‘Green’ hotel aims to cut energy use by 80%

The 20-room Premier Inn Tamworth in Staffordshire aims to reduce energy use by 80% against a standard hotel through new approaches to heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation.

Features include:

*Ground-source heat pumps use the earth’s natural energy to cool and heat rooms and provide hot water.
*Toilets flushed with recycled water from showers and baths will save 20% of the hotel’s entire water usage and will provide 100% of the hotel’s toilet water usage
*Sustainable wool from British sheep used in the walls to create efficient thermal and acoustic insulation
*Low energy Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting with motion sensors to ensure lights are only on when needed to give an energy saving of 80%.
*Solar panels will heat bath water

Staff will be trained to understand the technologies behind the design and to help with minimising everyday energy and water consumption, such as in washing, water usage, excessive heating or cooling.

Guests, who will pay from £53 a night, will be able to see the energy saved as part of a visual display in the hotel lobby, as well as learn about the technologies that have gone into the new building.

The property being seen as a flagship site for the company to trial the best green technologies available, to see which are viable for their hotels in future.
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Fleeced by the power giants

Power companies are under increasing pressure to pass on the benefit of the plummeting price of oil.

Watchdogs are angry that domestic energy bills have continued to rise sharply since the summer even though wholesale prices have nearly halved.

Millions of families are desperate for gas, electricity and heating oil bills to fall as their household incomes are squeezed elsewhere.

Despite falling inflation, families still face rising food costs and hefty council tax increases next spring.

And pensioners, who already spend a major proportion of their cash on heating their homes, are seeing their savings income slashed by interest rate cuts.

Yesterday oil closed at below 45 dollars a barrel, more than 100 dollars below its July peak, and experts predict that it could drop as low as 25 dollars.

David Hunter, of energy consultants McKinnon & Clarke, said the 'big six' firms - British Gas, E.ON, Scottish Power, Scottish & Southern, EDF Energy, and npower - enjoy a 'stranglehold' on the power market, and claimed: 'The market isn't working.'

He insisted the firms should have room for 'double digit' cuts as soon as next month.

Mr Hunter said: 'It is clear there will be room for reductions in prices, and there will be huge political pressure for them to act.'

Gas and electricity prices are inextricably linked to the price of oil, and utilities say it takes time to pass on lower wholesale costs to customers because they buy power and gas several months in advance.

But the cost of wholesale gas and electricity has tracked the fall in oil prices.
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Scheme to help homes save energy

Plans to equip 40,000 homes with energy saving equipment aimed at cutting bills and creating jobs, have been unveiled by the assembly government.

The £12m programme is also designed to tackle child and fuel poverty in the Heads of the Valleys area.

Leighton Andrews, deputy minister for regeneration, said it was anticipated the 15 year initiative would attract millions of pounds of investment.

It is hoped the measures will make the area Europe's first low carbon zone.

The programme aims to install sustainable energy measures into 40,000 socially owned homes, have 65,000 homes assessed for energy efficiency and 39,000 energy reduction measures implemented.

It is hoped this will result in the reduction of domestic energy bills of £1.7m and reduce emissions of at least 139,200 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Mr Andrews said the programme was designed to tackle fuel poverty and create a new industry base in the region linked to job creation, skills development and the development of local businesses in the sector.

Details of the first round of investment and the first low carbon town will be unveiled in the New Year, he said.

"Energy costs have a disproportionate impact on household income in deprived areas and less money spent on fuel bills means more money available to spend in the local economy," said Mr Andrews.

A pilot project in Ebbw Vale saw the United Welsh Housing Association getting help from the programme to fund the installation of a range of measures to tackle carbon emissions in 28 new homes.

Exhaust air recovery heating, under floor heating, rainwater recycling and thermal water heating systems have been among the measures introduced.

The pilot will test the effectiveness of these systems.

Further projects have been undertaken with Rhondda Cynon Taf Homes and Bron Afron Homes to introduce energy-saving technologies including solar power during the refurbishment of existing homes.

Leighton Andrews said these projects formed part of the wider economic and social regeneration of the Heads of the Valleys region.

"They are taking forward several strands of our environmental theme with the ultimate aim of adding value to the fuel poverty and economic regeneration agendas," he said.

"These projects are leading the way in delivering a step change in the economy of the region."
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Climate change targets will push up energy prices

Household electricity bills will rise by a quarter over the next decade to pay for sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the Government's climate change advisor has warned.

Lord Turner recommended the UK reduce output of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming by more than a third in the next 12 years.

He admitted the cuts will be tough, shrinking the economy by one per cent by 2020 and demanding big changes in consumer behaviour.

The biggest impact will be on energy prices which are expected to rise by 25 per cent for the average family, pushing 1.7 million people into fuel poverty.

Britons will also notice a change in everyday life. It is estimated 40 per cent of cars will be plug-in hybrids or electric, smart meters that ensure more efficient use of electricity will be installed in every home and the cost of "carbon heavy" goods and services that use a lot of energy are likely to go up.

The key points

• Power

+ Renewables will have to generate at least a third of electricity, with the majority of growth in the short term expected in onshore and offshore wind.

+ Nuclear will form part of the mix, with the possibility of new stations being built in the future.

+ Coal will continue to be used but will only be viable in the long term if technology is developed to store the emissions underground.

• Transport

+ Cost of flights expected to go up as airlines face penalities for producing emissions.

+ Increased use of public transport through Government policy to cut carbon.

+ At least 40 per cent of cars will be hybrid plug-ins or completely electric as taxes increase on polluting cars and new technologies come online.

• Agriculture

+ Increased use of feed additives that increase productivity of cattle but decrease methane produced.

+ Reduced use of fertiliser by using organic alternatives or different plants.

+ More energy efficient machinery for example hybrid tractors.

• Consumer

+ People will be expected to eat less “carbon intensive” meats like beef and lamb.

+ Carbon heavy products such as vegetables transported from abroad will increase in price with energy prices.

+ People will be expected to turn off lights and cut down on air conditioning or heating as electricity becomes more expensive.

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