Housebuilders and developers may sometimes be tempted to allocate the complex task of solar installation to an existing contractor, like a roofer or electrician. While this might seem like a potential cost-cutting measure at first, it usually ends up being more expensive in the long term. Make sure your solar…
Brexit may have delayed the release of new building regulations, but our construction future is only heading in one direction; renewable electricity and smart technologies. The solar future Solar on new builds isn’t yet standard in England and Wales as it is in Scotland, so it’s understandable that renewable…
When the UK government made their Climate Emergency declaration in May 2019, they were the first government to have ever done so. The declaration formed part of their goal to reach a Net Zero target by 2050, meaning that none of our energy must come from fossil fuels. No dirty…
The gradual culture shift towards a cleaner, greener future is impacting on every sector at every level, but housebuilders in particular will have a significant role to play in reshaping what a sustainable home might look like by 2050. From 2025, homeowners will no longer be able to install…
When we consider the future of energy, we’re moving towards more vehicles powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels, and more electric heating rather than gas, so it’s clear that we’re going to need a lot more electrical energy. In a few short years, it’s likely we’ll be using ten…
In our latest blog series, we’ve been exploring how the government’s new Smart Export Guarantee might work. Whilst we know the guarantee will mean that solar panel owners can export surplus energy at the most advantageous times of day, we also need to think about developing mechanisms to capture and…
CREATING A COMPETITIVE MARKET FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY The government’s new plans to implement a Smart Export Guarantee for solar panel owners from 1st January 2020 could represent a significant step towards creating a cleaner, greener future. Unlike the previous Feed-In Tariff, the Smart Export Guarantee will see solar panel owners being…
Over the past decade, our use of electricity has become much less predictable. We have a lot more devices but they’re more energy efficient. Our homes are better insulated. And today, we have more households than ever producing their own energy through solar panels. This trend began with the introduction…
We are on the cusp of change and decisions on ‘who charges who, and what’ are a matter of significant ongoing discussion. ‘Charging Futures’ is a programme coordinating the reform of electricity access and charging arrangements in collaboration with users of Great Britain’s electricity network. It notes that the energy…
It could be argued that only the homeowners at the upper end of the social spectrum, and big businesses have the resources to choose renewable technologies. Often the less well-off, and smaller businesses do not have the freedom to make that choice. More renewable technology means more electricity will be…
In the UK, with our current centralised energy distribution system, consumers must pay a cost per unit (known as kilowatt hours or kWh) along with the costs associated with the production and distribution; some of which can be included in the kWh unit figures or a separate fixed standing charge.…
Renewable energy generating solutions like solar, wind and geothermal are gathering pace across the globe. However, the development of these technologies often requires government subsidies and incentives, which can raise questions of freedom, fairness, and equality. In simple terms not all communities have the freedom to choose renewable energy solutions.…
