Energy Sources

1

• REDUCING THE ENERGY GAP BY REDUCING ENERGY DEMAND
• This can operate in 3 areas
• 1 Reducing Energy Demand for Transport
• 2 Reducing Energy Demand in Homes
• 3 Reducing Energy Demand in Workplaces
• Reduced Energy Use can be brought about by
• Using alternative, more energy-efficient types of
  power
• Reducing energy waste
• Reducing energy demand through voluntary action
• Reducing energy demand through pricing policies
• Reducing energy demand better planning

2

• Reducing Energy Demand for Transport
• Fuel-efficient Public Transport London
  trialled 3 hydrogen fuel-cell buses in 2004.
  These run on hydrogen which break down to emit
  water vapour. This reduces CO2 emissions,
  improves the air quality of London streets, and
  reduces demand for oil-based fuel. After a
  successful trial, 10 more buses were ordered in
  2006 with the aim of having a fleet of 60 by
  2010. (see article)
• Encouraging reduced use of private cars and
  increased use of public transport It costs 8
  to take a car into the inner-most congestion ring
  in central London with car number plates being
  read by electronic cameras as soon as they cross
  the boundary line. As a result more Londoners are
  using buses and the tube and leaving their cars
  at home. Other cities considered introducing the
  same ideas such as Manchester and Edinburgh but
  when the plans went to city votes local
  residents voted them down.
• Encouraging drivers to buy fuel-efficient cars
  The new car tax banding system introduced in the
  UK in 2008 means that drivers pay a different
  rate of annual car tax depending on the CO2
  emissions of their car. The most fuel-efficient,
  small engine cars will only pay 35 for their
  road tax licence, whilst the big petrol-users
  will pay 400. This encourages drivers to buy
  small, fuel-efficient cars giving off less CO2.
• Encouraging people to use bikes with bike lanes
  Bristol has been selected as the UKs first
  cycling city and has been given 11m to set up
  cycle lanes, bike parks, and a bike loan scheme
  to encourage people to leave their cars at home,
  get fit, and cut energy use.
• ( For further ideas see transport page of
  energysavingsecrets.co.uk )

3

• Reducing Energy Demand in the Home
• Making sure existing homes are energy efficient
  There are grants available from the government
  to fit cavity-wall insulation, loft insulation
  draught excluders and insulation jackets for
  hot-water tanks. This means energy used to heat
  homes is not wasted and people can keep the
  heating turned down lower. (see article)
• Designing homes that are carbon-neutral By
  2016 all new homes built in the UK should be
  carbon-neutral ie their building and use
  should not add to the earths carbon dioxide.
  (See the Bedzed Project.)
• What Architects And Designers Need To Do To Make
  Housing Greener
• Materials from bricks to wood to how much
  plastic is used house builders need to ensure
  theyre using the most sustainable (not just the
  cheapest) material option, including recycled
  products
• Eco-design architects need to incorporate
  greener housing solutions, including insulation,
  double glazing and energy efficient fridges /
  cookers etc
• Recycling facilities larger developments need to
  take into consideration the location and size of
  on site recycling facilities
• Renewable energy solar panels, wind turbines,
  rainwater harvesting a green home needs to
  generate its own energy as standard (see website)
• Designing New Towns to be Eco-friendly The UK
  government has plans for 15 new Eco-Towns to be
  built by 2020. Not only will the houses be
  eco-friendly, but the towns will be designed to
  reduce commuting and shopping trips, generate
  their own energy from renewable sources, make
  efficient use of water and recycle waste. The aim
  is to reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions.
  (see article)

