Britain doesn't need any more wind farms?

Political row as Tory minister claims UK has 'enough' turbines

The Coalition Government has clashed once again after a Conservative minister claimed that the country doesn’t need any more wind farms.

John Hayes told a newspaper that the country is ‘peppered’ with an ‘extraordinary’ amount of wind turbines which have been ‘imposed on communities’. He intended to include these comments in a speech Tuesday night but was told to remove them by Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, who took control of renewable energy strategy from Hayes earlier this year.

This latest row is yet another in a long line of Lib Dem/Tory confrontations over renewable energy. In February, 101 Tories signed a letter demanding an end to onshore wind farm subsidies, and in the summer Davey had to fight to win a 10% cut in the level of subsidies, as George Osbourne had wanted a 25% cut.

Many people, including leading global wind and nuclear power companies, are worried that the continued in-fighting of the Coalition and political uncertainty could threaten millions of pounds worth of investment in energy projects in the UK.

South West Marine Energy Park announces ambitions

UK's first marine energy park moving forward with business plan

The business plan for a new energy group has been announced. The South West Marine Energy Park, which was unveiled by Climate Change minister Greg Barker in January as the UK’s first marine energy park, has revealed its first plans for the project, which intends to bring the different strands of marine renewables activity in the region together all under one banner.

The main points of the plan include having at least 50 megawatts of wave and tidal projects installed in the near future, creating more commercial-scale wind and wave projects faster by developing a ‘technology pathway’, growing the marine energy supply chain and attracting investment in the South West region to develop infrastructure and ports.

Last week Peter Kydd, director of strategic consulting at Parson Brinckerhoff, was elected by the board as the park’s first chairman and is confident that the park can bring together people and projects that can help the marine energy industry thrive in the region. There have been some concerns that, due to the virtual nature of the park (as it doesn’t have a fixed base of operations), it may struggle to gain the necessary funding to achieve all of its goals. However, following a recent £15,000 allocation from the Plymouth City Council, there is now a revenue pot of funding from private and public sector partners of £100,000, which will allow the business plan to go ahead. 

For the full story please follow this link to This is Cornwall's website.

Now is the time to switch!

With energy prices going up, make sure you find the right energy provider for you

Over the last few articles, we have discussed ways to save on energy bills in the home, with one of the main tips being to look at switching energy providers following the recent price hike by the major companies. By doing this, you the consumer can find the company with the best deal for you and can also fix your tariff, which in the long run will save you money.

According to a report in the Telegraph, nearly two-fifths of households are seriously considering doing this, with 49%  of people surveyed stating they were ‘angered’ by the price rises this month. MoneySupermarket found that a third of households were worried they could be pushed to breaking point financially due to the rises, as many people are also dealing with rising prices in food and mortgages. 

With Scottish Power, British Gas and Swalec being just some of the companies who have raised prices, now is the time to think about switching providers to make sure you get a deal that is both affordable and tailored to you. 

Money Saving Expert has a guide that gives you advice on how to calculate your energy needs and usage, and uSwitch is a site that lets you compare energy prices from various companies to find the right one for you.

So stop wasting your money and get your own back with

www.homereheat.com 

'What about climate change, Mr President?'

First time global warming isn't mentioned in election debate since 1988

Following the third and final debate between US presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney this week, there was a feeling of frustration from climate change campaigners. Despite hours of debates on prime-time US television, not once was the issue of global warming debated or even mentioned; despite being an issue that has actually been described by the Pentagon as a national security threat.

The ‘climate silence’ this election season marks the first time since the issue was first raised in Congress in 1988 that it hasn’t been discussed in presidential debates. This silence has promoted campaigns to start a website urging both candidates to give the threat of climate change the attention it deserves, and has even led to Obama being labelled a ‘climate change denier’ by Jill Stein, the Green Party’s presidential candidate.

The issue sparked even more controversy when debate moderator Candy Crowley admitted there had been questions from the audience regarding climate change, but she had decided that ‘the economy was still the main thing’, despite concerns being raised of the impact extreme storms and the cost of repairing damage after them would have on the economy.

So there may have been an official ‘silence’ on climate change from the candidates, but plenty of people, and voters, are definitely talking about it, meaning their stance on the issue may have a major impact on the presidential aspirations of both Obama and Romney.

For the full story follow this link to The Guardian’s website.

£3 a month for energy bills?

