Baxi Boiler Group is calling for co-ordinated thinking when it comes to the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme, commonly known as CERT.

Whole home efficiency solutions will, says the Baxi Boiler Group, help to both reduce fuel poverty and reach the required level of carbon savings. CERT, which began in April 2008, has placed a 3 year obligation on energy suppliers to meet household targets in carbon saving, targets that are widely perceived as very ambitious.

CERT, as a carbon saving scheme, have given suppliers these targets to promote carbon saving ideas. Ways in which suppliers can meet these targets include promotion of energy saving measures, such as loft and cavity wall insulating, and more efficient heating and lighting.

CERT has accomplished savings that total to 149 Mt CO2, which is around 81% of its 185 Mt CO2 target. Whilst 905 of these savings come from improvements and insulation and lighting, only 43% came from priority groups. With heating measures, a small growth was recorded at 8.5 Mt CO2, with appliances and microgeneration also behind on 5.5 and 0.66 Mt CO2 (respectively).

Simon Osborne, Baxi Group’s Channel Specification Manager, says, “CERT is an important mechanism for delivering efficient improvements in the home. Clearly, installing high efficiency appliances in leaky, poorly insulated dwellings is not the right approach. However, energy efficient boilers, and microgeneration applications in particular, should be playing a greater role as part of a co-ordinated CERT response with cuts carbon emissions with the whole building envelope.”

It is not only the boiler companies and CERT that should be addressing these targets though. “It is important also for Government and the energy suppliers to address the targeting of the scheme. At present, the priority groups most likely to be affected by issues of fuel poverty are not receiving sufficient support through CERT,” adds Simon Osborne.

The call from groups such as the Baxi Boiler Group is one of a more rounded approach, with a wider outlook into cutting carbon emissions.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Coalition Minister Chris Huhne has told The Sunday Telegraph that he’s in favour of wind power as a way of solving the country’s looming energy crisis.

He said that more should be done to harness both offshore and onshore wind power. And these comments are being made against a backdrop of the UK having to currently import around 27% of its energy.

In a situation likely to put pressure on the new coalition, the Energy Secretary made clear his feelings that there was no money for state subsidies in order to build a new generation of nuclear plants. This was the idea which was the preferred way out of the energy crisis for both the Conservative and Labour parties.

And it’s not just a question of the Liberal Democrats being ‘coerced’ into voting for the nuclear power option. As part of the coalition agreement, they are allowed to abstain whenever a vote is taken in Parliament on funding for nuclear power.

Mr Huhne also said that he was a big supporter of electric cars. His comments were part of his general strategy to see that the UK becomes far more independent in terms of producing its own energy. This, he said, would allow the country to withstand external influences, including conflict, that usually send prices rocketing. He argues that the UK cannot survive on oil and gas which is running out.

He said that given the nightmare with planning issues, the best way forward was likely to be offshore wind farms. He told the newspaper:
“Offshore wind, I think partly as a result of fewer planning issues, is likely to be an important part of our energy independence going forward.

“We have a tremendous natural resource in the Dogger Bank, which is an enormous shallow area of the North Sea, the same size as Wales.

“It’s relatively cheap to put wind turbines in that shallow area. It’s beautifully windy so it does actually produce a lot of electricity – that is a really important natural resource for us.”

Yet of the 235 wind farms currently in operation, only 12 are operating offshore. Potentially, these farms have the capacity to generate over 4,000 mega watts of electricity, yet rarely reach that level as the wind is not consistent. As for the future, some five offshore farms are currently in construction, 27 onshore are being built and a further 468 farms are being planned.

As for nuclear power, Mr Huhne said:
“We basically said exactly the same as Labour on the point about no public subsidy. I suspect the difference is that we mean it. I suspect that new nuclear will go ahead. Investors are telling me very strongly that they expect to be able to go ahead given the framework we can put in place.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The UK’s religious buildings could generate some £34 million a year if they installed solar panels says the UK’s largest supplier of gas.

By installing solar panels on churches and other religious buildings including temples and mosques, the British Gas Green Streets Programme reckons that millions could be made by utilising the Feed-In Tariffs. This is a programme which pays companies, organisations and households for providing “green” electricity.

It reckons that power worth £29 million could be generated, plus savings of £5 million for not having to buy electricity from the grid, totalling £34 million.

British Gas reckons that this will be good news for the various religions that operate in the UK, especially the number of Church of England dioceses that are currently running deficits.

What’s more, British Gas reckons that the collective use of solar panels by religions could save some 42,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year which, they point out, equates to over 600 transatlantic flights.

Managing director of British Gas Phil Bentley said:
“These potential savings are great news for the UK’s religious buildings and their congregations, and give them the opportunity to lead their communities in tackling climate change and helping Britain move towards a low carbon society. Religious buildings are particularly well suited to solar power as they tend to have large south-facing rooves which receive direct sunlight for the main part of the day.

“The Government’s Feed-In Tariff scheme is the key to unlocking the potential of solar power in Britain. As Britain’s energy company, we at British Gas are committed to helping households, business and community and faith groups make the most of this opportunity to cut their carbon footprint and earn money for the electricity they generate.”

