That's Food and Drink: Teatulia. They have real tea for you to enjoy

That's Food and Drink: Teatulia. They have real tea for you to enjoy: Teatulia provide tea lovers with real tea. That's those of you who are not merely tea drinkers, but genuine tea lovers. Aand you kno...

A Shade Greener now generating power on our roof

The whole process from the initial contact to the final installation was a relatively pain-free experience.

We had an initial visit from a surveyor who informed us that as we were only a few degrees off due south, that we would be ideal for an installation of solar cells.

A couple of weeks later we had a visit for us to sign the necessary paperwork and less than a week later a team of experienced scaffold erectors put the scaffolding up in the rear garden in preparation for the solar panel team to come several days later.

On Saturday the solar panel team arrived at about 9am and they set to work putting up the mounts for the solar panels.

Mid-morning they began to place the solar panels on the roof and soon the specialist electrician arrived and started to do his thing.

By just after 1pm all was done, the panels were installed, the wiring and control systems were operational and the solar panels were already producing electrical power.

So the That's Green Solar Power Station is already operational and feeding green energy into the National Grid.

And the total cost to us? Zero. That's right, not a penny and we can use the electricity or roof's solar panels is generating.

And as my wife remarks: "We weren't using our roof for anything, so why not rent it out for someone to generate electricity with?"

Want to know how you can own your own rooftop solar power station for free? Please email afj_uk@yahoo.com and we will tell you how.

Solar panels on our roof? That's a Shade Greener, then!

Research by one of the UKs top free solar installer A Shade Greener shows that solar could be the answer to rising energy bills.

Research shows that energy prices doubled from 1990 to 2011.

This had had an impact on many consumers,  leaving them struggling to pay their energy bills along with rising food prices, etc.

So, what can be done? A typical solar electric system has been shown to cut a households electric bill by an average of 37% (http://ashadegreener.co.uk/energy-study) reducing the typical UK energy bill by £197 based on 2011 DECC figures.

The current availability of free solar, the drop in solar costs over recent years and and the Government Green Deal means consumers have a range of options to use solar PV at home.

Energy costs are predicted to rise significantly over the next 25 years, the typical household electricity bill is expected to break the eye watering £1,000 mark before then.

Stewart Davies, Director of A Shade Greener said: "Energy bills are only going to get more expensive and we need to be helping households that spend a large proportion of their household income on energy. Solar can help insulate those families against these inevitable price rises."

Stewart went on to say: "According to our figures a typical household could save nearly £5,000 on their energy bills over a typical 25 year solar pv system lifetime based on 2011 figures provided by DECC. Our customers are currently saving a combined 1.7 million pounds a year on their electricity bills."

Intrigued by the offers of A Shade Greener, That's Green has decided to put this whole thing to the test.

We have had the initial survey by A Shade Greener undertaken  (a painless and highly professional experience)  and with the news that out roof is only 6 degrees off due south, we decided to take the plunge and lease the space above our roof to A Shade Greener.

My wife shrugged her shoulders and said: "I have never been on our roof, I have never used our roof, so why not let someone else make use if it to generate free electricity?"

We spoke with someone who lives in a house nearby who has also had A Shade Greener fit a solar system. He reports that the work was undertaken with no fuss and no mess in a very short period of time.

We will report back to readers of That's Green and let you know how we get on.

Ecotricity announces energy price freeze until New Year

Ecotricity, Britain’s first green energy company, is today announcing a price freeze on their electricity and gas tariffs until the New Year, with reports that the Big Six energy companies are going to boost their prices by 8%.

The Gloucestershire-based firm had already revealed it would cut the price of its 100% Green Electricity tariff from Tuesday 1st October, to undercut the standard tariffs of the Big Six energy companies, which until now it had always price matched.

Now Ecotricity are going one step further and promising their 100% Green Electricity tariff and Green Gas tariff would be frozen until 2014, further undercutting the Big Six which are expected to raise the price of supplying their non-green electricity in the coming weeks. 

Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, said: “we’ve already taken the step of slightly lowering electricity bills for our customers from October 1st,  now we are going further and freezing our gas and electricity prices until the New Year.

