Let´s face it – Energy is wasted

We are coming to the end of the oil era. But still about 80% of the world´s energy consumption comes from fossil fuels. Most experts are in agreement. We are at “peak oil” and oil production will go down. But we live like there would be oil for all of us forever. Just around a percent of the energy comes from sustainable sources like wind or sun.

We know that we must reduce our energy consumption and our CO2 emissions drastically. At the same time we know that the world energy demand will increase by 45% in the next 20 years. An increasing population gives this effect. The common response is to increase energy production, but what about emissions into the atmosphere and climate change?

We believe that we have to use our world energy more efficiently and reduce consumption by smart energy solutions.

Industrial heat is wasted.
The industrial nations – who should know better – are not using their industrial skills to reduce energy consumption. They continue to consume energy. And they continue to waste energy. Of the energy consumed in EU about 75% is wasted in the form of heat losses. This is the forgotten energy source which few mention in the energy debate. We talk about building nuclear power stations and wind farms but we forget that we could half our energy demand by becoming more energy efficient. I f we could reduce the energy waste from 75% to 50% we could half our energy consumption. The solutions are simple and based on well known technology. It is called district heating. The energy source is waste heat which is just vented away from coal condense power stations and from household waste burning sites.
District heating in the EU is just 6% of the energy production. If it were to increase to just 10% the emission of greenhouse gases would be reduced by the entire emission volume from France.

How is district heating done? You simply utilize the heat from power stations – which are producing electricity but not using the heat generated. You heat water with the surplus heat and pump it to adjacent towns and cities for the heating of homes and other properties. Likewise household waste can be burnt in waste burning plants and the heat used for heating of the population centra producing the waste.

We waste energy in our homes.
Irrespective how we heat our homes, the warm air is often allowed to escape the house. The simplest way to prevent warmed air to escape is to insulate the building. That can save 30-50% of the energy consumption by rather simple measures.
Even well insulated houses will often lose heat by ventilation. Our bathrooms and kitchen are ventilated to get rid of damp and contaminated air. If not ventilated these areas will develop damp areas, mildew and rot which may cause damages to the house and allergies to the inhabitants. The remedy is the Heat Recovery Heatpump based on exhaust air.

The air in your home may be as toxic and damaging to your health as the London street air. Even if you live in the country. Your home air is polluted by chemical substances, dust, bacteria, viruses and mould.
The most efficient way to deal with this is to ventilate the building, extracting the foul air out and injecting fresh air.
The air vented out is warm and the fresh air injected will be cold during a large part of the year. The method used is to have a controlled domestic ventilation with heat recovery. The warm exhaust air is used in a heat recovery unit to reuse the energy from the exhaust air. It also reuses energy from lighting, people and domestic appliances.

Not only does energy recovery ensure a healthy and comfortable form of heating. It also produces considerable savings in terms of heat energy which also reduces the CO2 emissions. And as an extra bonus: Your domestic air will be clean and well balanced for the benefit of your family.

In a well insulated house you may anticipate that about 75% of the energy used for heating can be recovered by an exhaust air heat recovery unit.

It is wise to use our energy resources cleverly saving energy and reducing emissions. You can start doing your share today.

Britain – The least prepared country in Europe to meet future demands for energy

Britain has been late in introducing sustainable heating and cooling systems. While most north European countries are buzzing with activities to replace oil fired heaters with heat pumps, solar panels, wind power etc, Britain seems largely to ignore the absolute necessity to change from fossil fuels to sun generated energy.
The Scandinavian countries with their colder climate, has a 30 year experience of heat pumps and around 95% of all new houses and 70% of the old ones are heated by sustainable systems. Either heat pumps, wood pellets or wood chips. Several Swedish heat pump manufacturers are world leaders in their field and are gaining export market shares.

IKEA of Sweden are systematically switching to Ground source heating and cooling of all their stores worldwide and are saving around 80% of their previous energy costs. Consider how their competitors will fare - paying 80% more for energy!

