Low Carbon Home 28

News

AREG appoints CEO

David has extensive experience across the energy industry which has included communications and business advice. He will join AREG on October 1 following nine years with Shell.

News

Renewable duo shortlisted for prestigious UK award

For more than 20 years in the UK, the programme has been celebrating the UK’s most exciting entrepreneurs and business leaders. Recognising their ambitious journeys, disruptive thinking and commitment to making a positive impact on the economy, each finalist has been chosen for their relentless drive to bringing new innovations to market.

Opinion

Significant capacity increase needed for solar

The industry body will make the claim during the launch of its roadmap, titled Lighting the way, outlining the roll oit of solar projects over the next eight years. The report urges Westminster to set out policy and regulatory changes for the solar sector, which would allow the industry to deliver 40GW of operational capacity.

News

Sewage plants to heat homes?

Warmth may also be taken out of rivers, the sea, and old coalmines using heat pumps whilst heat from industries and incineration could be captured and piped to homes, hospitals, schools and offices.

Opinion

If not heat pumps or hydrogen – then what?

We have recently shared a poll on LinkedIn to see what you think the alternative to gas boilers will be, in response to the IEA’s report stating that gas boilers should not be sold from 2025. Here, Martyn Bridges, director of technical communication and product management at Worcester Bosch explores alternative technologies to hydrogen and heat pumps which can contribute to net zero 2050.

News

Heat pumps or hydrogen? The gas boiler replacement

This ban comes as one of 400 steps on the road to net zero, as proposed in a special report by the agency. The report has been welcomed as an important contribution on the road to COP26 in Glasgow, when countries will attempt to agree the measures needed to put the Paris climate agreement into practice.

News

Engenera as decarbonisation partner for businesses

In April, the UK government brought forward its target of reducing carbon emissions by 78% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2035 – a 15-year reduction on the previous target of 2050. This will mean increased incentives for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in renewable energy projects.

News

Rishi Sunak visits leading renewables training provider

At the end of last year, GTEC won a bid to provide heavily discounted training and certification to individuals and companies looking to upskill into heat-based renewables, backed by The Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through Midlands Energy Hub (MEH).

Opinion

High hopes for a holistic approach to heat decarbonisation

High hopes have been pinned on the long-awaited Heat and Building’s Strategy. Initially due for publication last year, the pressure is on for the Government to publish a comprehensive programme of work that lives up to expectations and outlines the immediate actions required to reduce emissions from homes and buildings. The combined strategy is anticipated to take a holistic approach to heat decarbonisation to simultaneously reduce energy demand in buildings while also incentivising low carbon heating solutions. While time will tell how far the strategy will go to tackling the third of emissions associated with the way our buildings are heated, this whole-building approach is something that has long been needed to tackle the leaky housing stock primarily heated by fossil fuels.

Feature

Grants available for renewable energy systems at commercial premises

Grants between £1,000 and £5,000 are available to help fund up to a third of the cost of systems including solar PV, biomass boilers, solar thermal, small-wind turbines, and wood fuel heaters. Projects funded include equipment upgrades, waste reduction machinery, and of course renewable energy systems. The programme has already awarded over 30 grants for renewable energy projects, with a sharp increase in applications for solar being seen in 2020/21. Solar PV projects are now the second most popular across the scheme, with 10% of applications being for this intervention (up from 0.6%) A further increase has been seen during the last month, with 50% of awarded grants in Berkshire having been for solar PV arrays.

News

Heat pump ‘influencers’ needed to speed up transition to net zero

According to scientists from the University of Sussex, the UK needs ‘heat pump influencers’ to speed up the transition to net zero buildings. While it is clear that a low-carbon energy transition requires a multitude of technologies and policies, the study focusses on heat pumps, which have been shown to be a critical low-carbon option for meeting domestic heating demand, potentially leading the way towards a broader transition

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.