When the electricity bill lands at the home into the future, the envelope may contain a pleasant surprise. Rather than showing just how much the family owes, this could contain a cheque to cover the energy it has generated for the national grid!

The government’s recently published energy and planning white papers combine to sketch a rosy future for householders generating small amounts of electricity on-site, which is then used to power a home’s Lighting, Heating and electrical appliances. Any excess power generated can be exported back again to the grid.

The power white paper ‘Meeting the Energy Challenge’ ushers in a potentially bright future for electricity with detailed proposals pointing to how electric heating and warm water will be integral to reducing carbon emissions and improving energy security.

To meet up the government’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 (predicated on 1990 levels) requires a radical shift in energy policy, especially as power stations in the UK are responsible for generating over half of them.

技術士試験　頻出　カーボンニュートラル is given even greater emphasis by the fact that by 2020, 80% of the UK’s gas requirements will need to be imported and over half the world’s gas reserves are concentrated in only three countries, Russia, Iran and Qatar.

The white paper pushes for investment in increasingly low carbon electricity, principally large-scale renewables, clean coal and nuclear power.

Illustration of a ‘greener’ home

Microgeneration

…by 2016 new build will undoubtedly be zero carbon – achieved by a combination of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency together with the usage of microgeneration technologies…

This is utilised by low carbon homes – by 2016 new build will undoubtedly be zero carbon – achieved by a combination of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency alongside the use of microgeneration technologies such as solar panels, wind generators, biomass boilers and heat pumps as well as heat recovery ventilation systems.

Solar power panels or photovoltaic cells are accustomed to generate power from sunlight and changes to the planning rules, due autumn 2007, imply that these should be easier to install. According to the white paper, only one 1,300 eco-pioneers have installed panels on their homes while solar water heaters are a lot more widespread – the Department of Trade and Industry estimates you can find about 80,000 in use – as they are much cheaper to install.

Mini wind turbines also have taken off recently, with an increase of than 20,000 used by householders or small businesses around the UK. They’re only viable in some areas where average wind speeds are high enough and there is little wind turbulence from neighbouring buildings.

Ground and air source heat pumps may also be set to visit a massive growth in demand as on average for each and every 1 kW of electricity they consume they produce around 2 to 3 3 kW of heat.

Generating electricity locally avoids transmission losses and enables waste heat to be exploited for both cooling and heating. This applies as equally to commercial developments around individual homes.

In London, where 75% of the city’s carbon emissions come from buildings, the London Climate Change Agency, which is championed by god, the father Mayor’s office, is encouraging the growth of mixed-use developments which lend themselves to CHP (combined heat and power) systems, with residential and commercial property providing a balanced demand for energy night and day.