The Energy Saving Trust's blog

All that SHIMMERs...

Feed-In Tariffs are here now, but are they just another way in which the middle classes can use their houses to generate cash? Not necessarily: we’re involved in a project that shows the  real social potential of Feed-in Tariffs.

We recently received funding from the Technology Strategy Board to trial a system that will enable people who are in fuel poverty – that is, who spend 10 per cent or more of their disposable income on fuel – to get involved with Feed-in Tariffs.

The project – SHIMMER – will provide low-income, fuel-poor households with solar photovoltaic panels, and pay for the kit with the revenue generated by Feed-in Tariffs.

The solar panels are likely to generate more electricity than is needed by the household, so those taking part will be able to make a bit of money if they are careful with their energy use. Any energy left over after repayments on the solar panels will be sold to the national grid, and under the Feed-In Tariffs the money will be paid into a PayPal account, for them to spend on other things.

To help people with this, we – along with partners London Rebuilding Society and Easy Town – are giving participants smart energy management tools so they can monitor the energy they use in their homes on their phone or computer.

So: free fuel (reducing their fuel poverty), detailed control of their energy use, greater disposable income and a stake in the low-carbon economy.

Now, that IS gold!

Our first households will be getting their kit installed soon. Stay tuned to see how they get on.

Getting warmer: now in a newspaper near you

 
Our latest report, Getting warmer: a field trial of heat pumps was published onWednesday, and the ensuing media coverage shows how necessary the knowledge we're gathering in this field trial is. Following on from last year's field trial of wind turbines, this report analyses the data from a year of monitoring both air and ground source heat pumps in a variety of locations around Britain - and it's the first study of its kind in the UK, showing how this new technology works in real life, operated by real people not lab technicians.

Yesterday's media coverage included strong articles on the BBC and in Utility Week, and The Guardian's article generated a lively (and constructive!) discussion in the comment thread.

Essentially, our report demonstrates that there is work to be done to get heat pumps performing as well in the UK as they currently do on the Continent - and we are planning a second year of study to determine exactly what factors are affecting the current, varying performance levels. We will be working closely with a spectrum of stakeholders over the next six months,  towards a set of recommendations for improvements to training and installation standards.

In the meantime, we look forward to the discussion around the findings from our first year of research, and we are heartened by the interest - and commitment to finding lower-carbon ways of generating power - that's clearly out there.

See our website for the report and the press release.

Glamour and sustainable energy

Philip Sellwood is on holiday this week. Today, Mike Thornton, Director of Energy Saving Trust Scotland, has written a guest post.

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Not necessarily words that automatically go together but there have been recent reports in the Scottish media that do make a link. Specifically, the term “eco-bling” has been bandied around. The view has been expressed that microrenewables are the glamour end of the spectrum and that a small number of homes sporting highly visible solar panels, micro-wind turbines etc are diverting attention amongst the public and policy makers from the nuts and bolts energy efficiency measures which yield the big, cost-effective, carbon savings.



It is undoubtedly true that amongst “early adopters”, keen on nifty gadgets in general, microrenewables, being cool devices, have an appeal that hidden insulation that just lies there and saves energy can’t match. And the media certainly do love a story about plucky little home generators, so they are high-profile.

But the idea that microrenewables and energy efficiency are in conflict is what I think philosophers and Marxists call a false dichotomy. In fact they both have a place in the ecology of carbon saving. I think it would be fair to say that at the present time the large majority of support for carbon–saving measures in the home – from government and from other players like fuel suppliers – is for energy efficiency measures, that’s insulation of all kinds, low-energy light bulbs and so on. And that is is how it should be because these are incredibly cost-effective measures which save lots of money and carbon for relatively low investment. But although there is lots of carbon still to save through energy efficiency and we won’t come to the end of it for a long time yet, one day (and the sooner the better for the planet) we will have insulated all the cavities and lofts that can be insulated and replaced all the light bulbs that can be replaced.

