UK gas and electricity companies now have to make sure the at least 4,9 per cent of the power they supply comes from green energy sources. But what are these green energy sources? Right now there are four to choose from.

1. We can choose from solar, wind or hydro power. These capture the energy inherent in sun rays, wind and water respectively. This energy is then changed into usable energy for our towns and cities. Biomass is our fourth option, which captures the energy that is released by burning material extracted from plants such as corn.

2. We can all help to increase the level of green energy produced by signing up to the green tariff options now available from the majority of energy companies. There are usually two tariffs to choose from, and either one will lead to an increase in green power.

3. You can usually choose between a green tariff that takes the amount of energy that you consume and then guarantees to produce a matching amount of green energy, or you can choose a tariff that takes the extra money you pay to your supplier to spend on green energy initiatives.

4. Green energies are far more preferable to standard fossil fuel burning energies, as green energies have no harmful by-products, producing very little, if any, waste. Their sources are sustainable too, so their source of power will never run out.

5. Changing to a green tariff is no different than changing to any other gas or electricity tariff. There is no need to have any work carried out in your home, it is simply a matter of handling your account in a different way. It is likely that your current energy supplier will already have at least one eco-friendly tariff for its customers, if not have a look for suppliers that do by doing a quick online search.

Green energy rates can be more expensive, so if you cannot afford this rate increase, what can you do? Take a look at gas and electricity company websites, and see where they source their power from. By law, all energy companies must now make this information available to you, so use this power to find a company that is more environmentally-conscious.

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requirements.

The systems can be powered by oil, solid fuel or gas boilers and can be installed below a variety of properties, not just new builds. Refurbished properties and their extensions can benefit from the system too. If you’re considering the part-underfloor heating option, the good news is that the system works easily in conjunction with any radiator system. Some people prefer to have a radiator fitted in their bathrooms for example.

Do my UFH system’s elements have to be set out in a certain way?

In many ways the structure of the floor under which you plan to install will answer this question for you.

With a timber floor for example, you’ll find that any pipes and elements have to be run between joists with notches having to be made for them to pass from one space to another.

A screed floor gives you a some flexibility as solid floors allow you to lay pipes in a variety of arrangements prior to screeding.

Underfloor heating is not 100% consistent, and you’ll find that water returning to the manifold is colder than the water leaving the manifold. This can actually help you to plan your underfloor layout as you can choose which parts of your house you wish to receive the most heat and concentrate the early part of the pipework under the coldest part of your home.

How does an Underfloor Heating system work?

The majority of underfloor heating uses either dry systems or wet systems. In wet hot water systems, underfloor pipes heat the floor above as hot water flows through the piping. This leads to more even central heating as your whole floor, a large area, is heated consistently.

Unlike radiators, underfloor heating systems do not need to run at high temperatures. Heat imparted to the floor is released across a large area rather than the relatively small and focussed area of a radiator. So doing away with the need for higher temperatures.

For Dry Systems, the set up is virtually the same only electric heating elements are used as the source of underfloor heat.

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The majority of boilers that are bought and installed in the UK today are of the energy efficient condensing variety. A condensing boiler captures the heat that is lost through condensation in a conventional boiler and re-uses it.

There are four main types of boiler currently available – the open vented boiler, the combi boiler, the system boiler and the back boiler. By far the most popular type of boiler in British homes is the compact combi boiler, and with good reason. Not only do they tend to be cheaper than other models, but they are also the most fuel and space efficient by a long way.

They are not without their drawbacks, however, as they can only supply hot water to one outlet at a time, and they cannot supply hot water and central heating simultaneously, which could leave you feeling a bit cold when you get out of the shower. The combi boiler is a good solution for a small house or flat with only one bathroom.

Also, if you have a big cold water tank in the loft that you would like to take out in order to create more space, then a combination boiler could be a good way to go.

If space is a consideration, but you need to be able to run more than one hot tap or shower at once, then a system boiler, which stores hot water in a tank in your airing cupboard, but requires no additional tanks in the loft, could be a good solution.

One disadvantage of the system boiler is that if you want to take a shower or run a bath, you need to turn on the water heater for a while beforehand, and if you have not heated enough water in advance, then it may run cold halfway through.

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There are two main types of underfloor heating system – ‘wet’ systems which use a network of under-floor pipes connected to the central heating system, and ‘dry’ systems which use an electric heating element.

Rooms where people are likely to feel the coldness of the floor through their feet, such as bathrooms or kitchens, are obvious candidates for under-floor heating. However, under floor heating can now be installed underneath almost any flooring type, be it laminate, carpet, stone, linoleum or hardwood.

