When the electricity bill lands at the home of the future, the envelope may contain a pleasant surprise. Rather than showing just how much the family owes, it may well contain a cheque to cover the energy it has generated for the national grid!

The government’s recently published energy and planning white papers combine to sketch a rosy future for householders generating smaller amounts of electricity on-site, that is then used to power a home’s Lighting, Heating and electrical appliances. Any excess power generated can be exported back to the grid.

The power white paper ‘Meeting the power Challenge’ ushers in a potentially bright future for electricity with detailed proposals pointing to how electric heating and hot water will undoubtedly be integral to reducing carbon emissions and improving energy security.

To meet the government’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 (predicated on 1990 levels) requires a radical shift in energy policy, especially as power stations in the UK are responsible for generating over 1 / 2 of them.

This is given sustained emphasis by the truth that by 2020, 80% of the UK’s gas requirements will need to be imported and over half the world’s gas reserves are concentrated in only three countries, Russia, Iran and Qatar.

技術士二次試験　必須問題　カーボンニュートラル pushes for investment in increasingly low carbon electricity, principally large-scale renewables, clean coal and nuclear power.

Illustration of a ‘greener’ home

Microgeneration

…by 2016 new build will undoubtedly be zero carbon – attained by a variety of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency alongside the use of microgeneration technologies…

This will be utilised by low carbon homes – by 2016 all new build will be zero carbon – attained by a combination of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency alongside the usage of microgeneration technologies such as for example solar panels, wind turbines, biomass boilers and heat pumps as well as heat recovery ventilation systems.

Solar power panels or photovoltaic cells are accustomed to generate power from sunlight and changes to the planning rules, due autumn 2007, mean that these should be much easier to install. Based on the white paper, only 1 1,300 eco-pioneers have installed panels on their homes while solar water heaters are a lot more widespread – the Department of Trade and Industry estimates there are about 80,000 used – as they are much cheaper to install.

Mini wind turbines have also taken off in recent years, with more than 20,000 in use by householders or smaller businesses around the UK. They are only viable in some areas where average wind speeds are high enough and there’s little wind turbulence from neighbouring buildings.

Ground and air source heat pumps may also be set to see a massive growth popular as on average for each and every 1 kW of electricity they consume they produce around 2-3 3 kW of heat.

Generating electricity locally avoids transmission losses and enables waste heat to be exploited for both heating and cooling. This applies as equally to commercial developments around individual homes.

In London, where 75% of the city’s carbon emissions come from buildings, the London Climate Change Agency, that is championed by god, the father Mayor’s office, is encouraging the growth of mixed-use developments which lend themselves to CHP (combined heat and power) systems, with residential and commercial property providing a balanced demand for energy night and day.