With buidings resposible for almost 50 % of the UKs energy consumption it was only going to be a matter of time before commercial premises played catch up with the residential sector. to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint of the existing building stock. Commercial leases and are beginnning to incorporate agreements between the landlord and [...]
Biogas is produced through the anaerobic digestion (i.e. digestion in the exclusion of air) of plant and animal matter in sealed tanks, producing methane (which when cleaned has the properties of North Sea gas) and other gases, together with a clean and renewable fertiliser and soil conditioner. The biogas can be upgraded as a replacement [...]
There are effectively two options available to landowners: either to lease land to a wind developer for large scale turbines, or where wind resources allow, consider farm scale free standing turbines.
Depending on wind conditions and installation costs, small scale wind turbines may not always show an economic rate of return, though they may be a [...]
The most widely used definition of renewable energy is ‘energy flows which are replenished at the same rate as they are used.’
Renewable energy may be direct (such as solar water heating) or indirect such as biomass (generated by photosynthesis), wind (derived from thermal air currents) and hydro (derived from the hydrological cycle). Most renewable sources [...]
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that there is a link between rising average world temperatures and the levels of the key greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and that man’s activities are the key cause.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded, ‘Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as [...]
Before renewable sources of energy are considered for any construction, consideration should first be given to ensuring maximum energy efficiency. In new construction, it is in theory possible to eliminate the need for external sources of heat, as for instance in the ‘passivhaus’ standard used in Germany and parts of Scandinavia. In practice, the most [...]
The transport sector is the largest single consumer of energy in the UK, accounting for 34% of the total. The domestic sector was responsible for a further 30% and industry for another 22%. The remaining 14% was consumed by the service sector and the agriculture sector (1%).
Excluding the transport sector, heat accounts for over 70% [...]
Emissions trading, currently confined to large businesses, is emerging as a key instrument in the drive to reduce GHG emissions. The UK scheme is open to the 6,000 companies with Climate Change Agreements. These negotiated agreements between business and Government set energy-related targets. The scheme ended in December 2006 and has now been replaced by [...]
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas and is the product of Uranium decay. It is found in a wide range of rocks and soils and in turn building materials derived from these rocks. Outdoors radon gas dissipates harmlessly into the air but in buildings it is known to build in [...]
Hard to believe that 10 years ago we were eagerly anticipating entering a new millennium, what party to go to and how the world was going to crumble as the digital and electronic infrastructure failed to cope with the millennium bug. A turn of year, let alone millennium, is always a [...]