“With the Big Six expected to raise prices in the coming weeks, what was originally a modest reduction in price, should quickly become a more significant saving.

“People often assume that green energy is more expensive. But most households in Britain are actually on a standard tariff – so millions of households could get 100% green electricity for less than the price they pay for electricity from the Big Six.

“Around 40% of our electricity supply is self-generated by our own fleet of wind and sun parks, and we have planning permission to more than double that supply in the near future – this degree of energy independence now means we can be price independently. 

Ecotricity’s Ethical Price Promise ensures all of its electricity customers get the same 100% Green Electricity tariff and Green Gas tariff at the same, best price, regardless of when they signed up or how they pay. 

Dale continued: “In addition, if and when we do raise prices next year, we promise that it will be by less than the Big Six will raise their prices by in the coming weeks, so we further widen the gap between ourselves and the conventional energy companies.

“We have one simple electricity tariff and will continue to invest more per customer in new sources of renewable energy, and we are now moving further away from the price of the Big Six standard tariffs too. 

“Our work is aimed at bringing about an energy independent Britain, and as a green energy company we want to demonstrate how this can be achieved – the more of our own energy we produce through our own renewable sources, the greater we’ll be able to shield our customers from price hikes that come with an over-reliance on fossil fuels. It’s all part of our vision for a Green Britain.” 

On average, Ecotricity spends more per customer on building new sources of green energy than all other energy providers in Britain put together – on average, over the last nine years, this has equated to almost £300 per customer. 

The company currently powers over 75,000 homes and businesses and this year obtained permission for what will be the fourth largest wind park in England, at Heckington Fen in Lincolnshire.

Www.ecotricity.co.uk

LED Hut and the eco-friendly LED bulbs

That's Green has been invited to road test some LED bulbs by the LED Hut.

Having had experience with the replacements for ordinary incandescent light bulbs I was slightly sceptical about eco-friendly light bulbs of any kind. As was my wife, too.

However as soon as we had replaced our halogen spotlights with the LED spotlights, we both realised that, in this instance, our scepticism had been totally unwarranted!

We noticed a very tiny lag between switching the lights on and them being up to full brilliance. So tiny that it is barely noticeable.

We also noticed that the light from the replacement LED bulbs was far better than that we obtained with the halogen bulbs. It seemed brighter and, for want of a better term, more even, too.

The fittings no longer get hot and we are impressed by the potential money we will be saving with the lights in just one room.

Not only will these lights save us money (up to £100 per year in energy costs alone!) we seemed to be forever replacing the halogen spotlights in our living room. But the LED bulbs will last for a staggering 50,000 hours. And that's a very pleasing 50x longer than a standard bulb!

And they will also help you and your family reduce your carbon footprint, which has got to be good for the environment!

The bulbs we are using cost £11.70 each but will last 50x longer than a standard bulb, so do keep that in mind when you make comparisons.

To find out more visit www.ledhut.co.uk

They also offer trade services, too, so if you operate a business that could be selling high quality and genuinely eco-friendly LED lights to your customers, visit their website or call their multilingual service line on 01534 764778.

(That's Green would like to offer our sincere praise and thanks for helping us run this feature.)

 -Please forward this story to like-minded eco-conscious friends.-

Commercial property owners. Shouldn't they be LEDing the way?

Although we’re all now familiar with LED lighting many commercial building owner operators are still not aware of the financial and environmental benefits of LED upgrades.

The Empire State Building NYC is currently upgrading its facade and mast lights with 1,200 LED fixtures that should save the building $4.4 million by making a 75% reduction in lighting costs! This is one high profile example of how the potential savings of LED are only just being realised in commercial settings around the world.

Here in the UK commercial building owners / operators, councils and other organisations are embarking of large LED retrofits to achieve the same type of energy savings. For example Salford City Council are reported to be expecting a £1.6m and 30% carbon reduction from over the lifetime of a 2000 LED bulb street lighting retrofit in 2011.