Germany is the leading country in solar panels development and the German government has introduced a system of favorable grants to stimulate the heating consumers to turn from oil heating to sustainable sources. In the process Germany has developed a very successful Sustainable Heating industry which is well prepared to conquer export markets.
The Government is supporting local production of electricity which can be sold to the Grid at favorable price. This has stimulated a lot of property owners to generate power from photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and wind. Such a system is a money spinner for the investor and a contributor to the electricity balance sheet of Germany.

Denmark is the world leader in Wind Power. They were pioneers in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today almost half of the wind turbines in the the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas. It is a huge, lucrative industry in Denmark with the enviable win-win situation of offering clean, abundant energy to its citizens whilst selling any excess energy to neighbouring countries such as Norway and Sweden.

Austria has specialized in biomass heating systems and has some excellent producers of biomass heaters. They are expensive to buy and install but produces heat at a very low cost per day once installed. Biomass heaters may be the best solution for heating a whole village or a building complex.

France, Switzerland and Sweden have practically no power stations fueled by oil or gas. They have a ratio of about 70% hydro power and 30% nuclear. These countries are well prepared for the future and their population can rely on their electricity generation, especially as hydro and nuclear power sources are complemented by Sustainable Heating Systems.

From firewood to coal to oil – to what?
In the world, we have had several thousand years of wood fire heating – from simple wood fires to more sophisticated stoves. Then we had coal fires for some 50-100 years until the air around us became so polluted by coal smoke that restrictions had to be made. For the last 100 years we have happily been burning oil and gas and enjoyed very reasonable oil prices which has developed our industries to depend on cheap oil.

Oil is not cheap any longer and competition for oil from billions of Asian countries dreaming of adopting our life style, will push up demand for oil and thus increase the price.
But the real threat to reckless burning of fossil fuels is the green house gases which is changing our climate. It really is!! Do not believe in false gurus claiming that we can continue to burn oil without restrictions. The vast majority of all scientists are convinced that the climate is changing rapidly due to massive emissions of carbon dioxide and other green house gases.
Believe me – the faster you can switch to sustainable heating of your property the more money you will save. We are not talking pennies here. We are talking of heating cost reductions of up to 70%. In the process your family will become Green Energy Pioneers. In 30 years, people will remember when Grandpa switched to Green energy just like older people remember their first TV.

Britain – with its proud history as industry leaders and developers must make a kick start to prevent being left behind the rest of the world as to Sustainable Energy. We have been fast asleep in Britain while the active part of the world has adjusted to greener heating and cooling systems.

Britain – on its way towards a serious shortage of electricity
Britain depends on old gas fired, coal fired and nuclear power stations. Many of these outdated plants will be closed down in the coming 7-10 years in accordance with Environmental laws and technical requirements. They should be replaced by modern nuclear power plants as an interim solution until more sustainable systems can be introduced at the necessary scale. For nuclear is not the answer. Nuclear fuel is a commodity in demand and the price is expected to increase in line with oil as more and more countries increase their demand of nuclear power production.

A combination of increased demand for electricity simultaneously with a phase out of say 30% of Britain´s power generation will lead to black outs for you and me. Not for hospitals, schools and other essential buildings. But for you and me – sitting in our Sustainably heated homes, saving oil but consuming electricity for our pumps, fridges and all our other necessities, we will face a very uncomfortable situation. Our homes will get black and cold.

What can we do to keep our homes functioning?
In our opinion: Do not trust the government to supply electricity. Oh – they will do that most of the time but during periods of increased demand for electricity it may simply not be available to all of us. Especially on cold winter days demand for electricity may outstrip supply. Then decisions have to be made by the power companies: “Which areas do we black out? Because we have not have enough electricity for everyone who just switched on their electric heaters”.

Generate your own Sustainable heat. But you should also generate your own power to run the heat pumps and your other appliances.
The Combined Heat and Power Systems (CHP)
There are Sustainable heating systems generating heat and also simultaneously electricity. Yes – the generation of electricity is less efficient than in the big power stations but the main thing point is that the electricity is produced for your home and at your home. It will be available to you and your family when you press your button in your garage.