There are a number of good reasons to install underfloor heating, but it is not a technology that is entirely without its drawbacks, either. Here are a list of the pros and cons of underfloor heating:

Pros:

Tiled rooms, such as bathrooms and kitchens are a lot less of an ordeal to walk on in bare feet when they are warm underfoot

There is no need for clunky radiators that take up valuable floor and wall space in a room with underfloor heating, giving you a lot more freedom to set out the room exactly as you would like

Wet systems can be easily integrated with your central heating system, and this means that you have the flexibility to have radiators in some rooms and underfloor heating in others

Due to the nature of convection currents, underfloor heating is a lot more energy efficient than radiators, which disperse most of their heat into the largely unoccupied top half of the room

Cons:

Wet systems can be very expensive to install in existing properties, as the floors will all need to be taken up. For this reason it is common for extensions and conservatories to be fitted with under-floor heating, as it is a lot easier and cheaper to install it while other building work is being done.

As with any other heating system, underfloor heating will not work very efficiently in homes that are poorly insulated, as much of the heat will simply escape into the atmosphere

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Wind power – The next time you curse that blustering wind that’s blown your brolly inside out, don’t! That wind is a valuable energy resource, both clean and renewable. You may have already seen wind turbines in operation in your area. Wind power already supplies the UK with a small part of its energy, and the supply is growing all the time. Improvements to wind power technology means that turbines now operate more efficiently, and more quietly than ever.

Solar power – You might think that the cloudy skies of Great Britain would rule us out as a future solar powered nation, but the fact is that many parts of the UK already use solar power to great effect. Cloudy weather doesn’t black out solar rays, so the good news is that Britain can benefit from the sun’s power too. Solar power can be converted directly into electricity using semiconductors, or it can be used to directly heat water, using collectors. What’s more, the semiconductors used in the solar equipment are more often than not recycled, utilising waste silicon from microchip production plants – so it really is a green product!

Hydro power – Hydro power is harnessed using water turbines which, when turned by vast amounts of water, produce electricity for our homes. At present hydro power accounts for about 1% of the UK’s electricity, but the future could see an increase in the supply and demand for this clean energy source as new small scale hydro plans are being drawn up for potential use.

Wave power – The UK, with its many surfing beaches, is famed for the strength of its waves, and it’s lucky for us that this wave power can now be transformed into usable energy. Harnessing this huge energy source requires some clever engineering, and new designs are being worked on every day to help us really make the most of this wonderful natural UK resource.

Geothermal – Far far below us are geothermal rocks – the kinds of rocks that produce enough heat to blast giant bursts of steam out through the earth’s surface into the air. By capturing the steam thrown out by these geothermal rocks, steam turbines can be worked to directly produce electricity turbines to produce electricity directly.

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Although you might not think that this would save you that much money, in reality this action alone can bring down your heating bills by up to ten percent. Most modern radiators come equipped with a thermostatic radiator valve. This device allows you to set different temperatures for different rooms, typically up to a maximum value of 22 degrees Celsius. It keeps the temperature of the room constant, and conserves energy by measuring the room temperature and switching the radiator on or off depending on whether the desired temperature has been reached.

If you only have one single room temperature dial for the whole property, it will be difficult to achieve the right temperature balance between the rooms, as some will be bigger or better

insulated than others. You might also want certain rooms such as the bathroom to be warmer than others. This is where TRVs really come into their own, as they allow you to adjust the temperature in each room independently.

If your radiators don’t seem to be working properly, and are cold at the top and hot at the bottom, then the chances are that you have air in your central heating system and you need to bleed some or all of your radiators. This can be done with a bleeding key, available very cheaply in most hardware stores, which needs to be pushed into the appropriate valve on a radiator in order to let the air out.

Before you do this, you should put on overalls and lay down old newspaper around the radiator, as rusty water from the heating system has a tendency to spray all over the place when you do this. Also, it is vital that you turn off the central heating before you attempt to bleed the radiators, for safety reasons.

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You might think that you’re saving money by avoiding having to shell out for an expensive new boiler or fridge, but the truth is that you can often save money by upgrading to more modern, energy efficient appliances.

If you cannot afford to replace inefficient older appliances, find out if there is any way to make them more energy efficient, such as buying a special adapter or having them converted in some way.

If you are not using an appliance, turn it off. A television or computer set to standby still uses around 60% of the power it would require during normal operation, which is a colossal waste of energy, not to mention money.

Set your computer to enter ‘sleep’ mode rather than go to a screen saver when you leave it to idle for a few minutes. If it is available in your area, sign up to an energy supplier which produces electricity from green sources.

Although there is no way of ensuring that all of the energy you use comes from renewable sources, it will encourage companies to invest in green electricity in the future.

Avoid wasting energy through your water supply by installing low flow shower heads and insulating your pipes and the area around your boiler.

Don’t turn on your washing machine or dishwasher unless you have a full load, as the same amount of energy is used regardless of the contents of the machine.

Turning your thermostat down by just one degree can wipe a colossal 10% off your annual energy bill, without producing a noticeable change in room temperature.

Upgrade your insulation. In particular, much of the heat produced in the home is lost to the atmosphere through the roof, so by insulating your loft you can keep a lot of the heat that you produce from being wasted.

By fixing any holes in your roof or pipes, you can significantly reduce heat loss from your home. Fixing drafts in your windows and doors can also save a lot of heat from getting out.

