Apr 03
A new telephone line opened yesterday to give the public advice on how to save energy in their homes and businesses.
The phone line will be run by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) with Careline Services. As well as giving out advice on energy efficiency, it will provide information about existing government schemes like the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), which requires energy suppliers to install free or subsidised insulation, and Warm Front, the government’s heating grant scheme.
Energy efficiency advisors will be on hand to take calls from the public on the new number of 0300 123 1234.
When the Green Deal launches in the autumn, the advice line will provide information to people wanting to learn more about the scheme. The Green Deal is the coalition’s plan to upgrade the nation’s draughty homes at no upfront cost.
Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “Having a central and trusted advice line is crucial to ensure people have all the right information about how they can save energy and money. This phone line will ultimately be one of the ways the public will be able to learn more about the Green Deal when it is launched later this year, providing information on how people can benefit from this new and groundbreaking scheme.”
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: “We’ll continue to help people get the right advice at the right time, giving them the confidence to fit energy saving measures which help them to start saving money on their fuel bills. Drawing on our 20 years of consumer advice experience we’ll make sure that the advice given remains impartial and at the highest standard.”
Mar 27
The threat of hosepipe bans, particularly in the south of England are causing some people to panic particularly with the current good weather many have been experiencing. But there is an easy solution.
A ban means that householders are not allowed to connect a hosepipe to the mains water supply for any domestic uses. This includes watering plants and the garden, cleaning cars, filling up swimmingpools or paddling pools, or filling up ponds unless they have fish in them.
So far seven water companies in England have announced that bans would be introduced with most starting on the 5th April. These are Thames Water, Anglian Water, Southern Water, South East Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Central and Veolia South East.
The most obvious solution to the water shortage for householders is to install a water butt to store rainwater. With the amount of rainfall we generally have in this country, a water butt should be a necessity and our project on fitting a water butt gives all the info you need. There is also a short video on setting up your water butt in our video section. As long as you have a downpipe and space to put a water butt, you are away!
Mar 26
The Government’s plans to reduce subsidies on solar panels has been thwarted following a defeat in court on Friday to appeal.
In November the government announced they were planning a reduction in feed in tariffs from 43.3p per kw to 21p per kw, and that they were bringing the date forward from April 2012 to 12 December 2011. This was only eleven days before the consultation period ended on 23 December. In January the High Court said this ruling was unlawful but the Government announced they would appeal against this.
The new ruling means that anyone having domestic solar installations fitted and finished before 31 March 2012 will still receive the higher 43.3p rate and anyone having them done after April 1st 2012 will now receive the 21p rate.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Edward Davey said “We are disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court not to grant permission to hear this case. But the Court’s decision draws a line under the case. We will now focus all our efforts on ensuring the future stability and cost effectiveness of solar and other microgeneration technologies for the many, not the few.”
Jan 17
Figures released by the government show that the new Green Deal, which is due to start in October, will cause a big drop in the number of homes having loft insulation.
It is estimated that the number of lofts being insulated will fall to only 70,000 a year, whereas the climate change targets are 2 million. Cavity wall installations are likely to drop from 510,00 per year to only 170,000 whereas the target is 1.4million.
At the moment there are government schemes which subsidise the costs of insulation, but under the Green Deal these subsidies for most people will go, and a loan will replace them which will enable the homeowner to pay for the up-front costs using the savings made on their heating bills.
It is unclear how the apparent gap in take up will be solved and in December the government’s official independent advisors warned that the scheme was looking like only reaching 2-3 million households instead of the targeted 14 million.
You can find more information about the Green Deal from the Department of Energy & Climate Change’s website.
Jan 13
If one of your new year resolutions is to try to be a bit more environmentally friendly, and I think we could all do a little bit more when it comes down to it, you should take a look at our ‘Green Living’ section which has a whole lot of project pages and resources to inspire you.
Whether it’s saving energy and making your home more efficient, or aiming to build your own eco-house, we have information to help. Learn more about the pro’s and con’s of domestic wind turbines, biomass boilers, ground source heat pumps and solar energy. Or if you are looking for garden related projects you can find out how to make your own compost container, create a green roof or install a water butt.
There is also a range of videos to help explain and instruct on subjects such as rainwater harvesting, installing solar panels and how to reduce water consumption int the home.
This section will continue to be added to, so keep checking in to see what’s new – and let us know if there are any projects you would like to see.