“England expects every man to do his duty”
It is time for Britain to catch up with our neighbours in Europe with regards to energy, heating and power. We can all do our share and we have to do our share as no Energy Package Solution will be handed to us by Downing Street or any other street.

You and I – can learn as much as possible about sustainable heating systems and consider what changes we may introduce in our homes, businesses and public building close to our hearts and jobs.
We may listen to independent Energy consultants to gain vital and unbiased knowledge before making major decisisons.

The Society, politicians and rulers, should facilitate a transition to Green, Sustainable Heating and Cooling of our buildings. Do not for a moment believe that the changes will come from above. It will come from the grassroots – just like it did in Sweden in the last 30 years. A million home owners gradually found out that an energy well drilled into their garden could reduce their heating bill by 70%. The Swedish Government created momentum by offering grants for Sustainable heating systems.

The Media – can report positively and with good fact finding on every little new achievement in every little town or village where the inhabitants are switching to Sustainable Heating. There is nothing like a strong popular movement to change the world. And that is what we are doing. We are changing into a better, more sustainable world.
And in the process – you and I will save some thousands of pounds in heating cost. This year and every year.

The Industry and the Investors
Invest in Green Energy. Do not look at profitability based on the present energy prices of the old fossil fuels. Invest in energy sources which will be extremely profitable once the current energy prices have doubled, quadrupled or increased even more. Tidal Power. Wind Power. Solar Power. Efficient Heat Pumps - they will all play a part.

The Future
The world has been turned upside down by the financial crisis and by the strong industrial development in Asia. Hardly any commodity can be produced profitably in Europe any longer.
I believe that Green Energy is the future of Europe. If we Europeans could get together and develop Sustainable Energy Systems for our own markets, I have no doubt that our experience and skill will lead to strong export sales in the future. Especially if we do this on the basis of Constant Innovation.

Heat Pumps: Things to consider….

Heat pumps are currently a very popular and efficient way of heating your home. They are often a very good replacement to the old fashion fossil-fuelled systems (particularly for those heating their homes with oil or electricity). As you will be told upon visiting any website selling heat pumps, they can have a Coefficient of Performance (COP) of up to 5, meaning it produces 5 times more energy than it consumes (500% efficient). This is far higher efficiency than that of an energy efficient boiler, which may reach up 99% at best. Naturally this seems a no-brainer and it most definitely is if you are replacing an oil-fired or electric heating system but you must always consider the less obvious issues. I would endorse an efficient heat pump but keep the following factors in your mind before agreeing to install one in your home, especially if you are retro-fitting a system to an existing home.

1) How is your current insulation? – I know I have repeated myself but this is a very important point. There is really very little sense in looking to invest in a fairly expensive and elaborate heat pump system before addressing the insulation of your property. You may be able to improve the insulation of your cavity wall or loft or both. As mentioned previously, the relatively low cost of doing this (grants are also available-more on that later) will not only set your house up for maximum efficiency of a heat pump but will also significantly lower your heat requirement and reduce your carbon emissions. Two fairly good side-effects!! You may also need to look at your windows, especially single-glazed ones that have huge heat loss. The most responsible heat pump manufacturers/installers I have talked to will not (and should not) consider selling a heat pump to you unless your home is sufficiently insulated. Beware of heat pump companies who do not insist on prerequisites of having a highly insulated home.

2) Underfloor heating – As heat pumps are generally only able to reach temperatures of around 55 degrees Celsius, far lower than the 80+ degrees possible with traditional systems of condensation boilers. Due to this reason, Heat pumps should only be installed in conjunction with the fitting of under floor heating. The cost of this, which can run in the £1000’s must be considered before deciding on installing a heat pump. The idea of a heat pump system is to keep the temperature in your home at a constant level as it takes a significant time to build up a desired temperature throughout a large home.

