Making your home and lifestyle more environmentally friendly isn’t just good for The Planet, it could also save you money.
Here are few tips which invert your home into ECO HOME
GROUND – SOURCE HEAT PUMPS To heat your home and water, a ground-source heat pump uses a buried ground loop to transfer natural heat from the ground loop to transfer natural heat from the ground.
How it works
Ground source heat pumps transfer this heat into your house to provide space heating or pre-heat your hot water.
You can meet 100% of your space heating requirements this way. They need electricity to pump the heat, but for every unit of electricity they use they usually produce 3 to 4 units of heat. So you can save a lot of energy.
The DTI’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme provides grants to help with costs of installing a ground-source heat pump. To find more visit www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk
BIOMASS BOILERS Biomass boilers use renewable resources such as wood chip, wool pellet or cereals instead of fossil fuels to heat your home and water. Fuels are not cheaper than gas but are more eco friendly.Typically, a biomass boiler uses 25kg of fuel a day. Biomass boiler to suit a three to four bedroom house costs around £3000 and it is roughly the same size as a standard boiler. Grants are available to domestic users.
SOLAR POWER You might think the sun doesn’t shine often enough to justify solar power in Britain, but according to specialists, system exist that work just as well in cooler, cloudy climates. That’s because solar PV (photovoltaic) requires only daylight, not direct sunlight, so it can still generate some power on a cloudy day. Solar power will not supply all your electrical needs, but solar power can save up to 1.1 tonnes of CO2 a year, which could mean saving of up to £200 on your electricity bills.
Solar power is considered a permitted development so planning permission isn’t normally needed, unless you live in a conservation area.The DTI Low Carbon Buildings Programme provides grants.
UPTADE YOUR CENTRAL HEATING Installing a central heating system from scratch is expensive but essential and gives opportunity to hide the boiler and change it for more energy-efficient system. Modern boilers can save as much as 40per cent on your gas bill. Some new system are also designed to work with solar panels.
INSULATION Insulating your homes is the cheapest and most effective way of improving your home’s energy efficiency. A house will be more comfortable to live in – cooler is summer and warmer in winter.Insulating a loft and cavity walls can save around £350 a year in heating cost on an average three-bedroom home www.thinkinsulation.com
WIND TURBINES The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) is the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewable industries. Formed in 1978, and with over 310 corporate members, BWEA is the leading renewable energy trade association in the UK. Wind has been the world's fastest growing renewable energy source for the last seven years, and this trend is expected to continue with falling costs of wind energy and the urgent international need to tackle CO2 emissions to prevent climate change.
BWEA Small Systems Manager says: "Although small wind is a young and emerging technology, the UK industry is leading the global sector. The publication of the new BWEA Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard demonstrates that the UK small wind industry is committed to transparency, customer satisfaction and safety standards."
The Government plans to allow householders & businesses to install wind turbines with a diameter of up to 2m, without having to get planning permission from local councils.
