Low Carbon Home 26

News

Dates for your diary

PVTech and TechTalk webinars on solar installations

News

Green Homes Grant Scheme scrapped

Once the centrepiece of Boris Johnson’s promise to ‘build back greener’, the £1.5bn programme, offering households grants of up to £10,000 to install insulation or low-carbon heating, leaves the UK without a plan for tackling one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and leaves the government falling short on its promise to create tens of thousands of green jobs.

News

ESG metrics: UK Leading the Charge

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, also commonly referred to as sustainability. In a business context, sustainability is about the company’s business model. Hence, how its products and services contribute to sustainable development, and how operations are managed to minimise any negative impact.

Feature

Green technology mindset: Open goal opportunity for electric installers

Electric car charging points haven’t been an element architects, developers and electricians alike, have had to factor into their designs and drawings, until now. Charge points have suddenly become less an optional extra and more a key feature which has to be considered, as much in the 1st and 2nd fix stages than the latter. For a while now, Electric Charge Points ‘AKA EV chargers’ sat in the same domain as ancillary optionals such as Alarm systems, CCTV systems, and security tech. An area an electrical installer might delve into from time to time, though not the main source of their workload. The bulk of such work instead shared and distributed with specialist security technicians with advanced network installation skills.   However, unlike security technicians whereby a basic skill set in electronics and technology might get you by, EV Installers require their 18th Edition and relevant electrical qualifications to proceed. Where there is still is a niche opportunity for electrical companies to focus the bulk of their attention over to ‘EV installations’, general electrical companies right across the board can benefit from this new work stream, with the added confidence that ‘DIY and self-installation’ is off the table for the foreseeable.  The EV industry is swiftly moving past the stages of early adoption, with the mass market consumers waiting in the wings. This was helped by Boris Jonson’s announcement in late 2020 for the ban on the sale of fossil fuel cars from 2030. This gives electrical installers an open goal opportunity to positively shift some of their focus over to these new green technologies and innovations in preparation for the great wave.  Companies such as myenergi, a dynamic powerhouse in green tech solutions, are putting emphasis on consumers achieving energy independence and less reliance upon the national grid system. Their flagship product the zappi electric vehicle charger, the market frontrunner, Eco Friendly EV charger in the world compatible with PV, Solar and renewable systems, inspiring other manufacturers not only focus on ‘the charge itself’ but actually how the electricity is generated in the first place. The zappi works as a stand-alone plug and play charger connected to the grid but teamed up with their solar diverter (the eddi), consumers are able to utilise the zappi’s green ECO modes and charge their vehicles using 100% self-generated green energy.  It’s this mindset and drive towards genuine tangible change away from pollutants amongst businesses and consumers alike, which is pulling together green smart technology, renewable energy and progressing technologies such as electric vehicles. Award winning companies such as myenergi have been key players in pulling these sub technologies together and adopting new tech terms such as Eco-Smart and Green Tech.  Network smart technology was also forced together as a requirement by OLEV and OZEV whereby electric vehicle chargers have to be future-proofed and connected to the internet. A move towards the ‘internet of things’ which is gradually coming to fruition. The zappi charger leads the way in its ability to adapt and update with automatic firmware updates, whereby all myenergi devices are connected over the smart hub device wirelessly. The addition of the wireless harvi sensor makes the zappi one of the easiest devices on the market to install with less need for fishing long CT cables. zappi also offers PEN protection and doesn’t require earth rods which means no digging up driveways, better aesthetics and quicker installations all round. 

News

myenergi expands into Ireland as EV sales soar

The new subsidiary, located in Ballycastle, will be spearheaded by Pearse McHenry, a longstanding business partner of myenergi. The move will bring the brand’s product range to the masses, helping residents benefit from a more sustainable lifestyle, as well supporting the government’s commitment to cleaner living.

News

Webinar exploring how smart data can help pave the way to net zero

The webinar will be chaired by Nicholas Doyle, Co-Founder of Chirpy Heat. Nicholas has worked in housing for nearly 30 years and has been responsible for award-winning housing, energy, and environmental initiatives nationally and internationally. In 2018 he was a Co-Founder of Chirpy Heat, the leading provider of services to housing providers on heat networks.