3) Single-Phase vs 3-Phase electricity – As per Wikipedia: “In electrical engineering, single-phase electric power refers to the distribution of alternating current electric power using a system in which all the voltages of the supply vary in unison. Single-phase distribution is used when loads are mostly lighting and heating, with few large electric motors. A single-phase supply connected to an alternating current electric motor does not produce a revolving magnetic field; single-phase motors need additional circuits for starting, and such motors are uncommon above 10 or 20 kW in rating. In contrast, in a three-phase system, the currents in each conductor reach their peak instantaneous values sequentially, not simultaneously; in each cycle of the power frequency, first one, then the second, then the third current reaches its maximum value.” In the UK, unlike many other European Countries, existing residential homes have single-phase electricity powering their homes. This can cause problems for owners of large residential properties where the heat consumption requires a large heat pump that can only be run on 3-Phase electricity. Heat pump brands such as IVT, Nibe, Vaillant and Viessemann all manufacture high quality pumps that can heat very large properties of 20KW and much higher but the prerequisite is that 3-phase electricity is available at the property. As 3-phase is common in the residential homes of Nordic Countries, this is not an issue for them but it is worth keeping in mind in the UK. Make sure you know what form of electricity is supplied to your home before making a large investment. There are twin-compressors available which put two 8-9KW units together to cover the heat requirement of a larger residential home but make sure you understand how they work together before investing. One company that has identified this problem in the UK is Kensa Engineering based in Cornwall, UK. They have manufactured heat pumps for the UK market, with the ability to run on single-phase electricity with capacity up to 24KW, enough to heat a very sizable home, provided of course, the property is well insulated!!

4) Plot size- Do you have a big garden or surrounding land on your property? As a heat pump requires the laying of pipes in the earth (at least 1 metre below the ground), it is necessary to consider how much space you have. There are two ways of laying these pipes, either straight pipes or “slinky” pipes. The slinky or looped piping naturally will require less space but both need a fairly significant amount of land, especially for larger homes with large heat requirements. It is safe to say that with a property requiring an 18KW heat pump, piping of 300+ metres is required. An alternative to a ground source heat pump is an air source heat pump, which, as the name suggests, sources its heat from the air as opposed to the ground. Technological advancement in the last few years has resulted in the development of very efficient and powerful heat pumps. They are definitely worth considering, especially if your property has limited land area. As they do not come with hundreds of metres of piping, they can be significantly cheaper as well.

5) Electricity consumption of your heat pump – before patting yourself on the back for creating massive savings on your heating bill, consider the increased cost of electricity from running a ground source or air source heat pump. Some air source heat pumps have recently claimed to offer a COP of 5 and have the ability to reach temperatures of over 80 degrees Celsius, which means they can be retro-fitted to existing radiators without needing under-floor heating. This sounds good in theory but some of the larger heat pumps may need up to 5KW power input in order to run, which equates to 120kwh/day or 43,000kwh/year. With electricity in the UK costing roughly 11p per kwh, this would equate to a cost of around £4,800 just to run the heat pump!!

The above are some of the main points to consider before deciding whether a heat pump is right for your property. Remember that if you first turn your attention to the energy efficiency of your home, your eventual heat requirements may be significantly less. Upgrade old appliances, invest in smarter thermostats and look at ways of improving insulation before taking the next step into heating your home with a renewable system such a heat pump.

Are you ready for a change?

There is no doubt that the days of heating your home with oil are numbered. All the signs are pointing in the same direction. We will either not be able to afford heating our homes with oil or we will simply not be permitted to use it with ever tightening policies and laws on the carbon footprint of our homes. Our laws will no longer tolerate carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides and dangerous particles rising from the chimneys of our homes or our power plants. The cost of eliminating such substances at oil refineries will run in the hundreds of billions. The oil available for the heating of houses will have to compete with the world fleet of ships requiring bunker oil. Shipping has few alternatives to burning oil for propulsion. Such competition for cleaner oil will undoubtedly result in higher prices for domestic heating. Add to this the extraordinary rise of China and India’s thirst for a western lifestyle, with multiple cars, air conditioning, overseas travel etc, as well as the inevitable carbon taxes on our fossil fuel consumption and there is little question that moving away from a dependency on fossils fuels is the right decision economically, environmentally and ethically.

Moving away from consuming oil to heat your home is the right answer and major savings can be made by doing so. If your home is heated by electricity, LPG or mains gas there potential savings for you too as all hydrocarbon based fuels will inevitably rise in price with oil as time goes by, due to a combination of high demand and speculative trading.

