Green sense

Opportunities and threats
Many property owners/managers in both the public and private sectors are calling on their maintenance contractors to implant as many green measures as possible for residents.

Smart metering is one of the chief green initiatives. Most homes and businesses waste power and fuel by using the heating continually from September to April and leaving dozens of appliances switched on.

For those not in the know, a smart meter is an advanced device that records fuel consumption in intervals of an hour or less.  The person or business using a property can therefore receive an accurate picture of their consumption and adjust any demand accordingly. When consumers know exactly how much it’s costing to run some of their equipment and apparatus they respond by using fuel more judiciously.  Therefore, it’s a totally environmentally friendly approach to heating and cost saving.

When you multiply these actions by 26 million households and millions of SME businesses, the environmental impact is significant. The savings can be measured in tens of billions. There are many other ways to implement green initiatives into a home or business, these can include:

High efficiency boilers
Maintaining heating systems efficiently, by regular servicing can improve their efficiency dramatically and save significant costs. Many users also fail to realise that the design of heating boilers has advanced rapidly in recent years.  An old boiler, installed 10-20 years ago is probably adding an unnecessary 15-25 percent to any fuel overheads.  Modern high-efficiency alternatives will slash heating outgoings and benefit global energy consumption figures.

Solar thermal systems
Many individuals and businesses, particularly in the South of the UK, are discovering that using completely renewable energy sources, like solar panels and arrays, is the way forward for cost-effective energy production.
This year, PH Jones became one of the first businesses in the UK to become accredited by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) to carry out solar photovoltaic installations.

Today technology exists to predict precisely how much solar energy you can generate from a specific type of panel.  Placed at a precise angle, in specific location, taking into account shadow patterns, global geography and local weather conditions, panels can ultimately provide endless amounts of free energy.

Combined heat and power
Combined heat and power (often referred to as Micro Combined Heat & Power) is a technology which enables the simultaneous generation of clean and usable electrical power, heating and hot water for a building from a single local source. It’s a very efficient way to heat and power a property using either fossil or renewable fuels, reducing both energy bills and the CO2 emissions. Some modern systems only take up a similar amount of space as a traditional combination boiler.

How do combined heat and power technologies work?
Whereas traditional heating systems transport energy from centralised plants and networks, CHP systems produce energy – heat, hot water, and electricity – directly from a single local source.

The benefits of combined heating and power services are wide ranging, by generating heat and electricity within an installed unit they produce fewer carbon emissions and save money on energy bills in the long term.  It’s possible to achieve efficiencies of over 70 percent, even reaching 90 percent, according to some boiler manufacturer claims.  These high efficiency levels mean CHP is seen as an effective way of meeting the UK Government’s target of ‘zero carbon’ in buildings and other carbon reduction targets.

Air and ground source heat pumps
A ground source heat pump transfers heat from deep in the ground to a building, providing heating and in some cases hot water. It works by circulating water through buried pipes, which absorb the heat from underground.  The principle is similar to a refrigerator, except that it works in reverse. Ground source heat pumps are the most energy efficient means of heating, ventilating and air conditioning most properties. Due to their efficiency and positive impact upon the environment they are increasing in popularity for new build and renovation projects.  These pumps can be used to provide most, if not all of a buildings heating and domestic hot water.

We have worked with installers of alternative renewable energy technologies, local authorities and homeowners on a variety of these projects and there is no question about their longer-term viability and attractions.  In the future all homes and most businesses will source their heat energy this way, simply tapping into the earth’s boundless resources.

What benefits does a ground source heat pump deliver?
When the amount of energy used to run a ground pump is fully measured against the amount of heating supplied (and what this would have cost from another source) there are significant savings to be made on both heating bills and CO2 emissions.

There are lower maintenance costs and there is scope for heating, cooling and hot water in some instances.  As a general guide, the efficiency of the system should be such that it uses a quarter of its output to power the pump itself.

Ground source heat pumps are designed to heat a whole building and do not require any external fuel, meaning they are very energy efficient. Although relatively expensive to install they are highly cost cost-effective. At present they tend to be used where mains gas or oil is not available.

Initiatives and funding
In my professional capacity I’ve worked at the forefront of many of these renewable energy initiatives and have been responsible for the introduction of several of them.

In my experience the overriding trigger that turns a sense of environmental responsibility into positive action is invariably the financial argument. Until seeking expert guidance many clients don’t realise that grants and other forms of funding are often available to soften the impact of the initial capital outlay.  As time goes by, the investment is recouped and the benefits accrue. That said, among our private clients, it is the more affluent ones who are the most likely to implement green initiatives sooner rather then later.

Summary
In summary, the technology to heat, power, cool and ventilate buildings and workplaces with renewable energy already exists but with millions of buildings to modernise, the job of updating our entire infrastructure will cost billions and take generations.

Every step we take along the road to lower carbon footprints is a progressive stride forward for the planet. Making society more renewable and energy-efficient is an absolute economic priority.