And the Church of England appear keen on the idea. A spokesman said:
“The Church of England is committed to saving energy and becoming greener throughout the UK and the potential for solar panels on our churches is an exciting prospect. Even though not all UK churches could adopt this model due to planning and architectural conservation laws, there may be thousands of Church of England buildings out there that could help create a greener future by generating clean energy as well as some much needed income.”

And it’s already happening. St Silas Church in London has already had its south facing roof equipped with solar panels. These are in the form of PV tiles which have been manufactured specially to blend in with the Welsh slate.

And the Masjid-e-Hamza Mosque in Birmingham plans to follow suit and hopes to be better off by the tune of nearly £6,500 a year.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The Labour Government has been reported to be considering a scheme by which a homeowner could fund eco-improvements through a long term loan, possibly provided through the energy companies.

And although an inevitable row has broken out between the political parties as to whose idea it is – both the Tories and Liberal Democrats claim they had the idea first – it is a genuine attempt to help people afford home improvements with the environment in mind. We have already seen the boiler scrappage scheme has been welcomed with open arms as lots of people have jumped on the chance to buy a new gas boiler at a discount. So if it goes through it will hopefully have a positive affect.

It has always been a dilemma for anyone contemplating making changes to their house and more energy efficient, is that the pay-back can be decades.

Take double-glazing which undoubtedly makes a property warmer. Although it will save hundreds of pounds off an average energy bill every year, that won’t cover for a long time the actual cost if installation which will cost thousands of pounds.

Even the simpler job of installing loft insulation is not that cheap, especially if a householder cannot do it as a DIY project.

So the Government plan is simple: provide people with access to long term funding so they can make their home more energy efficient.

The crux is of course, can the Government afford such schemes, especially as over the coming years the public purse is going to have to be considerably tightened and home grants will be hit hard? If you look at the welcomed boiler scrappage scheme, this has proved very popular, but the scheme itself has a limited shelf life, grants for new gas boilers cannot last forever. What’s more, various consumer groups are already complaining that a number of home improvement grant schemes are being withdrawn, or wound-down. Will this result in many of the government boiler grants being forgotten by the power companies as well?

So, it’s perhaps inevitable the Government will want to involve the energy companies in the scheme. Maybe not to wholly bank roll-it, but to act as a clearing house, although you could see the temptation of ministers asking the big energy companies to put their hands in their pockets for people’s house improvements; almost a corporate tax by proxy.

But the cynics might also point out this is the period before the general election, when the Government and opposition parties alike will promise many things which are then conveniently forgotten when they become leaders.

So, it’s a great idea, but don’t hold your breath!

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Energy company British Gas is going on the offensive with a number of projects to help thousands of people on low incomes cut their energy use and lower their fuel bills.

A multi-million energy efficiency programme has seen British Gas sign agreements with ten communities across the country to help local authorities and charities assess the best energy efficiency measures to install on a community-wide basis.

British Gas say this will be a campaign worth around £70 million and measures will include insulation, draught-proofing and heating schemes, as well as home energy assessments across a wide range of housing stock.

The approach to be adopted by British Gas is known as ‘whole house’ and means that measures will be decided according to what best fits local housing and will involve the entire house instead of a single measure on a one size fits all basis.

British Gas use Walsall for an example, where work is expected to include external solid wall insulation and switching homes from high cost electricity heaters, to lower cost gas central heating.

Work in all the projects will not just take in energy efficiency measures, but will also include a range of related services such as benefits assessments. In the case of Walsall, it represents part of The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) which is a joint initiative between energy suppliers, power generators and the Government. The total value of energy efficiency measures installed here will be around £350 million.

Over 90,000 households are expected to benefit from The Community Energy Saving Programme which targets low income families. The programme is unique in helping the hard to reach people who have typically not benefited from other national energy efficiency initiatives.

And the programme is also thought capable of saving four million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas said:
“Households account for a quarter of the UK’s total CO2 emissions. By focusing on homes, and in particular vulnerable communities which have been traditionally hard to reach, we can make a significant impact on our national carbon footprint and cut the bills of Britain’s most hard-pressed families.

“As the country’s biggest energy supplier we are well-placed to take the lead in helping people become more energy efficient. This is why we’re very pleased to be the first energy supplier to begin CESP projects.”

On behalf of the Government, the Energy and Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock lent her support to the first wave of CESP projects and said:

“I’m pleased that British Gas has been so quick off the mark to begin work in these ten areas and identifying the communities that will benefit. The Community Energy Saving Programme will help some of the lowest income households across Britain tackle fuel poverty. I look forward to hearing about the other energy company plans which will ultimately benefit around 90,000 homes over the next three years.”

As well as working with local authorities, British Gas will also liaising with a number of charities including Scope, Help the Aged, Money Advice Trust and the RNIB.

Sian Mexsom, Head of Fundraising Partnerships at Age Concern and Help the Aged, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to support British Gas in such a tremendously important programme. Through our work, we reach out to disadvantaged older people across the UK who tell us how they’re forced to live in just one heated room of their house in the colder winter months. We’re hopeful the CESP projects will help change this.”

Homes in Birmingham, Chester, Dundee, Glasgow, Haringey, Swansea, Knowsley, Preston, Southwark and Walsall will be in the first wave of The Community Energy Saving Programme.

Guest Article by Neil Camp