Energy

The house was designed so that for nine months of the year the heating comes almost entirely from the sun. The only other source of heating in the house is a woodstove.

Wood Stove The stove is in the centre of the house surrounded by a brick fireplace and chimney stack that act as a heat store. The hot water storage tank, the cold filler tank, and an airing cupboard are in the chimney breast to take advantage of the heat. We have a Clearview which we are very pleased with. It is easy to use, parts can be replaced easily with no tools. It produces almost no smoke as it has a double combustion design that also increases efficiency. The air is passed over the glass which keeps it clear without cleaning.

Gas boiler To top up the solar water heating we use the smallest gas boiler we could find. We looked at getting a condensing boiler but we couldn't find one with a small enough output. See grants below. Green Electricity and Gas Our electricity and gas are supplied by RSPB energy which matches the units of electricity we use with renewable sources. See below.

Clearview stove Wood from local sources

What you can do

Greenenergy.org.uk has lists of Renewable Energy Suppliers

Green electricity

Green energy schemes - changing electricity and gas supplier
The easiest step! Just one phone call and no need to pay any more than you do now! You can prevent around 2 tonnes of CO2 being emitted by changing to a renewable energy supply.

__________________ Future Energy is the UK's accreditation scheme for renewable energy. It vets and audits energy offerings so that consumers can be confident about electricity supplier's claims.
		Gives free independent advice.

There are two types of scheme accredited:
1) Renewable energy supply - The accreditation ensures that the amount of energy used by subscribing customers is matched by purchases from renewable energy sources by suppliers.

2) Renewable energy funds - Part of the payments are placed, by the supplier, in a fund for the sole use of investment in renewable energy. Suppliers commit to introducing significant new renewable energy capacity within five years of the scheme being established. The two companies below do both in a combined scheme.

Greenprices.com Gives details of all the green energy schemes in the UK but no opinions. To find out who suppliers are and what their prices are in your region, use the calculator and enter your postal code and your yearly electricity consumption.

Recommended by Friends of the Earth as their 'greenest choice'. The company only deals with renewables. A local user in Devon says it costs her less than SWEB. Tel: 0845 6011 410

RSPBenergy (Scottish and Southern Energy plc. (SSE)) say they charge the same as your local supplier. The electricity you use will be matched with generation from renewable sources. Profits they make from electricity and gas go into a renewable energy fund. They donate £20 (£10 gas and £10 for electricity) when you join and £10 every year after to RSBP. Call free with your last electricity bill handy on: 0800 0288 552 to join.

Juice - npower now have a green supply of electricity for the same price as standard.It was set up in association with Greenpeace. Tel: 0800 3162610

Energy Efficiency

The majority of energy used in the home is in water and space heating.
Many energy efficiency measures start saving you money in less than a year!

Energy saving check list:
Have you got?
1. Cavity wall insulation.
2. Loft insulation - you need 8 inches, CAT recommends 15 inches
3. Draft-proofing.
4. Low energy light bulbs saving approx. £50 in its lifetime.
5. Radiator foil - reflecting heat back into your room.
6. Thermal curtains - keep in mind for the winter.

Wood

Locally grown wood is renewable as it takes in as much carbon dioxide when it grows as when you burn it - and it should encourage the planting of more trees. It produces little pollution if burnt in a hot stove. Could you change from using coal to wood? Consider buying a wood-burning stove (they are much more efficient than an open fire).

Wood burning stoves
Most good stoves now have secondary combustion to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.

Greenenergy.org.uk has a list of woodburning stove suppliers

ClearView, Shropshire - 01588 650401 We have one of these and I would recommend it. British company. Modular steel construction. Hot air is passed over the glass to keep it clear. We bought ours from Robeys Heating.

Stovax Ltd, Exeter - 01392 474000
All have option of a water-heating back boiler, but this can reduce the efficiency of the stove.

Wood supplies
There is usually some local who sells fire wood. A typical price for split, seasoned sustainably-managed wood is £30-40 per pick-up load. See Managing your wood supplies for practical advice.

Solar

See 'What you can do' on the Solar page.

Car

The amount of energy a car uses is equivalent to a whole household. Look out for electric vehicles, bio-petrol and bio-diesel which are produced at least partly from renewable crops instead of fossil fuel. Until these become more widely available there are other things you can do:

Swich your breakdown and insurance service, such as AA or RAC to ETA the Environmental Transport Organisation. Rather than lobbying for more roads they lobby for less dependancy on cars and a better intergrated transport including public transport, cycling and walking. They even have a breakdown call-out service for cyclists!

	Boycott Esso. Stop Esso spending your petrol money on its fight to stop any positive action on climate change.

See the 'What you can do' page for a compilation from all sections.

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