By installing modern timer and temperature controls for your boiler, you can greatly improve the level of flexibility of your heating system, while making substantial efficiency savings.

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Combination boilers are by far the most common type in use today, and the combi boiler tends to fall into one of three categories. You can get boilers that come with their own, non-upgradable integral timer, ones that you can attach a timer to the front of, and ones that can be only operated with a separate control unit. It is important that the type of controls fitted are suitable for the type of boiler, the central heating system, and the occupiers of the home that it is installed in. Specifying the right controls for the job is just as important as specifying the right boiler.

Since April 1 2005, all new boiler installations in the UK have had to, by law, come equipped with at least a minimum level of energy conserving features and controls.

The more modern types of boiler control are concerned with managing the temperature and operation of the central heating system and the boiler itself.

Whereas larger multi-component boilers have controls which operate both the hot water and the central heating, combi boilers only have controls for altering the room temperature, as the hot tap water is heated using the heat from the central heating system. Thermostatic Radiator Valves, often referred to as TRVs, help to keep temperature levels within a pre set range by measuring the room temperature and turning the radiator on and off as required.

You should always make sure that the type of boiler that you are buying is compatible with the type of controls that you will need. It is also vital to check that your choice of boiler can accept an optional timer before making a purchase. An external timer can offer a lot more in the way of flexibility and upgradability than an internal one.

Boilers that can accept external controls that plug into the front fascia connect to the thermostat via the sending and receiving of RF signals, whereas remote controls tend to have the thermostat integrated with the timer, although this arrangement entails a greater amount of wiring and potential disruption for the occupants of the property during installation.

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In smaller dwellings, the installation of a compact combination boiler can be a great way to conserve space. With a combi boiler, a balanced flue, some pipes, and a few radiators, you have all the necessary components of a fully-fledged central heating system. If you have a larger family home with more than one bathroom, you may need a system with a seperate water tank.

Due to the fact that the boiler has to switch over to supply hot water to the taps, the central heating is turned off while the hot water is flowing. By turning off the hot tap, you are turning back on the central heating.

Although a combi boiler has some disadvantages over a regular boiler, in that the central heating is not constant, and you cannot draw hot water from more than one source at a time, the space saving advantages far outweigh these disadvantages in smaller homes.

Furthermore, combination boilers tend to be a good deal cheaper than their component counterparts, so you could end up saving money as well as space with one of these flexible units.

There are a selection of combination boilers to choose from, and these are the:
Combi instantaneous condensing boiler – this is the most efficient type of instantaneous boiler available, making it the best choice for those of you who are environmentally conscious – Combi instantaneous boiler – this is the most popular combi as water is heated instantly direct from the mains, meaning no wait for hot water – Combined Primary Storage Unit – this is a combi that also stores a large amount of water. This means that radiators heat more quickly as water flow rate is increased.

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Use energy saving light bulbs – Did you know that just one energy saving light bulb could save you 26kg of carbon dioxide and £7 off your energy bills every year? When you go low energy bulb shopping, only buy bulbs which show the Energy Saving Recommended logo, as this indicates that the bulb meets standards set by the Energy Saving Trust so that you know it really is saving you energy.

Let natural light into your life – Natural light is good for us, warming us up and making our bodies more healthy and happy. So it’s a shame that as soon as the light starts to fade we close the curtains and put the lights on. Instead, try using as much natural light as possible for as long as possible.

Waste not want not – If you’re not using a light, turn it off. Sounds simple, but if more of us would remember to do this, we’d all save energy, and you’d be surprised how much money you’d save. Leaving lights on in empty rooms is just a drain on your electricity account and on the environment too.

Multi-bulbs are a no-no – Ask yourself if you really need a two or four-bulb light fitting. By replacing it with a single bulb fitting you’ll save energy and money, and it’s a cheap and simple improvement to make.

Standby at your peril – Appliances on standby are far from switched off. In fact, appliances on standby still use a substantial amount of energy while that little red light is on. As well as the tv, turn anything off at the mains which has a big transformer plug, or any kind of light on it, be it a timer, clock or little LED.

Saving energy in the kitchen – Your clothes will still come up shining after you’ve washed them at a lower 40 degrees, and by making sure you only ever do a full load of washing you’ll be operating much more efficiently. If you must do a smaller wash, use your machine’s economy or half load setting. As for your dishwasher – don’t use its dish drying option, let dishes dry naturally. Never position your fridge or freezer next to a cooker or radiator, as your fridge will have to work extra hard to keep cool, using up extra energy.

Look out for grade A’s – Many appiance producers are now battling to design the most energy efficient appliances yet. All new electrical appliances on sale now have an energy efficiency rating, which should be clearly visible in any store you visit. The cleanest products are graded A, so look out for this seal of approval.

British Gas can help you to save money on new boilers. By replacing your old boiler with one of our central heating boilers such as the energy efficient range of Vaillant boilers you could save up to 40% on your bills.