FXSTD – Alternative Energy Center

By: Paul Giesberg
The greatest environmental challenge of our time is without a doubt climate change. Over the coming years and decades this will have a stark influence on our lives. Not only through the physical changes in the climate, but also through changes in our energy consumption, travel patterns and many other aspects of our life. The contribution to the total carbon emissions directly related to our own homes is often underestimated by people and is surprisingly large. In the UK it is estimated that 26% of the national carbon emissions are associated with the energy use is the residential sector. In the US this figure is slightly lower, but the residential sector still contributes about 18% to the national carbon footprint.

With such a large proportion of carbon emissions originating from day to day activities at home, it is worth considering what individual actions can be taken to reduce the carbon footprint. In this article I describe a range of actions that can reduce the carbon footprint of an existing home. Typically the actions can be grouped in three categories. The first category relates to behavioural change, the second category relates to measures that involve the replacement of items and finally there are actions that involve significant enhancement of the energy performance of your property.

Behavioural change

The actions in the behavioural category are easy to implement and don’t require any investment. I am sure you have heard most of these in some form or another, but no article about reducing carbon footprint at home is complete without mentioning them. The key element to behavioural change is energy awareness. Know which appliances are the biggest contributors to your carbon footprint and be sensible when using them. The top three of measures in the behavioural category are:

Switch off lights and equipment when not in use Consider washing the laundry at a lower temperature Turn down the thermostat

The last of these measures has the largest potential to save a significant amount of energy. As much of 10% of the energy used for heating can be saved by turning the temperature of the thermostat down by just 1 degree Celsius.

A small energy meter is useful to understand the energy use of your appliances and equipment. It will assist in prioritising the equipment that will be targeted. These meters are generally available and are easy to use. They usually are installed between the plug of the appliance and mains socket. It is surprising to learn that some pieces of equipment use as much energy on stand-by as they do whilst in operations.

Replacing equipment and appliances

The energy efficiency of lighting, appliances and equipment is continually improving. It is worthwhile taking this into account when considering the replacement of older items. Appliances that are more than ten years old generally use significantly more energy than modern versions and it sometimes is worth replacing those even when they are still in reasonable condition.

The EU operates an energy labelling scheme. Large appliances are all rated for their energy use from A++ to G. Appliances rated A++ are the most energy efficient and appliance rated G are the least energy efficient. The introduction of this scheme has resulted in a markable shift towards more efficient appliances. Nowadays about half of the appliance sold in the EU have a rating of A or better. Choosing an energy efficient washing machine or dish washer when replacing your old one will have a marked effect on your electricity use.

Other savings can be made by switching to energy efficient lighting. The fluorescent type of lighting is well known for its low energy use. There are some issues that need to be considered when purchasing the cheaper varieties. These are often slow to start and it may take a while before they are at their full brightness level. They are still useful to light rooms where continuous lighting is required. The better varieties reach there maximum brightness vary rapidly and can be used anywhere. Upcoming are LED's to replace incandescent light bulbs and halogen lamps. LED's are highly efficient in there energy use. In recent years the output of LED's has increased dramatically and they are now a practical alternative light source in homes. They are expensive to buy at the moment, but they last for a very long time and use little electricity. Expect the price of LED's to come down sharply in the coming few years.

Enhancing the energy performance of your property



Enhancing the energy performance of your property has the potential to make large cuts to your energy use and energy bill. Some measures are relatively cheap to install, whilst others will require a significant investment. The cheaper measures that can be implemented at any time include items such as, draught proofing doors and windows, installation of loft insulation and cavity wall insulation. For some of these items there is a subsidy available in the UK.

Heating systems that are more than a decade old are often inefficient. Replacing these older types with a new high efficiency condensing boiler will result in a marked decrease of your energy use. Alternatively you could consider switching to a ground sourced heat pump. To retrofit a ground source heat pump in an existing property access to an area outdoor is required. GSHP systems make use of the relatively constant temperature at deeper levels in the ground. It works on the same principal as a fridge. Your boiler is replace by a heat exchanger that is connected to a system of pipework buried in the ground. The pipework is filled with a fluid and the heat exchanger warms the water in your central heating system, by cooling the fluid in the pipework.

In addition to installing an efficient heating system, energy savings can be made by using a range of renewable energy technologies. The most straightforward and cost effective means is the installation of a solar hot water system. This can provide about half the annual hot water use in a family home. Photovoltaic cells to generate your own electricity are also  fairly easy to install and maintain. PV cells are expensive to purchase though, but many countries, including the UK, operate schemes that greatly improve the pay-back of these systems and it is certainly worth considering.