Green Deal or are we in the thick of it?

Posted by Ross Lammas

I want to be positive about an initiative that is aimed at reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and helping create a green economy, but I’m finding it hard to remain so about the Green Deal. With its whisper of a launch yesterday, and a host of questions still to be answered, I keep thinking I’m watching an episode of the ‘Thick of it’ and the “Let’s watch this fail and then blame the ‘others’ ’’ plot unravel! Or an episode of the American 1970’s comedy ‘Soap’ … “Confused? You will be.”

The Green Deal is the coalitions flag ship ‘green’ initiative that attempts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and also create ‘green’ jobs. So, with an elaborate set up of Green Deal Providers, Green Deal Assessors and Green Deal installers, it aims to provide a financial mechanism for householders (and non-domestic users), to fund energy-efficiency improvements. The cost of these improvements can be spread over time (up to 25 years), rather than having to be paid for immediately, and the payback is through your electricity bill. The incentive being that you get a warmer home, with the proviso that the amount you pay back should not be more than the predicted savings you will make on your energy bill. This is the so-called Golden Rule. I find this all rather confusing but, for example, if installing double-glazing will save you £165 per year on your heating bills, you will not pay back more than £165 per year. And if you sell your house during that time you don’t take the debt with you – you leave it with the house and the new owner has to pay it off!

One key element of the Green Deal should be to address energy using behaviour and with this the electrical appliances within our homes. Houses don’t use energy – we do. So, you can insulate all you like, if you insist on keeping that 25 year old Chest Freezer in the garage you’re not doing much to reduce CO2 or your electricity bills. There are plans to include some occupancy assessment and then provide some behavioural advice, but no mechanism to help you fund replacing inefficient electrical appliances under the Green Deal.

Electrical appliances account for 20 per cent of our home energy usage. And, according to the government’s own research, up to £86 per year could be saved just by switching off electricals instead of leaving them on standy-by. Electrical appliances and the behaviour associated with energy usage are part of the whole picture. Measuring and monitoring energy using behaviour is tricky, but worth a go.

What is the role of a Green Deal Provider?

According to DECC the Green Deal provider is the counter-signatory to the Green Deal plan and responsible for both the provision of finance and arranging the energy efficiency works. This is the role the government is hoping high street names will fill, B&Q, Tesco’s and others were mentioned – watch this space, none have signed up so far. It will be the providers role to inform your electricity company to add the Green Deal charge to your bill, and agree how much and when it is taken. There is a body, Gemserv (the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body) to oversee the providers.

What is the role of a Green Deal Advisor?

Qualified energy assessors are required to assess homes and buildings and make recommendations for the Green Deal plan and should also offer advice on ways to improve energy efficiency.

What is the role of a Green Deal Installer?

Following the assessment process and approval of the finance for the home improvement the next step is installation. Green Deal Installer must be authorized in order to install energy efficiency improvements under the Green Deal finance mechanism.

What measures are eligible for funding under the Green Deal finance plan?

Air source heat pumps
Biomass boilers
Biomass room heaters (with radiators)
Cavity wall insulation
Chillers
Cylinder thermostats
Draught proofing
Duct insulation
Loft or rafter insulation (including loft hatch insulation)
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery systems
Micro combined heat and power
Micro wind generation
Oil-fired condensing boilers
Photovoltaics
Pipework insulation
Replacement glazing
External wall insulation systems
Fan-assisted storage heaters
Flue gas heat recovery devices
Gas-fired condensing boilers
Ground source heat pumps
Heating controls for wet central heating systems or warm air systems
Heating ventilation and air-conditioning controls
High performance external doors
Hot water controls (including timers and temperature controls)
Hot water cylinder insulation
Hot water showers
Hot water systems
Hot water taps
Internal wall insulation systems (for external walls)
Lighting systems, fittings and controls
Radiant heating
Room in roof insulation
Roof insulation
Sealing improvements (including duct sealing)
Secondary glazing
Solar blinds, shutters and shading devices
Solar water heating
Transpired solar collectors
Under-floor heating
Under-floor insulation
Variable speed drives for fans and pumps
Warm-air units
Waste water heat recovery devices attached to showers.
Water source heat pumps

UK road test of the Zero DS electric motorcycle by Ross Lammas from Sust-it

Posted by Ross Lammas

Timing is everything! We road-tested the Zero DS electric motorbike during what seemed to be the only dry weekend this summer!

I must admit I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up the electric bike, especially when you collect it from a Land Rover dealership! No free road tax on their models, unlike the Zero! After speaking to the owner Steve Fews, it became clear that he’s a real motocross enthusiast, who knows a thing or two about motorbikes!

First impressions are that it’s a real practical alternative to petrol bikes, designed for everyday use, not some exotic prototype pipedream, all be it a little expensive!

The bikes are made in Santa Cruz, in the heart of Silicon Valley, California. Zero motorcycles claim a top speed of 80 mph and a range of over a hundred miles on a single charge. Our weekend road test of the Zero certainly can verify that these figures aren’t far off. The batteries have a claimed lifecycle of over 3,000 full charge-discharge cycles, giving you as much as 300,000 miles on the original power pack, sorry we can’t confirm this!