Tower Bridge in London was covered in eco friendly’ LED bulbs for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee that are expected to bring a 40% reduction in energy usage on the bridge and last 25 years! So why aren’t more people with incredibly high energy bills such as owner / operators of UK commercial buildings having LED upgrades?

Experts offer many different opinions – people focusing on the amount of life still left in their existing lighting instead of the huge savings offered by LED, they may have been waiting to hear the results of other big commercial LED upgrades, or they may simply not be aware of the benefits of LED and how that could realistically translate to their own buildings. Most experts however seem to agree that LED use is going to keep growing at huge rate.

Chris Gunn is a man with inside knowledge of the real benefits that LED lighting can bring. Chris works for Acorn Limited who provide maintenance engineering services to an impressive array of commercial buildings across London.

“My experience with our clients has convinced me that where LED technology is used appropriately in commercial buildings it can deliver significant energy and cost savings. We’ve been designing, installing, upgrading and retrofitting commercial lighting systems for many years now as well as providing the energy management systems that can accurately measure the resulting energy savings. That’s how we know first hand that LED upgrades really do deliver the goods” says Chris.

LED bulbs use much less power and can last 10 times longer than many other types of lamps / bulbs.

For more information about how LED lighting upgrades and replacements could work for your commercial building(s) contact Acorn Maintenance Engineering now on 0845 528 0774 or visit http://www.acornlimited.co.uk/

Brits still not switched on to energy saving, new study shows

According to a new study, while 94% of us say we want to become more energy efficient, only 37% of us currently rate ourselves as such.

Despite ever-increasing fuel costs, the British public just can’t seem to get motivated on energy saving, regardless of our good intentions. According to a new study, while 94% of us say we want to become more energy efficient, only 37% of us currently rate ourselves as such – and it’s the basics that are still eluding us.

With energy costs at an all-time high and four of the ‘big six’ energy firms putting up their prices again this week, it is surprising to learn that 40% of us still leave the heating on all day and a third of us leave windows and doors open when the central heating is on.

Two thirds of people say they leave the TV on when they’re not in the room and almost half leave it on standby overnight, while 63% leave their mobile charging all night. Almost half of those asked say they still leave the tap running unnecessarily when brushing their teeth or washing up.

Although rising energy prices are quoted as being one of the biggest concerns for UK homeowners, almost a fifth of us still don’t have energy saving light bulbs, 29% overfill the kettle when boiling it, and only 46% of us would use extra layers of clothing or blankets when it gets cold instead of turning up the heating.

The study, which was conducted by Anglian Home Improvements to mark Big Energy Saving Week (22-27 October 2012), found that 40% of us still don’t have energy efficient windows or doors, even though around 30% of a home’s heat is lost through windows and doors, and only 44% of us have an energy efficient boiler.

Yet 82% of people say if they could make one simple change to become energy efficient they would, and 88% say that if making that change would be guaranteed to save them money over the next five years, they would do it.

TV presenter and environmental science expert Philippa Forrester has championed environmental issues for many years. She says, “In light of the latest news about rising energy costs, heating our homes and using electricity is going to cost us more and more. How high do prices need to get before we think about making fundamental changes to the energy efficiency of our homes? We can all stop money leaking out of our roofs, windows and doors and by reducing our energy consumption, we’re also reducing our bills and our carbon emissions, so we should all try to make it a top priority. Saving energy and saving money – it’s a win-win situation.”

Melanie McDonald, Head of Marketing and Communications at Anglian Home Improvements, says, “The cost of running a household is radically increasing due to rising energy prices and food inflation. So as we head into the winter months and energy consumption increases, it’s more important than ever for people to look at ways they can improve their energy efficiency. There are lots of quick, easy things we can all do straight away and there are also many ways in which homeowners can improve the efficiency of their property for the longer term. Installing the best thermal windows on the market, for instance, will ensure they get the maximum return on investment and benefit for many years to come.”

Anglian Home Improvements is an Energy Saving Trust Recommended supplier and offers a broad selection of stylish and energy efficient products, including windows, doors conservatories, roof trim, solar panels and much more. For more information and to view the full product range, visit anglianhome.co.uk.