Pensioners find ways to drastically cut energy usage but still live happy lifestyle

An elderly couple have truly embraced ‘green’ energy and have found a way to cut their bills to the staggering sum of just £3 a month.

Dan and Jane Fish, who live in a bungalow in the New Forest, have installed a wood burner and solar panels in their home, and are using solar energy to run their electricity, hot water boiler and even their car. The couple also grow their own fruit and vegetables and make the most of everything they own, as they are still using the same crockery they've had for the past 55 years.

The only gas they use is for their stove, which is why they pay so little in bills. The couple’s money-saving quest to become carbon neutral has led to comparisons to hit 70s sitcom The Good Life.

While this lifestyle may be a bit too much for many people, it does show how there is an alternative out there to paying high prices for energy; prices that are getting even higher with the recent hikes by the major companies.

For the full story follow this link to the Daily Mail’s website.

Ways to save on your energy bills

With gas prices rising, here are a few energy saving ideas that could help you reduce costs

 

Get a fixed tariff

One way of battling the recent price hikes brought in by the major energy companies is to sign up for a fixed tariff, which means the price you pay for energy can’t go up. There are several comparison websites out there to check for the best deals, and if you have been a long-time customer at one of the bigger companies you should be able to ‘haggle’ a cheaper deal. But be quick, because the best deals are being snapped up fast.

Put on a jumper

It may seem like a simple solution, but by having the heating at a slightly lower temperature and wearing a jumper or cardigan around the house can save a typical household around £60, a pretty big saving just for sacrificing sitting around the house in a t-shirt with the heating on higher.

Close the curtains

Nearly everyone has curtains in their home to close off their rooms to the rest of the street at night and to stop the early morning sun getting in and waking you up. But curtains can also help retain the heat in your home, so by making sure you draw them fully, not letting any heat escape the cracks, you can make the most of out of all the heating you’re using. Also, swapping your traditional curtains for energy efficient insulating ones you can save even more.

Replace your boiler

A boiler can use nearly 80% of your total energy fuel usage, so making sure you have an energy efficient model instead of an older one can save the average home around £240 a year. The initial cost of buying and fitting a new one may put people off, but it will pay for itself in savings in around 10 years.

For even more tips on how to save energy please follow this link to the Daily Mail’s website.

Energy prices hike increases inflation yet again

Rate had actually gone down but will rise by the New Year

The recent increases in energy bills from companies like British Gas and Scottish Power have caused the rate of inflation to rise once again.

The Consumer Prices Index stood at a three-year low level of 2.2% in September, down from 2.5% in August. However, with nearly all of the big energy companies in the UK increasing prices over the past few days, the figure is likely to increase soon to around 2.6%, meaning that by the New Year the cost of living in Britain will once again be higher.

For the full story, click here to go to the Evening Standard’s website.

Is 'liquid air' the future?

New method could finally answer question of how to store energy

The term ‘cryogenic-power’ may seem better placed in sci-fi films than in the real world, but the Institute of Mechanical Engineers believe they have made this idea a reality with their development of ‘liquid air’ technology.

IMechE have proposed the idea of using the excess energy generated by wind turbines at night (‘wrong-time’ energy) can be used to chill air to a liquid state. Then, when energy demands are higher, the ‘liquid air’ can be reheated until it becomes a vapour, which can then be used to drive turbines to generate electricity.

Not only would this solve the problems of energy storage and ‘wrong-time’ energy, but it could also help with the problems of industrial heat waste that is currently being released into the atmosphere, as these ‘cryo-generators’ could be built near power plants where they could reuse this left-over heat to warm the stored ‘liquid air’.

Engineers at IMechE believe that this method can be an efficiency level of up to 70% and can compete with hydrogen and batteries (that have an efficiency level of around 80%) to store excess energy generated by renewable energy forms.

For the full story, follow this link to the BBC’s website.

Energy saving myths

Four things you think are saving you energy but really aren't

With issues like the economy and climate change on everyone's minds, more and more people are looking for simple ways they can save on energy bills. However, a lot of these 'method's are actually making you waste more energy.

1.      Turning the heating up full will make your home hotter faster - 

A common mistake a lot of people make; putting the heating on full ‘for a little bit’ to heat your home up quicker, therefore saving time and energy. However, this doesn’t work, as most heating systems work by heating an area up to the pre-set temperature and then switching off when it is reached. This means it takes the same amount of time for a room to reach 25C when it is set to 25C as it does to reach that temperature when it is set to maximum. It’s just like pressing the button at a crossing; you think that by pressing the button repeatedly makes the lights change faster, but the system starts working straight after the first time you press it.