And we still won’t have reached the targets for carbon savings – which will be 80% in Scotland. So then we will need microrenewables to save even more carbon and we will need them in large numbers. And as mass markets take a long time to develop, we need to start them going now.



Don’t forget that most people who install microrenewables do so because they have already put in all the insulation their house can accomodate and want to take the next step in terms of saving carbon and money. So today’s early adopters, far from indulging whimsically in pointless eco-bling, are pioneers doing us all a favour. Their willingness to invest in microrenewables is taking the whole market forward and everybody will benefit in the end.

So let’s hear it for eco-blingers!

Don’t Mention the War (on climate change), Germany is winning

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"Can the UK come back and take the lead over Germany in the fight against climate change?"

Well, it is not only football where we seem to get beaten in extra time by the Germans, I have just been wading my way through a comprehensive pack of measures launched over the last couple of years, enabling ordinary German citizens along with businesses and communities to modernise their housing, particularly delivering on energy efficiency and reducing CO₂ emissions from buildings. 

Just to give you some sort of sense of scale, in 2007, about 80,000 low interest loans totalling €5 billion (yes €5 billion) were granted under the Reducing CO₂ emissions from Buildings programme in Germany.  This went towards establishing energy efficiency in over 200,000 existing or newly built homes.  In addition €600 million went towards modernising 600 schools and 1,200 day care centres for children with significant increases in the energy efficiency of both new and existing buildings.

The good news for the German economy does not just stop there however. It is also estimated by the Bremmer Energy Institute that these “investments” helped to secure existing jobs and will create around 220,000 new jobs every year in German small and medium size construction companies.   In total from 2006 to 2009 the Federal Government will make about €4 billion available to reduce CO₂ emissions from buildings, which it has already announced will continue until 2011.  I could go on.

These financing packages are not only generous, they are also sensibly constructed, capped at a level that gives a decent incentive for consumers and developers alike to carry out the necessary investment in family houses, apartments and public buildings.  Not only that, if the measures that are carried out they deliver a 30 per cent reduction against existing housing standards the owner receives a grant of up to 20 per cent of those investment costs, so there is a double incentive to do the right thing.  If you get the message we are already 3-0 down and it’s not even half time yet!  The way in which these schemes are incentivised and structured makes them even more compelling proposition, with some schemes offering repayment free start up years and then repayment periods running from 5 to 30 years with a fixed interest rate for the first five or ten years.  Well - the games up, I think it is about time that we started getting serious in the UK in regards to what is necessary to deliver a decent housing standard for the lamentable housing that still exists in all four countries that make up the Union.

The good news, however, is that we have not yet reached full time and if we are quick about it, and I can’t say I am entirely confident, there is still an opportunity for a late equaliser or dream of dreams a winner in extra time.  If we don’t then Euro 2008 won’t be the only competition we fail to qualify for!

A room with a view!

Well, yesterday was quite a special day as I helped Nicky Gavron (Deputy Mayor of London) launch the completed and operational solar roof at City Hall. To quote Ray Noble of BP Solar - "This is possibly going to become the most iconic building, not only in the UK and Europe, but also possibly - at the moment - in the world with regard to its use of renewable energy". I won't bore you with too many of the engineering details, but suffice to say it's an engineering marvel - beautiful to look at (see pictures below) and has a carbon payback of just under four years (yes - four years!) This means with an expected operational life of 60 years, we are talking about this particular initiative paying back fourteen times over its lifetime. As I said in my speech, it's actually fantastic to see and to help launch such a singularly effective illustration of what distributed generation can look and feel like and yes, it's not a bad view either! Let's hope that the next step, which includes similar initiatives on over 100 GLA properties, whilst perhaps not as spectacular, will also serve as working reminders of what we need to do - not only to make London the leading low carbon city in the world, but also to illustrate what can be done all across the country. I am not sure that I am allowed to say well done Ken and Nicky in an election period, but I will anyway and risk Boris Johnson's wrath!