Tag: gas

What’s so smart about smart meters?

According to veteran environmental campaigner Jonathon Porritt, replace your old gas and electricity meters with natty new digital ones and you could be helping to tackle "the biggest single challenge that humankind has ever faced" - global warming. This is quoted in an article by Matthew Wall - which addresses the question - What's so smart about smart meters?

smartmeterdisplay

Wall argues that smart meters are not just about saving a few quid on your gas and electricity bills to save people money but are being rolled out in many developed nations around the world to promote more competition, more innovation, and change the way the global energy industry works.

The aim of the UK government is to install 53 million of them by 2020 in homes as well as businesses. Smart meters will increase competition by making it easier for new suppliers to enter the market, says Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Smart Energy GB, the body responsible for publicising smart meter roll-out.

Read the full BBC article

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Renewable Heat Incentive ~ Biomass Suppliers List

From Spring 2015 all biomass fuel used by households, businesses and other organisations claiming the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) must meet a lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target of 60 per cent GHG savings against the EU fossil fuel average, and land criteria, which for woodfuel are set out in the UK Timber Standard for Heat and Electricity.

The Biomass Suppliers List (BSL) is now publically available at www.gov.uk/find-fuel-supplier

The list provides a simple way for Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) participants to comply with the biomass sustainability criteria announced in February 2013 and due to become mandatory in Spring 2015.

Participants of both domestic and non-domestic RHI, and those considering applying to the scheme, will be able to search the BSL by postcode to find suppliers selling wood fuels that meet the forthcoming sustainability criteria.

The BSL is operated by the BSL Administrator. DECC has appointed Gemserv, partnering with Woodsure, HETAS and Borough IT, to act as the BSL Administrator.

Further information on the BSL, including guidance for consumers, is available on http://biomass-suppliers-list.service.gov.uk/. Two information leaflets about the overall sustainability requirements and how this impacts on domestic RHI participants have also been produced:

New biomass sustainability requirements: Information sheet

Domestic RHI: New biomass sustainability requirements

 

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Victorian House Energy Efficient Refurbishment

This Victorian semi-detached house – part of the SuperHome network – was given an award-winning eco-renovation based on installing cost effective interventions rather than setting out to meet a notional standard. This approach has delivered a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions.

This Victorian house built in 1875, is in Peckham, south east London is three-story house with a pitched roof, a bay-fronted ground floor window and a two-storey rear extension, which was added to in the early 1990s to take it up to three stories using aerated concrete block walls. It is semi-detached on two stories. The main entrance is on the detached side, located down a narrow alley.

Before its refurbishment, the house had very few energy efficiency measures installed. The pitched roof had minimal insulation while the flat roof over the rear extension had only 50mm thick foam board insulation installed between joists. The suspended timber ground floor was uninsulated while the floor of the rear projection was a 20mm thick screed laid on bare soil. The ground floor bay window was fitted with single glazed sash windows; all the other windows were old double glazed PVC units, which leaked around the frames. The house was heated by a mixture of electric storage heaters and gas fires, while hot water was from an ancient gas boiler.

Full details on the building4change website

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Government closes popular Green Deal Home Improvement Fund immediately

The Department for Energy and Climate Change have just announced in press release that the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund is to close with immediate effect. Despite only two days ago they issued a press release saying how successful the scheme had been and seemed to suggest that more money would be available, although they were reducing the subsidy for solid wall insulation from £6000 to £4000 from Friday 25 July and from 5 August 2014 flue gas heat recovery systems will not longer be an eligible measure for the subsidy.

GDHIF

See latest press release

My comment:

Only last week was I expressing concern that this scheme was in danger of becoming a classic example of “roller-coaster” intervention by DECC. This appears to have become true. DECC appear to be incapable of managing energy efficiency or renewable energy (Solar PV – Feed-in-tariff) that will lead to a steady sustainable uptake of measures – that are good for the environment, householders and the industry.

Peter Bates

 

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UK government now received applications worth 50 million pounds for subsidies under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund

The UK government has now received applications from householders for £50 million of vouchers from Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. As a result it it now releasing the remaining more money from a pot of at least £120 million available until the end of March 2015.

GDHIF

However, from 5 August 2014 flue gas heat recovery systems will not longer be an eligible measure for the subsidy. And from 25 July 2014 the government is reducing the subsidy for solid wall insulation from £6000 to £4000.

The latest £7600 incentive offered to households is split into a number of parts; £1000 is given for installing two measures from an approved list of renovations, £100 is available towards the cost of an the initial assessment and £4000 is on offer for the expensive procedure of installing solid wall insulation. Those who’ve bought their property within 12 months of application to the scheme are also eligible for a further £500.

 

GDHIF cores

12 improvement measures

Please note a flue gas heat recovery system will no longer be an eligible measure for the subsidy from 5 August 2014. And from 25 July the subsidy for Solid Wall Insulation will be £4000 not £6000.

Click here for more details on the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund

Or contact The 80percent Hub about having a Green Deal Assessment

Click here for the latest figures

See press release

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