2.      Hand washing dishes is better than using a dishwasher - 

It may seem hard to believe, but on average a dishwasher uses less hot water to clean the dishes than washing them in the sink, if used properly. Make sure you maximise the use of the dishwasher but only cleaning full loads, by not pre-rising them first (as this doesn’t really help clean them better) and by letting the dishes dry naturally on the side rather than using the machine’s drying function.

3.      Using a portable heater to heat one room rather than using central heating to heat entire house -

This seems to make perfect sense; if you only want to warm your living room then using a portable heater rather than the central heating is surely more energy efficient? Unfortunately, portable heaters are major drainers of electricity, meaning that using them to replace your central heating is actually costing you more. If you do want to reduce heating bills simply lowering the temperature setting by a degree or two is the most effective way to do so. Also, if you are feeling a little bit cold, just put on a jumper or an extra pair of socks and you’ll soon warm up.

4.      Leaving fans/ceiling fans on will cool down a room -

Saving energy isn’t just about ways to stay warm efficiently. When we have hot weather we often resort to using electric fans or ceiling fans to cool us down. Because this method works, a lot of people leave fans turned when they aren’t in the room to maintain the cool temperature in there for when they return. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, as fans cool people, not rooms. All a fan does to create a breeze which, when it hits your skin, gives the impression of coolness. But the temperature never actually changes, so when you aren’t in the room nobody is getting the benefit of the fan, so it is wasting energy.

'Blackout Britain' in three years time?

Millions face ‘heat or eat’ choice as EU orders UK power plants to close

Britain will be hit by widespread blackouts in just three years time as a result of new EU regulations. Plans that mean nine coal-powered plants will have to close by 2015 to meet the EU’s green standards will cause Britain’s spare energy capacity to drop to just four percent, according to a report by energy watchdog Ofgem.

If the findings of the report come true, the country may become dependent on unreliable undersea cables that come from France, which could lead to scenes in Britain similar to the energy crisis of the 1970s, where the Conservative Government introduced a three-day week to conserve electricity.

As a result of these regulations, energy prices in the UK will most likely skyrocket if Britain has to rely on imported energy, which will leave more hard-working Britons out of pocket.

(To read the full story go to the Daily Mail.)

Get your own back with home reheat

Due to the unfortunate laws of physics, warm air has an annoying habit of rising, meaning that when you put your heating on, most of that hot air is going to the ceiling rather than where it is needed, at floor level where you are. This might not seem that annoying to some, as you can just turn the heating up so that your level is as hot as you want it. But that means the ceiling is even hotter, and it also means you are paying for heating that you aren’t even getting to use. 

But surely there’s no way to change the laws of physics? Well you’re right; there isn’t, but there is a way to fight them. Stop wasting energy and get your own back with the home reheat.

The home reheater is a brand new product launched by Home reHeat Ltd and is designed to get your heat back to where it belongs. The product collects the warm air from the ceiling and re-circulates it back down to ground level, meaning that none of the heating you’ve paid for is going to waste. The standard model circulates around 60 cubic metres of warm air, an area bigger than most houses, every hour. While different people in different houses may have different energy uses and needs, what can be guaranteed is that the home reheater will save you money in the long run. And at only £59.99, including postage, it will pay for itself in no time.

The home reheater comes in twelve different designs, including bold prints and floral colours, so there’s a design for everyone. You can get a design to match the décor of your home, meaning it won’t seem out of place on your wall. Infact, the home reheater is designed to go unnoticed and just get on with its job, and while it does make some noise, it can be compared to the sound of a mere whisper or refrigerator humming. It is also very easy to install, as its light weight of just 200 grams means it can be put up with small screws, picture hooks or even adhesive pads.

The home reheater doesn’t just help save you money; it can help save the planet as well. The main body is made using recycled materials and can be recycled again, the electrical parts can also be recycled and all metal fittings have to chosen for function to help minimise the use of metal in the product, and can also be recycled. 

So what about the company selling this product? Home reHeat Ltd is a new, small Welsh business based in Ty Menter at Navigation Park, Abercynon. With young Welsh graduates at the helm, we aim to export our product across the globe, in particular to Europe and North America. We understand that, with rising energy prices and the world economy in its present state, many people are finding it difficult to afford to heat their own homes, especially when they losing most of the heat to their ceiling.

So if you are tired of losing heat and paying high energy bills then get your own back with Home Reheat.