Sell your energy

Heard about making money by generating your own electricity? Let's try & put this into perspective.

Utility companies are required to source a percentage of their energy from renewable energy providers, to assist in cutting carbon dioxide emissions. Energy companies will buy the surplus electricity created from a Solar PV system as this helps the energy supplier to meet their requirement.

During daylight hours, the electricity generated by the Solar Photovoltaic (solar PV) system will supply the home and any energy produced which is not required will be sold to the nominated electricity supplier through an approved import/export meter. During periods of high energy use in the home, or when the Solar PV system is unproductive, electricity can be bought back from the network to supplement the Solar PV power supply.

If you are considering installing or have had a renewable technology commissioned which creates electricity, such as a Solar Photovoltaic Electricity, it is likely you will be able to get paid for the electricity it generates. Most of the major utility providers offer a buy back scheme which can often be easy and quick to join.

How do you get paid? - via a teriff, or fee for the electricity you generate. there are two types of tariff to consider

Export Tariffs - You will only be paid for the electricity generated that is exported back to the National Grid and therefore not used in the property.

Generation Tariffs - You will be paid for all the electricity that you generate, regardless whether it is used in the property, this is usually a lower tariff than the export tariff.

To ensure you chose the right package for your needs, carefully check the details with each utility provider to ensure it is the correct buy back tariff for you and it meets your needs.

There are other points to consider relating to the newly introduced Feed in Tariffs (FITs) and Renewable Obligation Certificates, but that's for another day.

As always, before embarking on any implementation of such you should take considered advice from experts. In terms of the efficiencies of making these installations in your home, an Energy adviser should be able to help. The Utility companies will be able to advise on tariffs in your area.

finally a word of warning. some of the less reputable installation companies are now offering free installation of PV or solar hot water to give you improved energy use in your home. BUT... you would typically sign over to them the tariff payments for future electricity you generate from the installation, and in the long run, this will make you more money than the cost savings on offer, so consider such things very carefully.

Trick yourself warmer

as the weather takes on a decidedly Autumnal feel, it's natural to think about how to stay warm.

In terms of your house, then insulation, particularly in the loft is the obvious place to start. current best practice os for a minimum of 250mm (10inches) of standard insulation, so check what you've got and top it up. remember to leave an air space at the eaves though, air must be able to circulate or you could create problems of damp or condensation.

Why not insulate yourself, putting on a jumper is infinitely more cost effective than turning on/up the heating, so get that winter wardrobe dusted down.

Finally - trick yourself warm. Psychologically if you can see a naked flame, you WILL feel warmer, so light a candle. It brightens up the decor in a room, and makes you feel better and has more or less no energy impact.

A Kettle for your thoughts

Well, summer is over, the morning and evenings are cooling down, schools are in and students will be going back to University in the next couple of weeks, so no more excuses, time to get back into blogland.

So here's a quick thing to get the ball rolling as it were.

We had occasion to buy a new kettle the other day, nothing particular here, the old one had served us well and just gave up the ghost. Now I'm not going to tell you that I have found an eco friendly green alternative for the humble domestic kettle, but rather to comment on a leaflet that was in the box - this was hints and tips on how you should use the kettle in a 'green' way. The main thing here was obviously only boil as much water as you need - don't fill the kettle to the top every time you use it. what brought this home to me though was the additional information - if everyone in the UK only boiled the water they needed the saving would provide the power to light all UK streetlights for seven months - WOW. It also said that if you only boil the water you need, then you could save up to 66% energy - which would pay for the kettle within a year!

It's also nice to see the manufacturers taking a responsible attitude on such things and 'spreading the word'

My work as an energy assessor looks at the bigger aspects of home energy efficiency, but these little sometimes make just as much impact.

So the next time you boil that kettle.......