How much can you save on investing in energy efficient improvements and a renewable energy system? That depends – if you currently heat your home with oil in an un-insulated house you may save up to 80 percent of your energy bill. In a more modern house you will save between 50 and 70%. Your energy bill will go down from around £5,000 per year to £1,000! or from £10,000 to £2,000 for a larger house. Next year and every year thereafter.

A clean, renewable and sustainable energy is the right solution for your home heating requirements. The big question is what form of renewable energy is best for your home? Sustainable property heating is no rocket science but you must be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of all systems. You should also understand the possible prerequisites for installing a specific renewable energy system in such a way that maximizes its potential of efficiency and economic savings. These prerequisites will include insulation standards, under floor heating needs, heat recovery potential, appliance efficiency, electricity requirements etc. Without doing the right homework you may well end up with an unnecessarily expensive and relatively uneconomical and inefficient heating system.
The market is full of various forms of renewable energy from solar (PV and solar thermal), ground source and air source heating, to hydro, wind turbines and wood pellet burners etc. There are countless companies and distributors selling THEIR choice of renewable energy to you. At Kington Renewable Energy we want to help sell YOUR choice of renewable energy to you.

Kington Renewable Energy will help you choose the right heating solution. We are independent from manufacturers and distributors and have no bias toward any specific form of renewable, sustainable energy. We do not work for any supplier of heat pumps, energy drilling or other devices. Our aim is to evaluate your current situation and discuss with you your ambitions and goals. We will work for you and find what solution is the best for your needs.

Our services to you include the following:

• We carefully evaluate your home from a heating point of view. We will start by looking for Nega-watts. Energy waste. What simple changes will reduce your heating requirements? How much of your energy produced actually heats your home and how much escapes outside? As a rule of thumb about 35% of your heating can be lost through inefficient roof insulation and windows.

• We calculate how much energy you will require to keep the temperature in your home at the level you prefer. We all have different heating preferences, so based on your specific needs we will recommend the best combination of sustainable heating products that will provide you with your central heating needs as well as your required hot water, both at the lowest price and highest efficiency.

• We will discuss additional features to complement a sustainable heating system such as heat recovery units and ventilation systems. You will learn about their potential advantages and will be able to make an educated decision on whether or not this is something for you

• Once we have agreed on the best solution for you and your family, Kington will take care of the rest. From laying new insulation and replacing home appliances to sourcing the renewable energy products (all from leading manufacturers in their industries) and then supplying and installing them, we will manage every step of the way. We are on your side – low costs, high efficiency, big savings and 100% satisfaction is what we aim to achieve on every project. We live on our reputation of efficiency and reliability.

• Upon completion we will test the efficiency of the combined heating systems and follow up by testing it again after a few months. We will also arrange for the future service of your heating systems.

• We will be responsible for obtaining grants for the various types of products where available

• If you wish, we can also assist in finding financing solutions for your energy efficiency upgrade.

We live in a New World where everything is changing. Jobs, salaries, costs, security and transportation are changing. We have to be careful with our resources to keep our family secure in the future. Being less dependent on fossil fuels is a big step in the right direction for you and your family to be prepared for this New World of lower emissions and a greater economic consciousness. Take the first step and contact us for a free consultation.
Stay tuned for more reports and discussions on all aspects of creating a smarter, more energy efficient home for you.
For any questions please contact chris@kingtonrenewables.com

More advice to follow...

As we only recently decided to put all the information on improving the energy efficiency of your home on a blog, it will take some time to get all the information up on this site in an orderly and logical fashion. In the meantime, if you have any specific questions or queries, please don't hesitate to contact me on chris@kingtonrenewables.com. We are here to offer advice!