News

Researchers caution over retrofitting and radon

Ireland’s residential retrofitting programme should ensure ventilation is carefully considered to avoid an increase in levels of radon gas in homes, researchers at NUI Galway have found.

Opinion

Diversity for installers

We live in changing times, led by a reassessment of how we treat our planet and each other, increasing digitisation and the roll-back of globalisation towards national priorities. These ‘megatrends’, which have been accentuated and accelerated by the response to the pandemic, are incredibly relevant to the roles women take in the workplace and wider society.

News

REA calls for UK storage market mechanism

The report ‘Longer-Duration Energy Storage: The missing piece to a Net Zero, reliable and low-cost energy future’ estimates that the UK will need at least 30GW of longer-duration energy storage by 2050. However, the report concludes that this target is currently undeliverable based on the present market and regulatory framework.

Opinion

Take a moment to sit back, relax and think how far we have come

It’s easy when working in a fast paced and demanding job to forget about why you are actually doing the work you are doing. What’s the point, why are you so stressed out? I think it’s important for me and all of my colleagues to, every once in a while, take a moment to remind ourselves of the importance of working in the low carbon sector. We cannot get caught up in the negative press and must remind ourselves of just how much progress we’ve made in recent years. 

News

Altelium welcomes £92 million investment

We stand at the edge of transformation in our energy system and this investment will support that change. Just as the communications industry has been transformed within a generation, from the first land lines at a household level to mobile phones and internet for all in a lifetime, we will see the same degree of transformation to our energy industry.   From Altelium’s success in renewable energy and applied battery data – itself the result of an Innovate UK grant win – we know that practical solutions can be developed quickly with the right support.   Lithium-ion battery storage though BESS is already working effectively and efficiently, and will transform local community and small-scale commercial energy creation, storage and application.  Hydrogen technology coupled with wind and wave energy has the capacity to deliver change on a national scale, with the potential it offers to store energy for longer periods of time or transport it across greater distances.   We welcome this investment and the focus it gives on areas where the opportunity for change and benefit for the good of all is greatest.   

News

Highlands establishes green hydrogen hub

A multi-partner plan involving the Port of Cromarty Firth has been launched to establish a green hydrogen hub in the Highlands that will see Scotland lead the world in hydrogen technology.

Feature

Demystifying the route to renewables

The webinars, hosted by OFTEC and in partnership with MCS, consist of three short sessions developed in response to feedback from technicians and will primarily focus on heat pump technologies.

Opinion

Organisations rally to stop scrapping of GHG

Premature closure of the Green Homes Grant Scheme would put jobs in jeopardy, dash the dreams of homeowners and put the UK’s Net Zero target at significant risk

Product

myenergi reward scheme and direct leads for installers

Developed in partnership with EV Comply, the step-by-step solution takes the customer through the OZEV grants application process* and connects them to their closest myenergi-approved independent. While saving time and money for the consumer, installers benefit from sales leads direct to their inbox.

Case Study

HNIP funding Kent’s transition to net zero

Over £165 million of Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) funding has been awarded since the scheme opened for applications in 2019. The most recent recipient is Kent County Council who has secured £2,478,000 to support the development of a low carbon heat network in Maidstone.

Feature

Private rented home energy improvements at odds with climate targets say HPA

The Government recently consulted on its proposals to improve the energy performance of privately rented homes as part of its plans to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. However, while proposals put forward will go some way to tackling the improvements needed, they do not go far enough.

Product

Replace windows with wood

Glass might be great for looking through but, unfortunately, it’s a very poor insulator. In a typical house, windows account for roughly 10% of the total heat lost and two thirds of this is radiation through the glazing itself.

Opinion

‘Inaccurate’ & ‘misleading’ figures from Gas User Org

“The UK also lacks the manufacturing capacity to switch to heat pumps for new builds. Current housing new builds is running at an annual completion level of 177,980 units, but there is only one UK manufacturer of Air Sourced Heat Pumps, Mitsubishi in Scotland, with a capacity of 3,000 units per year. Almost all gas boilers fitted in the UK are built here, so we would be closing a successful UK manufacturing sector to import an inferior overseas product.”