subject: Green Deal - A Progressive Step! [print this page] To make Green Deal a success, the UK government has started accrediting providers to offer quality installations to homes, community spaces and businesses. These installations are energy efficient and will help the households save significant amount on their electricity bills.
Green Deal is a progressive step towards the reduction of the green house gas which is the prime cause for global warming. Researches conducted to find the source, show that more than 20% of UK's carbon emission is a result of domestic heating. To reduce this CO2 emission, government has devised out profound solutions to keep the houses warm without much energy consumption. Some of them are explained below.
Insulation
Insulation forms one of the major ways to improve energy efficiency. Walls and roofs form the prime areas of heat loss. Insulating them properly will help the households cut down the amount of energy used in heating up the room which further saves money.
Loft Insulation Loft or the empty space under the roof, is the primary area of heat loss. Hot air being light, rises up and tends to heat the ceiling. If there is no insulation in the loft, the heat will escape through the loft space. Hence, loft insulation is necessary to trap the heat within the house. Mineral Fibre is the most common type of loft insulation that is used for this purpose. This is mainly thick woollen material unrolled to fit in the beam of the loft. As per the EPC standards, the depth of this material should not be less than 10 inches.
Cavity Wall Insulation Most of the houses in the UK are made of cavity bricks, which lead to heat loss. The cavity brick is made of two layers separated by a hollow space. Strategies have been formed to drill out the outer surface of the bricks and inject the insulated material into the hollow space. This will protect the house from energy loss.
Solid Wall Insulation Insulating a solid wall is the most difficult task. It involves two types of insulations. Internal insulation is done by fitting a fibrous mineral or a type of rubberised foam board at the inner side or the habitable portion of the wall. These materials are then sealed over with plaster. Another way is the external insulation. In this case the exterior part of the building is fitted with waterproof insulation. Solid wall insulation is a labouring task hence expensive.
Renewable Technologies
Using Band 'A' Boilers Previously the Band 'G' boilers were used to produce hot water and heat the rooms. These boilers were 70% efficient, hence resulted into a significant wastage of energy. But Band 'A' boilers are 90% efficient leading. Moreover these boilers have advanced controls which allow the households to control heating as per their requirements.
Using Heat Pumps There are different types of heat pumps which function on renewable technologies. The first is a ground source heat pump. It uses a loop which is buried deep in the ground. The loop contains a mixture of water and antifreeze and as the liquid is circulated, it absorbs the heat from the ground. Then the liquid passes through a heat exchanger which further heats it. The heat generated is then transferred to the heat radiator or underfloor heating system. Another is the air source heat pump which uses the same principle but instead of the loop underground, it draws the heat from the air outside.
Using Solar Power Technology These equipment use solar energy and convert it to electricity. This technology uses two different processes. The first is the Solar Photovoltaic process, which uses solar panels to absorb sunlight and convert the light energy into electrical energy used for the working of household equipment. The second is Solar Thermal Collector, which absorbs solar energy to heat water.
To get the above discussed energy improvement installations, individuals can run a quick check online to find several green deal providers offering EPC rated reliable equipment.