First Steps

Improving the energy efficiency of your home covers a wide variety of aspects and options. I will focus on your heating requirements at this stage. It is wise to start by explaining how one can measure the improvements made to your house. How can you tell your home is more energy efficient. A very handy way to view energy is one that I first came across from reading David Mackay's very informative book; "Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air". Mackay uses Kilo Watt Hours (kwh) as the main measurement to compare and contrast various methods of home improvements and how they impact your energy consumption. A kwh is the unit of energy you will find on your electricity bill and is therefore easy to convert to cost in pounds whether it has been produced, lost or consumed. For the UK domestic user it costs roughly 11p per kwh in 2009. Power is another important concept. Power is the rate at which something uses energy and will measured in kwh/per day, month or year. This is a fairly easy unit for people to understand. For example, a 40W light bulb (power) left on all day would consume one kwh/day of energy. 40W ≅ 1kwh/day (1 KW = 1000W = 24kwh/day). With regards to space heating, the amount of kwh/day used will naturally vary significantly depending on the size of the property and its structure. As a rough guide, the average UK detached home with no insulation requires roughly 53 kwh/day.

When assessing the heating and efficiency of your home it is wise to look at the “leakiness” of the building. How much heat escapes on a consistent basis. The leakiness of your home will have two main sources

Conduction – the loss of heat through walls, windows, loft, ceiling etc
Ventilation – the loss of heat through open windows, doors gaps

A typical British home will lose the majority of heat through conduction (roughly 70%). In other words, with improvements in insulation and/or windows, one could make large reduction in heat use. Clearly, a badly insulated, large home with single-glazed windows will result in a higher rate of conduction and greater heat loss. Without getting into very technical details, it is possible to measure accurately how many kwh/day are lost both through conduction and ventilation. This kwh/day can easily be expressed in terms of pounds wasted and CO2 emitted. Look at the chart below and see the effect that insulation can have on a home when expressed as kwh/day consumed.


DETACHED HOME SPACE HEATING REQUIRED
No insulation 53kwh/day
+ loft insulation 43kwh/day
+ cavity insulation 30kwh/day
+ double glazing 27kwh/day
Space heating estimates (Eden & Bending 1985)

Just by adding loft and cavity insulation, there is potential to reduce the heat loss by 25% and because of incidental heat gains from greater insulation, this 25% reduction will actually translate to roughly a 40% reduction in the consumption of energy for heat.
Simple and relatively inexpensive steps , such as insulation, can be taken to reduce the heat consumption of your home. Below is a list of just some of the possible steps:

• Update all old, electrical appliances in the home including washing machine, tumble dryer and boiler
• Placing individual thermostats on radiators in bedrooms and living rooms to allow for more accurate temperature adjustments to rooms, which may have different temperature needs and different frequencies of use.
• Consider lowering set temperature evening by 1 degree Celsius. It has been calculated that a 1 degree reduction in thermostat setting can have as much as a 10% decrease in energy consumption over a year.
• Employ a handyman to go through the house and fill in gaps and cracks in the building to prevent excess ventilation heat loss.

My main interest lies in renewable energy systems and the advantages and disadvantages of the various products available (ground source and air source heat pumps, solar thermal, photovoltaics, wood pellets and chip burners, heat recovery systems etc). But what I have learned over the past years is that without properly setting the groundworks for your exisiting home, with improved insulation (cavity wall, loft and windows), upgraded appliances and better temperature control, it is a big waste of money to make a large investment in a renewable energy system. Your first step should be to look at the cheaper and far easier ways of improvong your home heating requirements before getting involved in any form of renewable energy system. You will often find that the largest savings are made from the simplest improvements whereas the installation of a renewable energy system is as much about creating energy securtiy and reducing your CO2 emissions as it is about monetary savings....

Introduction

We have set this blog up to share our ideas, thoughts and knowledge on how improve the energy efficiency of your home, make significant savings and reduce the co2 emissions from your home. We have spent the last 4 years property developers and the last year working on understanding renewable energy systems and maximising the energy efficiency of your home. Kington Renewable Energy Ltd. is an Independent Renewable Energy consultant. It has been establish to help educate and guide the consumer in the right direction. We offer unbiased advice for the homeowner wishing to improve the energy efficiency of their home and look at ways of introducing the right renewable energy system in the best possible way. Please contact us if you have any questions, no matter how small.