4

• The Bed ZED Project, London An Eco-Housing
  Project
• The Bed ZED Project, or Beddington Zero Energy
  Development, is the UK's largest carbon-neutral
  eco-community in the UK. It was built in 2002 in
  Wallington, Surrey, and comprises of 82
  residential homes. The intention with this
  project, built in partnership with both an
  architect and an environmental consultancy firm,
  was to create a housing project that incorporates
  new approaches to energy conservation and
  sustainability, and also to build a thriving
  community to live within it.
• The houses are equipped with key features
• designed with south facing terraces to maximise
  solar heat gain
• utilise renewable, and conservable, energy. A
  small-scale combined heat and power plant on
  site, powered by wood off-cuts, provides most of
  the energy to the estate.
• All buildings have a thick insulation jacket,
  made from recycled materials.
• The project has a legally-binding green
  transport plan, incorporating a car pool system
  for residents, great public transport links, and
  is linked in to a cycling network.
• For these, and many more social and environmental
  initiatives and technologies, Bed ZED has won
  many national and International awards for
  sustainability, design, Innovation and more.

5

• Reducing Energy Demand at Work
• Paper-less offices Many offices are trying to
  reduce the amount of paper, photocopying and
  printing they do by storing and sending
  information electronically. Doctors surgeries
  now use electronic health records of patients
  which can be seen by whichever doctor you may be
  seeing anywhere in the country.
• Office design new office buildings are being
  designed to make more use of natural light
  (sunlight) rather than electric lights by
  having south-facing office windows with
  photo-reactive glass which reduces the need for
  heating in winter, and the need to
  air-conditioning in summer.
• Home-working by working from home and
  communicating with fellow workers by internet,
  skype, video-conference and email, many
  journalists, for example, dont go in to the
  office but work from home. This reduces the
  need for office space, and cuts down on fuel used
  in commuting.
• Green Councils Many local councils aim to be
  green as an example to others in the local
  community. This extends to recycling schemes at
  work (paper, glass, cardboard, electrical
  equipment) as well as trying to cut down on
  energy use (computers on time-switches that
  automatically go off at night) See article on
  West Oxfordshire Council, and what Woking Council
  are doing.
• For further ideas see energysavingsecrets.co.uk
  - at Work
• Also Direct.gov advice on energy saving at work

6

• Miller UK Ltd
• Northumberland based Miller UK Ltd manufactures
  and repairs excavator buckets and attachments for
  construction vehicles. Suggested actions from an
  energy survey were to
• Monitor monthly fuel usage
• Establish a site energy policy
• Educate staff about how their everyday
  activities impact on carbon emissions
• Fit automatic lights which switch off when there
  has been no movement for a certain period of
  time.
• Upgrade existing lighting systems to low energy
  light bulbs
• The survey identified that Miller UK Ltd could
  potentially save around 64,706 per year and see
  an overall 25.5 per cent reduction in energy
  consumption as a result of implementing these
  recommendations.

Case-Studies of Energy Saving at Work

• Merseyside Police identified savings of 13,000 a
  year, but this was just the beginning for the
  6,500-strong force.  It has trained 99 Energy
  Champions across 66 sites and 93 per cent of its
  electricity is green, reducing carbon emissions
  by 60 per cent
• Recommendations included
• Installing automatic lighting controls to the
  main underground car park (savings of more than
  1,800 per annum)
• Introducing a new cooling system to the computer
  room, radio room, telecoms (savings of more than
  3,100 per annum)
• Installing water saving devices like tap
  conversions to turn off after a set time
  generating further savings of 2,400 in the first
  year alone.
• Training 99 volunteer Energy Champions to act as
  site-based energy representatives to encourage
  colleagues to be more energy-aware
• switched to Internet billing, which can provide
  earlier energy-use data.
• Installed section-meters which can show the
  amount of electricity being used at any one time
  by any department.
• purchased more energy efficient equipment, such
  as LCD PC monitors.

7
Sustainable Energy Policies
Some people say these strategies are just
playing at energy conservation, and that to
secure the future of the planet we will have to
take much more radical action than changing a few
light bulbs and turning off our TVs at night.
What might be the radical action they think is
necessary?
Of all the strategies for reducing energy
consumption, which 3 do you think will make the
biggest impact and why those.
Suggest 5 ways in which Withernsea High School
could reduce its energy use, ranked according to
energy saved.
How might future communities be planned to be
energy sustainable?