Tag Archives: UK

Green Deal – The Biggest Energy Efficiency Drive In The Uk

The Green Deal UK aims to reduce CO2 emission and boost energy efficiency in the country. It has great potential to save large amount of money for householders and businesses, as well as to secure energy supplies for the future generation.

In December, 2010, the UK Government introduced the Energy Bill in the Parliament. The bill proposed ‘Green Deal’, that aims to revolutionise the energy efficiency in UK homes and businesses. The most ambitious energy efficiency drive in the UK to date, it enables private firms to offer green improvements to the residents and businesses at no upfront cost, and to recoup payments in instalments on the energy bill. The deal is an attempt by the UK Government to tackle the climate change and secure future energy supplies in the country.

The Green Deal is designed to encourage households and businesses in the UK to retrofit energy saving measures. The government has attempted to create a framework that allows selected private firms to provide energy saving measures to households and businesses without bringing additional costs to them. The policy makers consider it a long-term solution to energy related problems. It is expected to minimise the energy wastage, and help households and business-owners to save money when it comes to boost their energy efficiency. The Green Deal is the biggest ever shake-up in UK energy efficiency history.

Once it comes into force, the Green Deal will allow people to take out loans to improve the energy efficiency of their properties including insulation, heating and lighting. The loans which are to be attached to the property, will be paid back over a fixed period through the savings made on energy bills. As per the estimates, an average house will have 6000 of measures installed, that will be repaid in a time period of more than 25 years. The household will not be required to pay up-front installation cost. Since the repayment will be attached with the electricity meter, the scheme is open to all, without any inspection for credit history and employment status.

Under the Green Deal, people will be provided with financial support to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Though the deal seems quite beneficial, government will have to take initiative to make it more effective. It’s needed to deliver the policies which encourage the public to take-up Green Deal. Additionally, the financial model must be attractive to the investors, i.e. the default risk should be minimum. In short, the government will have to establish a strong, recognisable Green Deal system that could create confidence and trust, both among potential consumers and service providers. However, the full detail could be available after the launch of Green Deal in 2012.

The Green Deal is open to all, homeowners, tenants, businessmen. If implemented properly, it will surely cut down the CO2 emission, and improve the energy efficiency in the country. If you’re also interested in this deal, and want to opt it, you can register your interest with a reputed company that provides this facility. Using Internet, you can find some reliable websites which help you apply for green deal. Considering your buying criteria, you can choose the best among them, and ensure a reduced energy bill and improved energy efficiency for your premise.

Flexidry Enhancing Energy Efficiency For Modernahus, The New Green Housing Solution For The Uk

ModernaHus, the new generation of energy efficient green homes for the UK, will have 9500sm of its underfloor heating screeded with FlexiDry F1/7 day dry floor screed.

ModernaHus is being introduced in the UK after long trials by Scandinavian builders, Skanska. This innovative green home solution has already been adapted by several countries across Europe, and has been in the test phase in the UK for several years.

After two years of trials and considerable adaptation to suit the UK market and environment, the ModernaHus UK project is now underway and is scheduled for completion by October 2011.

The first phase of the ModernaHus UK project will comprise of 108 one to four bedroom residential units, in a rejuvenated site in Coldharbor Lane, Brixton. A good majority of the construction elements will be manufactured offsite and delivered to the site, ready for installation. This prefabricated building system has been found to be successful in bringing down the effective construction time while ensuring site safety as well as quality and finish of the products.

For energy efficiency, ModernaHus combines a well insulated building envelope, under floor heating, ground source heat pumps, solar panels and a central biomass boiler. The ModernaHus homes which will be 30% more efficient than normal homes, has obtained the Code for Sustainable Homes, Level 4.

With energy efficiency figuring as the priority for modern buildings, FlexiDry fast drying floor screeds is one of the screeds that is very much in demand by most major builders. When underfloor heating system can enhance energy efficiency, the use of the right screed is found to compound its effectiveness by acting as a thermal mass to dissipate the heat. FlexiDry floor screeds act as very good thermal conductors of heat and cut down the thermal losses and reduce the amount of heat required at the source. With an efficiency of 20-30% more than the normal anhydrite screeds, and drying times as less as 3 days to 21 days, FlexiDry is currently the chosen name for most of the major projects like ModernaHus.

Hotpoint Tvm562 Vented Tumble Dryer

Hotpoint have recently been voted the Most Trusted Domestic Appliance Brand in the UK for the 9th consecutive year through the Readers Digest Survey. What is it which makes Hotpoint such a popular brand? It is down to several factors included in their range of appliances, such as price, style, reliability, features and functionality. The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer is a brilliant example of an appliance which is popular and contains brilliant features to help you when doing the laundry.

The Hotpoint Aquarius TVM562 tumble dryer is a really practical machine, if you are looking for an appliance which offers excellent cleaning quality teamed with everyday features and functions then this could be the tumble dryer for you. The Hotpoint TVM562 tumble dryer is C energy rated and has been recognised as being Energy Saving Recommended by the Energy Saving Trust. Everyone should be doing their bit to be greener starting in the kitchen with energy saving appliances can be a great way of starting to help to protect the environment.

