needed to heat a home. The insulation is injected between the inner and outer sections of brickwork and acts as a barrier to heat loss. The average family home could see heating costs slashed by 15% - or £100 to £120 per year. Given the work costs around £500, it won’t take long to make savings.
Loft insulation can help cut heating bills further by saving around £110 per year. It acts as a blanket, trapping heat rising from the floors below. According to the Energy Saving Trust, if everyone in the UK topped up their loft insulation to a depth of 270mm, nearly £400 million would be saved every year. Loft insulation costs around £300 for the recommended thickness.
The most effective way of reducing energy bills further is to replace boilers that are more than 15 years old. Modern systems are designed to be far more efficient and need less fuel to run, with many condensing boilers using 40% less energy. An efficient condensing boiler costs around £500 and could save around £240 per year, according to Energy Saving Advice. It means homeowners could easily cover the cost of their boiler within three years.
Double glazing prevents further heat loss through windows and is an effective way of making more savings on fuel bills. Homes can be double-glazed from as little as £1,400 for six windows.
While the idea of investing in wind turbines may sound expensive, they can help reduce a property’s carbon footprint by using wind power first, before drawing on the supply from the National Grid. Turbines can be bought from £1,500, plus additional installation costs.
Homeowners can also go one step further in their quest to become carbon neutral by plugging into solar electricity, which uses energy from the sun in order to generate electricity. Most systems simply require daylight – rather than direct sunlight - to create electricity, which means Britain’s weather need not deter homeowners from investing in solar electricity. But it does come at a price, as systems start from £5,000, although estimates suggest it will wipe around £200 off annual electricity bills
Financedaily.co.uk
full article
Making a three-bedroom, semi-detached home more carbon neutral can cost up to £9,000 if you want the bells, whistles and wind turbines, a study from Alliance & Leicester Personal Loans reveals.
The first steps on the way to helping make a home carbon neutral is fitting energy-saving light bulbs and ensuring it is insulated properly.Energy-saving bulbs last around 12 times longer, use 75% less power and are estimated to save around £65 during each bulb’s lifespan.
An estimated 5 million homes already have cavity wall insulation which cuts the amount of energy needed to heat a home. The insulation is injected between the inner and outer sections of brickwork and acts as a barrier to heat loss. The average family home could see heating costs slashed by 15% - or £100 to £120 per year. Given the work costs around £500, it won’t take long to make savings.
Loft insulation can help cut heating bills further by saving around £110 per year. It acts as a blanket, trapping heat rising from the floors below. According to the Energy Saving Trust, if everyone in the UK topped up their loft insulation to a depth of 270mm, nearly £400 million would be saved every year. Loft insulation costs around £300 for the recommended thickness.
The most effective way of reducing energy bills further is to replace boilers that are more than 15 years old. Modern systems are designed to be far more efficient and need less fuel to run, with many condensing boilers using 40% less energy. An efficient condensing boiler costs around £500 and could save around £240 per year, according to Energy Saving Advice. It means homeowners could easily cover the cost of their boiler within three years.
Double glazing prevents further heat loss through windows and is an effective way of making more savings on fuel bills. Homes can be double-glazed from as little as £1,400 for six windows.
While the idea of investing in wind turbines may sound expensive, they can help reduce a property’s carbon footprint by using wind power first, before drawing on the supply from the National Grid. Turbines can be bought from £1,500, plus additional installation costs.
Homeowners can also go one step further in their quest to become carbon neutral by plugging into solar electricity, which uses energy from the sun in order to generate electricity. Most systems simply require daylight – rather than direct sunlight - to create electricity, which means Britain’s weather need not deter homeowners from investing in solar electricity. But it does come at a price, as systems start from £5,000, although estimates suggest it will wipe around £200 off annual electricity bills
Financedaily.co.uk
full article
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