To do the bike justice we’ve made a video review / road test of the Zero DS electric bike. See what it’s like to ride and what it costs to run!

What’s using watts in your home – free energy monitors from Sust-it

Posted by Ross Lammas

To encourage everyone to get monitoring we’re giving away 10 energy meters – one for every 50th ‘like’ we get on Sust-it’s Facebook page. So go on, keep up to date with Sust-it and you could win a Power Meter today – and save a great deal long-term!

We’ve been running our ‘Repair vs Replace’ service for over a year now; helping find information on the energy usage of old appliances and enabling you to compare these against new energy efficient models. What we’ve noticed from the enquiries is that there are still a lot of very old appliances working away in our homes, some over thirty plus years old! Whilst there may be a green argument that ‘if it’s working don’t replace it’, this is often not the case with high energy consuming products such tumble dryers, washing machines and freezers; these appliances use a great deal of electricity during their life – especially those that pre-date the introduction of energy labels, which there appears to be a lot of! We have some staggering examples of freezers that are costing £120 per year to run.

If we can’t find any information regarding old products we advise consumers to borrow or buy an inexpensive power meter, to check out what they are consuming. If you send us your data we can then workout what the savings could be if you replaced your existing appliances with modern energy efficient models.

* UK residents only, promotion started July 2012

56% of online retailers are not displaying full energy label information – yet it’s a legal obligation for them to do so!

Posted by Ross Lammas

Whilst there are lots of issues that need addressing with energy labels. They are still your only yardstick (apart from Sust-it) to the energy efficiency of products. And one often forgotten aspect of them is that they should be displayed wherever you purchase a product, whether it’s from the high street or an online shop.

A survey published in the National Measurements Office (NMO)* Annual Enforcement report, has highlighted that 30% of high street traders are displaying energy labels that are inaccurate when compared with the manufacturer’s information. Even more shocking is that 56% of online retailers are failing to display full energy information!

Sust-it takes its information from manufacturers websites, as we’ve noticed retailers website information is often wrong! Occasionally this has thrown up some inaccuracies with manufacturers in the past. In one case a Sust-it user selected the most efficient fridge freezer, this was a Candy CCS5166w 204.4 KWh (£28.23) at the time, which he bought from an online retailer, only to discover when it arrived that it used 288 KWh (£41.18) that’s £12.95 more electricity per year than Candy had displayed on their site. Luckily the online retailer refunded him and Candy amended their website and so did we!

Another problem area is home branded appliances, or brands that are only available from specific retailers, such as John Lewis appliances and TV’s, here we have to rely on their website energy information. Again, through our research we have highlighted discrepancies. We spotted some incredibly efficient John Lewis branded washing machines only to discover they were mislabelled! To be fair, one phone call to a knowledgeable white goods buyer at John Lewis and the information was corrected straightaway.

Our advice is to check and double check that retailers energy label information is correct, if it’s not there complain, ask why it’s missing. You’re within your rights to complain to Trading Standards if labels are wrong or missing. And when your goods arrive please check that the energy labels match what you ordered, if not send it back. These rules also apply to advertising so if you spot any mis-representations the Advertising Standards Authority will be interested to hear from you.

*NMO are the body responsible for the market surveillance of energy labelling information

Why are Energy Labels promoting less efficient A rated washing machines?

Posted by Ross Lammas

Energy labels for washing machines are now displaying average electricity consumed per year based on 220 cycles, regardless of the capacity of the machine. This means we get the absurd situation of the energy label on an A rated 6kg machine saying it uses less energy per year, than a more efficient A+++ 12kg machine – which does double the amount of washing!

Larger capacity washing machines can use more electricity per cycle, however, if you regularly have large loads of washing they are far more efficient per unit of electricity consumed – as they save on the number of loads.

One example is the A rated John Lewis JLWM1404 6kg washing machine, which according to the energy label uses 204 kWh (£29.15) per year.

Compared this the 12kg A+++ Samsung WF1124XAC with an annual consumption of 264 kWh (£37.73) per year, this implies that the A+++ machine is less efficient as it uses more power, even though it does twice as much washing. By ignoring the energy labels an average family could save 110 wash cycles per year.

The most economic and environmentally friendly option for the average family is buy a large drummed washing machine, as you’ll do far more washing per unit of electricity. Lots of manufacturers are now focusing on larger capacity machines, due to their energy saving credentials. It seems crazy that Energy Labels aren’t reflecting this change and are displaying confusing information; the other side effect of this change is that you now can’t compare machines which were tested before the new labelling system was introduced”

Our energy usage calculations are based on average amounts of washing; therefore larger machines tend to be more energy efficient per kg of washing done. With half load options and some with the technology to adjust the water and energy consumption according to the weight of washing, a large capacity machine is appealing if getting all the family’s towels and jeans done in one go is a priority. If consumers buy a large drummed machine, and use them correctly, major savings can be made!

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