Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is a sustainable energy source that comes from the natural environment. Global environmental and economical concerns are the major factors in the interest and pursuit of renewable energy forms.

Biomass
Biomass is an organic material made from plants, waste or animals. Burning biomass provides heat, examples of biomass fuels include wood, crops,  rubbish, animal waste etc. Biomass can also be converted into usable forms of energy like methane gas, ethanol and biodiesel.

Photovoltaic (PV)

This form of energy is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. A PV cell is the technology used to convert

solar energy directly into electricity. PV systems are often used in remote locations that are not connected to an

electric grid. There are mainly three types of PV cells. monocrystaline, polycrystaline and thin film. Crystaline

modules (mono and poly) are similar in performance and reliability, However monocrystaline modules are

composed of cells cut from continous crystals thus having a uniform color (Dark Blue). Thin film or Amorphous

meaning non-crystalline, panels can be made flexible and light weight using plastic glazing and some

of them perform better than crystalline modules under low light conditions.

Solar Water Heating (Evacuator Tubes)

from the solar thermal collectors is used to heat water stored in the hot water cylinder. In summers the water in

the cylinder can reach a temperature of 80 degree within half a day, and the adequate insulation on the cylinder

will keep the water warm. Typically the solar hot water system will reduce your domestic hot water bill by 50%.

Wind Power use blades, rotor and generators which harness the winds energy to generate electricity. Wind energy is an economical power resource and is a clean form of renewable energy.  

Heat Pumps
Heat pumps transfer heat from the ground, air or water into a building to provide heating and, in some cases, to pre-heat domestic hot water. There are mainlytwo types of systems used to transfer heat from one medium to another.

Ground Source Heat Pumps
Ground source heat pumps use a buried ground loop which transfers heat from the ground into a building to provide space heating and, in some cases, to pre-heat domestic hot water. As well as ground source heat pumps, air source and water source heat pumps are also available. With a ground source heat pump on average you could save from £350 to £1000 on your heating bills and 2 to 7.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year, depending upon type of fuel replaced.

Air Source Heat Pumps
 Air source heat pump absorb heat from air to heat buildings. There are two types of air-source heating systems.

• Air-to-air systems provide warm air, which is circulated to heat the building.
• Air-to-water system heat water to provide heating to a building through radiators or an under floor system.

These systems are useful in urban areas. An air source heat pump could save from £300 to £850 a year on

heating bills and 800kg to 6 tons of carbon dioxide per year, depending on which fuel is replaced.

There are government and local authority grants available for micro-generation systems. These are detailed below as follows:Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1; Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 and Community Sustainable Energy Programme (CSEP).

For more info please contact us or visit http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/