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RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES
Solar thermal water heating system is one of the oldest types of renewable energy technologies. Solar collectors use the sun's radiation to heat water (or other heat transferring liquid) and then the water is stored in a highly insulated storage tank which allows for domestic or commercial usage.
A typical domestic system will cut the heating bills of a standard home by approximately 50% on an annual average and reduce the carbon dioxide emission by between 400-1,000 Kg per annum. With typical lifetime of well over 30 years for a quality solar water heating system, the carbon dioxide emissions reduction is very large, and the benefits for the war on climate change is substantial.
Furthermore, since the water is heated by the sun, there is a substantial reduction of boiler work, due to reduced demand. This prolongs the lifetime of the boiler and reduces boiler faults. For more information about Solar Thermal (Solar Water Heating), visit our Solar Thermal Introduction paper.
The temperature underground stays relatively constant around the year. Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) take advantage of this stable source of energy by extracting the heat and using it for domestic space heating and domestic water heating.
Loops of pipes are buried underground to extract the heat, and through a reverse refrigeration process the pump is increasing the output to temperatures that are appropriate for heating your home and heating water.
A quality system can save between £400 - £800 on a typical heating bill and 2 - 8 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. For more information about Heat Pumps, visit our Introduction to Ground Source Heat Pumps paper.
Due to their temperature output and efficiency range, heat pumps are perfectly matched with Underfloor Heating as the most cost effective and pleasant heating solution for the home.
For other low carbon ways of generating energy, visit our section for Renewable Technologies. |
