You probably hear much more now about climate change and sustainable energy than you ever used to. It’s not always easy, though, to know what you can actually do about it. Here are some ideas on using sustainable energy in your own life.

What you can do to help minimise climate change

The largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and therefore climate change is energy use.

Firstly, therefore, you should do whatever you can do to minimise your energy consumption. In the home, this includes obvious measures like turning off unnecessary lights and appliances, choosing energy-efficient units and fitting good insulation. It also means using energy efficient methods of transport wherever possible. Guidance on the various energy savings options is available from the Energy Savings Trust. You can also find a domestic energy assessor either from the EST or from the Institute for Domestic Energy Asssors.

Next you can use sustainable energy production:

Using renewables in your own house

There are many different ways in which you can now use renewables. You’ve probably already got a solar-powered calculator – that’s one example. And you can find solar powered garden lights in the shops.

You can go much further, though, and use renewables for some or all of your household heat and/or power. For electricity-producing renewables you can also sell back any excess power at times when you are not using as much as your system generates.

Most of the renewable energy sources you might consider are described in the Onsite Renewables section. These divide broadly between sources of heat and electricity generation. Here are a few considerations for each:

Renewable heat sources

The main options are:

• Solar heating will use a panel of a few square metres probably on your roof. You therefore need a suitable unshaded area ideally tilted at an angle between South East and South West (though it is possible to install systems on flat roofs too).
• Biomass, wood and pellet stoves are like standard boilers, but use biomass fuel, usually in the form of wood-fuel, pellets or wood chips. You will therefore need an area where this fuel can be stored in the dry.
• Ground source heat pumps extract heat from a source of fairly constant temperature and amplify it for use in the house. You will need to bury a network of pipes nearby (e.g. in the garden), or to drill one or more boreholes to circulate water to the relevant temperature.
• Air source heat pumps work similarly, but use the ambient air as the source of heat. These therefore use an external fan unit instead of the underground ground source pipe network.

Renewable electricity sources

Here the main options are:

• Solar photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight directly to electricity. These can be fitted on the roof (as for solar heating above), or sometimes in conservatories or on south-facing walls.
• Small wind turbines (often call micro-wind turbines). These are usually mounted on poles, though some building mountings are on offer. They need to be sited in an area that habitually gets a substantial amount of wind.
• If you live next to a stream or river, you might be able to use a small hydro turbine (often called micro-hydro). These are particularly suitable at former mill sites.

Domestic-scale sources of both heat and electricity (combined heat and power) are under development. They may use domestic gas or biomass, while fuel cells are another possibility. We will cover these when they are commercially available.

Finding a supplier of renewables for your home

Not all of our members supply systems for domestic use, but those that do are required to sign up for the REAL Code to ensure they operate to the highest standards. So a good way to find a supplier, who covers your area, is to visit the REAL assurance website, where there is a list of suitable companies.

Using renewable transport options

The only way UK consumers can use renewables for their transport needs is to use biofuels in road vehicles. There are several options:

• Biofuels can be blended in low concentrations (typically under 10%) into established transport fuels, both diesel and gasoline. This is becoming increasingly common; indeed you probably often use this without even realising.
• Higher blends of biofuels (e.g. an 85% blend of bioethanol in gasoline) can be used in specially adapted vehicles. Some of these are so-called flex-fuel vehicles which can also run on standard gasoline.
• Some vehicles are converted to operate on gas, including biogas produced from renewable sources.
• Hybrid vehicles are more energy efficient than standard models, but are not generally specifically renewable.

Don’t forget that on local journeys you can eliminate the use of fuel altogether by cycling or walking!

More questions answered

See also the Frequently Asked Questions and other parts of this website, or look in our Members section and find a member near you to talk to.