The Reality of Low Carbon Emissions

When the electricity bill lands at the house of the future, the envelope may contain a nice surprise. Rather than showing how much the family owes, this could contain a cheque to cover the power 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 small amounts of electricity on-site, that is then used to power a home's Lighting, Heating and electrical appliances. Any excess power generated could be exported back again to the grid.

The power white paper 'Meeting the Energy Challenge' ushers in a potentially bright future for electricity with detailed proposals pointing to how electric heating and warm 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 (based on 1990 levels) requires a radical shift in energy policy, especially as power stations in the united kingdom have the effect of generating over half of them.

This is given even greater 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.

The white paper 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 be zero carbon - attained by a variety of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency together with the use of microgeneration technologies...
技術士二次試験　必須問題　カーボンニュートラル  will be utilised by low carbon homes - by 2016 new build will be zero carbon - achieved by a combination of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency together with the usage of microgeneration technologies such as solar panels, wind generators, biomass boilers and heat pumps as well as heat recovery ventilation systems.

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

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

Ground and air source heat pumps are also set to visit a massive growth popular as on average for each 1 kW of electricity they consume they produce around 2 to 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 just as much as individual homes.

In London, where 75% of the city's carbon emissions result 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.