Green Energy Scene's blog

How to switch gas and electric supplier…

With demand for green energy proving to be on the rise, I felt it would be a good idea to share this fantastic from the folks at videojug.com. The video keeps things nice and simple but it still lets you know all the information you would need to switch electricity and gas supplier to a renewable energy source. So that means you can save money and help the environment, sounds good to me.

Enjoy!

Generating your own electricity: the practical approach

In the last post we discussed a bike that could generate electricity with sheer exercise - but since pedaling the day away for a few hours of light isn't the most enjoyable approach to enjoying green energy, we thought we'd offer some more practical approaches.

Although these options might not yet be appropriate (or available) to everyone, there are certainly a few options when it comes to generating energy in a more environmentally friendly manner - and we hope they'll become more commonplace as the years go on. If your looking to reduce electricity consumption in your home, here are some of the ways you could go about it:

When it comes to generating your own electricity there are four options - sun, water. air and wind. The natural approach. Solar electricity panels are probably the most commonplace at the moment, due to government grants which has enabled them to be installed cheaper - and they were recently proven to save most users money in the long-term. They fit onto your roof, and generate electricity through sunlight.

Small wind turbines can also be installed onto the roof to generate energy in a home, and the power of water can be employed with small hydroelectricity systems avaialble for domestic properties - both of these options should be able to provide power for lighting and elecrtrical appliances in a typical house.

Do you have any of these energy sources in your home? Or do you have other ways to reduce your electricity usage?

Do you have the energy?

Because thanks to some new technology in the home fitness sector your going to need it.

You can now work out and generate electricity from your own physical exertion. Apparently one workout session can generate enough energy to keep your smart phone charged up for a week.

At the moment there are two options to choose from; elliptical cross trainer and a bike. Unfortunately it’s only available in the US at the moment but here’s hoping Ebay can help us out soon.

Want to know more?



Local Council Going Solar

Just an interesting little news snippet today folks, it looks like Hartlepool Council are looking to get a foot in the door of the green electricity trend. The council are having 42 panels installed on the south facing roof of Bryan Hanson House.

The solar panels are being installed on the council building, to try reducing costs and its impact on the local environment.

Hartlepool Council said that the panels on Bryan Hanson House would help to cover a portion of the building's daily power requirements.

Not only will the council be saving money but they will actually be paid by the energy supplier for every kilowatt hour of electricity that the panels generate. This figure is expected to be in the region of £3,000 annually.

It’s also believed that in the right conditions the panels could reduce CO2 emissions by over 4 tonnes.

The council’s climate change officer has quoted the rate at “36.1p for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated for the next 25 years”

Now whilst its not a huge some of money every little helps. And its actually quite refreshing to see a council standing out on their own and following an initiative like this.

Well done Hartlepool Council!

Is "Energy Saving" Really Saving Energy?

The sudden impetus on carbon reduction and using green energy can be traced back to 2010 when global carbon emissions were announced to be at their highest ever level. Now whilst that certainly won’t have come as a surprise it did bring the problem to light.

Having set the scene, the reduction of household energy consumption in the developed world is a key focus for plans to reduce carbon emissions. Interestingly Britain seems to be among the front runners with regard to actually taking action. These days most streets up and down the country have more than adequate recycling provisions and the Governments “green deal” is aiming to insulate millions of homes, thus reducing emissions and saving householders money.

On the other hand a recently published paper featured in the Energy Policy Journal, indicates that even the most basic carbon reducing action is not always as beneficial as it seems. This boils down to cause and effect, as by making a positive change to help reduce emissions it leaves opportunity for other changes to occur, not necessarily positive. For instance if a homeowner replaces all the bulbs in their house with energy efficient bulbs, then chooses to take advantage of the savings and leave the bulbs on for longer than they would have previously, then the carbon saving is going to be reduced.   

Worse still some situations have been highlighted where by so-called carbon saving methods have actually caused a rise in total emissions. The study was carried out by Dr Druckman and her colleagues, who analysed several patterns on a hypothetical model of typical household behaviour. Working on the assumption that saved money will be spent elsewhere, the group examined carbon saving behaviours and asked what happens next.

Findings showed that overall only around 66% of the calculated reductions associated with typical energy reducing actions such as reducing waste and lowering the thermostat occur. The study suggested that any money saved on the monthly bills is then available for eating out or a new TV.  Another option though is a new energy efficient fridge which would help continue the reduction, but the group found that savings could also be spent on a holiday abroad thus completely negating the whole process.

Even though the author’s themselves are stressing that it is based on a model the findings do have certain implications. There’s no point in focusing on individual changes if related actions undo any savings.  

Its clear that we as people can be badgered into making specific changes, but in order for a nation to take on a low-carbon way of life, we will need to choose that for ourselves.

Scottish energy: latest

While eating breakfast this grey rainy Monday morning I was interested and cheered up when I read this story on the website of Business Green, headlined 'SSE bids to build Scotland's first offshore wind test site'.

The article says:

[SSE is] drawing up a proposal for a five-year planning consent to start building a test facility at Clydeport's Hunterston site in North Ayrshire next year.

Looks like Scotland will have an important role in the next generation of wind power - which is fairly appropriate, given the gales that blow. If only we could harbour. the power of grey skies as well...

 

 

Green electric leaf

Well, today was the timely Spring day that the Nissan Leaf appeared in the UK.

It's still a wee bit pricey as cars go, but it's bound to be a success given the novelty of it being a car that you can plug in to the mains, and also it being a car that doesn't make any engine noise. 

But if you think of how the price of other technoplogies has dropped as they've been adopted by the mass market, there's no reason to doubt that the Leaf will be the pioneer of a new type of clean electric travel.

Scottish power gas companies who offer dual fuel and smart monitoring are likely to see some changes to electricity consumption, with some of these cars being plugged in overnight to rejuice the battery. Although there's been quite a lot of talk about plans for charging points in convenient urban locations, so if you've seen any let us know in the comments.

 

 

New Heating System to Save Residents Money!

Energy company E.ON have started work on a new low-carbon heating system in Ceredigion, Wales. The new system will be used for homes with no link to the main gas supply in the area. The project will see E.ON team up with the local Tai Ceredigion housing association.

As the majority of these properties are off the mains gas supply, many rely on coal fires or old storage heaters to stay warm.

The new heating system will see Ground Source Heat Pumps being installed at over 40 properties in the area and solar panels will also be installed to properties in Ponterwyd and Pontrhydfendigaid.

The combination of  the solar electricity and heat pump technology will produce a steady renewable heat source that could save local residents nearly £4000 a year and create a carbon saving of more than 65 tonnes which is the equivalent of taking 30 odd cars off the road for a year.

Energy films: nuclear electricity generation

 

There aren't that many films about nuclear power. Into Eternity is a new documentary about the storage of nuclear waste in Finland. Not so interesting, you might think, until you read the DVD blurb. The nuclear waste repository is designed to last 100 000 years during which time (for obvious reasons) it's not to be disturbed.

Of course, it goes without saying that if you're talking about a waste storage facility that is to last for one hundred millennia, then a lot of it os going to be conjecture. It's difficult to see a decade into the future, never mind a hundred years. It could be the case that at some point human beings invent a way of neutralising radioactive waste. Or on the other hand a future generatiion could chance upon these tunnels and not knwo what they are. 

Trailer:

Hydro power plant in Scotland.

Hydro power and other renewables are more important than ever in the mix of sources for Scottish power companies. And with government targets for renewables getting ever greater, the more renewables will be used.This video only shows inside the station - the actual water is elsewhere...