The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer has some brilliant features and functions, such as the reverse tumble action. This feature prevents clothing from tangling when drying which results in less creasing this also means less ironing for you which is a great bonus!

The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer has an end of cycle alarm which alerts you when the dry load is ready to be emptied. It is all too easy to forget about a laundry load when its tucked away in the machine having a gentle reminder to empty the load is great for those who forget! Empting close to the end of a cycle will help to prevent additional creases.

Other features of the Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer include high and low heat settings, set and forget sensor drying, final cool tumble, easy iron, delay timer and safety start button. All of which contribute to a hassle free life when it comes to doing the laundry!

The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer comes in a choice of either polar white or graphite, both of which are great colours to fit in with any kitchens design.

Vented tumble dryers will carry any moisture which is created when drying your clothing through an external venting hose which means that this type of appliance must be placed next to an outside wall so that the moisture can be vented successfully.

When buying a tumble dryer it is important to decide which features you will find useful, the Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer has everything you need to feel confident when drying every laundry load easy iron programmes are a favourite around the UK because lets face it, no one like spending time doing the ironing!

Energy Efficiency Is The Only Way To Reduce Fuel Bills

With an average energy bill set to climb to 1406 in 2009 (from 676 in 2005), the Government has given a commitment to help consumers improve household energy efficiency and permanently bring down energy bills.

As the nation waits for confirmation of where Government support will be given, many organisations are offering advice and guidance into where and how families can make changes that will cut their household energy costs.

Figures from the Energy Savings Trust suggest that if everyone undertook a number of simple measures including: Fitting energy saving light bulbs, double glazed windows, installing a condensing boiler, cavity wall and loft insulation and jackets for hot water tanks, UK households could reduce energy bills by over 270 a year and save over 1.9bn in fuel costs*.

Paul Kellett, Technical Director at Anglian Home Improvements, an Energy Savings Trust recommended supplier said: It is increasingly becoming apparent that current fuel price increases are set to have dramatic effects on many peoples household bills.

But making energy efficient changes, ahead of the winter months, could lead to savings of thousands of pound on future fuel bills – as well as adding to a houses value. If people are considering making improvements we would urge them to look at the most energy efficient options.

Installing double glazing for example, cuts heat lost through windows by half. At Anglian we fit B-rated energy saving double glazing as standard, which offers potential savings of over 110 per year per household.

Further estimations on savings to be gained from implementing energy efficiency measures in the home include*:
Around a third of all the heat lost in an un-insulated home is lost through the walls. Fitting cavity wall insulation could save up to 120 on an annual fuel bill
Insulating an uninsulated loft can save around 155 a year If everyone in the UK topped up their loft insulation to 270mm, around 560m would be saved each year. That’s enough money to pay the annual fuel bills of around 530,000 families.
An ultra efficient condensing boiler will be 20% more efficient and could save up to 130 on heating bills.
Fitting an insulating jacket to the hot water cylinder could save around 30 per year
Setting hot water cylinder thermostats to 60C/140F could save up to 10 over the year
Using low energy light bulbs to save 10 on electricity bills each year.
By installing draught proofing you could save around 25 a year on your heating bills

Financial help may be available if you’re planning to make energy saving improvements to your home

*Figures are from www.energysavingstrust.org.uk

How Carbon Neutral Is Double Glazing

Is double glazing really all that everyone thinks when it comes to ensuring that your home is protected from the elements? Also does it really work at keeping all the heat in your home?

We keep on hearing the term carbon neutral in the press and media but what is it that this term actually means? And how do we go about to become carbon neutral?

The term carbon neutral has really replaced the term carbon offset. It actually means to balance the overall amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere, by calculating how much carbon dioxide is being emitted from an activity and reducing the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide in another activity. Therefore, by installing double glazing into your home you are preventing carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere which is off setting the carbon dioxide that you are using in order to heat your home in the first place.

The windows in your home have a major impact on the energy efficiency of the house. Poorly designed windows make your home too hot or too cold. If designed correctly, theyll help maintain year-round comfort, reducing or eliminating the need for artificial heating and cooling.

Windows in a typical insulated home account for more heat gain or loss than any other element in the house. In summer heat gain through an un-shaded window can be 100 times greater than through the same area of insulated wall. One square meter of ordinary glass can let in as much heat as would be produced by a single bar radiator. In winter, heat lost through a window can be ten times more than through the same area of insulated wall. Ordinary single glazed windows offer little resistance to heat flow. Double glazed windows provide additional thermal resistance due the sealed space in between the two panes of glass. This makes the windows conduct less heat and therefore they keep more of the heat in the building rather than letting it seep out into the outside world.

Being carbon neutral is not a fashion thing it is something that everyone is going to have to accept if we are to keep the planet alive. Before the industrial revolution carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were consistently between 260 and 280 parts per million [ppm]. Since the industrial revolution human society has become increasingly dependent on fossil fuels and as a result human activities have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to more than 380ppm.

As our homes are responsible for a large proportion of the UK’s overall carbon dioxide emissions – having a direct impact on the acceleration of climate change – it is important to consider green and environmentally friendly features when look at improving your home.