Green ASAP

Power factor correction

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:47:08 +0000

Power factor correction doesn’t sound very sexy and it might be difficult to get your head round, but power factor correction is a great way to save some energy on your electricity bill. On all electricity bills there is something called the “reactive power charge”. This charge is applied where the electricity lost through defective equipment goes above a certain level. Imagine water leaking out of old, rusty or badly fitted pipes. Some pieces of electrical equipment lose electrical energy in the same way.

If your energy appliances are 100% efficient then the power factor of your home should be 1. Realistically though nearly all homes and buildings would fall under this level nearly always below 0.7.

Where a home’s power factor falls below a set level, power companies start to charge a premium because they have to supply additional power to make up for that’s been lost through these inefficiencies.Power factor correction reduces the wastage caused by an inefficient power supply system and means for the home owner that the premium they pay for having a low power factor is reduced. It is not usually possible to reach absolute perfection (ie 1) but most power supply companies are content with 0.95 or above.

Power factor correction is achieved by installing switch capacitors which equalise the relationship between volts and amps supplied, bringing the power factor closer to 1.

There are several firms offering power factor correction services. Although it varies from case to case, the cost of the installation of power factor correction methods can usually be recovered in a year.

Just like you would with any other type of home improvement, when considering power factor correction it is important to get a competitive quote. Always seek a minimum of three quotes from service providers to ensure you get the best price.

Also bear in mind that before any work is done it is necessary to have a survey carried out on the premises. This survey is required to determine the level of power factor correction required and the level of circuit installation to remedy current problems in line with current energy use and anticipated future use.
Many firms charge for this service, however many will deduct the cost of this survey should you choose to purchase power correction services from themselves.

Eco Sofa – what to look for

admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:05:37 +0000

In many households the sofa is one of the most important items of furniture. It is where we relax after a long day at work, watch our favourite TV shows and perhaps even eat the occasional meal from! A good sofa will give many years of loyal service. An eco sofa will give you many years of loyal eco friendly service! What makes an eco sofa different from a normal sofa you may well ask?

Eco Sofa Features

Frame

Most sofas are constructed using a wooden frame to give it the form and structure we recognise as a sofa. Make sure that this timber frame is from a sustainable source and FSC certififed.

Material

The material that make up the back and cushion should be recycled or from natural and sustainable source such as ethical cotton.

Glue

Make sure glue used in the construction is water based and therefore less toxic than normal.

Other considerations

As is the norm when looking to purchase specific items there are a lot of general eco practices than can be adhered to. Making sure that you recycle your old sofa properly and look at using as local a supplier as possible for your new eco sofa.

wind energy jobs

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:06:17 +0000

We were surprised how many jobs there were that could be described as wind energy jobs. Sure knew there’d be a few kicking around the UK. But there’re actually quite a number, if you know where to look.

Chatting to colleagues over a coffee I pondered why there might be so many. It’s simple, my colleagues explained. With governments globally making a commitment to green energy and both residential and commercial energy customers looking to buy more of the stuff there’s been a big increase in the number of turbines being installed both across the UK and abroad. These turbines are of course the locus of energy production and after human labour, or in some cases before, represent the largest capital investment these businesses make. Of course they want to keep them in the best working order possible. This means maximum environmental benefit, maximum electrical energy generated and maximum return on investment.

These vast forests of turbines require a veritable army of maintenance personnel to keep them in top working order. What these jobs offer is a role that is fulfilling and challenging. Those that go into these types of roles will be expected to have a high degree of technical competency. This knowledge must be utilised alongside practical, hands on, ability to carry out repair and maintenance work on the turbine units.

In addition to this, these jobs will be outdoors and often atop the very high turbine towers. There’s also usually the requirement that you be prepared to travel. On a day to day basis this travel will be between different turbine sites, however roles in this area may also require some international travel. This is because turbine manufacturers are located across the globe and high degree of training will be required to hone your knowledge of the turbines and keep it razor sharp.

So if your technically minded, don’t mind heights, enjoy great views, don’t mind being outside, and enjoy the prospect of some international travel, then this could be the job for you.

Remember when applying for these kinds of jobs to follow the basic rules you would when applying for any job. Make sure you tailor your application, covering letter and CV. Do some research into the sector. This should be pretty straight forward as there is constant coverage of environmental and renewable energy issues including wind power. This should provide an easily accessible wealth of information for application writing and pre interview swotting.

Renewable energy jobs

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:34:11 +0000

There’s a new term being used in recruitment circles these days: Green Collar Worker. These workers sit alongside more traditional blue and white collar workers but represent a shift that is taking place across every sector of industry and commerce in virtually every country in the world. That shift is towards environmentally friendly jobs. Those jobs could be in ecology, recycling or renewable energy. It this type of green collar job that we are interested in here.

The trouble with renewable energy jobs is that the title sounds a little vague. What would count as a renewable energy job?

Well the short answer is any job in the renewable energy sector. This of course is pretty obvious and is probably not very satisfying, so here are some examples:

Installer- All types of renewable energy systems require some sort of machinery to be attached to the building that will be generating the energy. This means there are plenty of jobs that involve fitting solar panels, windmills or ground source heat pumps to buildings. These jobs are physical as well as technical so would suit someone with both an engineering oriented mind-set and the physical ability to do construction style work outdoors.
Sales- Sales people in this field sell the renewable energy systems to home owners. In a sense this is an easy job because renewable energy systems like these for the home should sell themselves as they both help the environment and save the customer money. However the sales professional that works in this area must combine passion for the environment with technical knowledge and excellent people skills. They must also have good basic numeracy and have a good eye for a deal.
System design and assembly- Renewable energy systems are technically sophisticated products with a vital mission. By their very nature these products must maximise efficiency and give the best value for money. This requires constant re-evaluation of products and regular design reviews. It also requires that products are manufactured and tested to the highest standards.

These are of course just the most common three types of front line job that the sector has to offer. There are plenty of other opportunities in this sector supporting these types of workers in areas like marketing, it support and accountancy. These types of roles won’t be quite as hands on, day to day doing things that will have an environmental impact, but they are vital for making sure the front line work gets done.

Geothermal heat systems

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:46:51 +0000

Geothermal Heat Systems have much in common with other renewable energy systems. Like solar and wind power they are scalable. This means that weather you are constructing a system on a large scale designed to supply heat to many buildings, or are just looking for a small system to supply one building or home, then a Geothermal Heat System is a practical option.

The last few years has seen the explosion of domestic renewable energy systems. These systems have been a hit with homeowners for two big reasons:

1) They are environmentally friendly and help keep homes warm and supplied with electrical power.

2) They help radically reduce the costs of fuelling and heating a home

Unfortunately, Geothermal Heat Systems are not as widely known as their wind and solar energy counterparts. This may be because they have some drawbacks when considered alongside these two other prevalent energy systems however Geothermal Heat Systems have some unique benefits that arguably set them apart from other renewable energy systems.

First the drawbacks:

1) Geothermal Heat Systems require drilling. For s domestic system this can be between three and six feet. This drilling is often sold as part of a package by the firm that supplies and installs the rest of the system. The drilling of the holes however is contracted out to a third party. Often the firm selling the unit will underestimate the costs of drilling when offering their initial quote in order to secure a sale. Having bought the unit, the customer is then faced with having to pay extra for drilling to actually get the unit to work. Customers should always get three independent quotes to ensure they get the most competitive deal. The drilling can of course be disruptive to grass and top soil, or concrete/driveways depending on where it will be located.

2) The units require some installation inside the building. This will mainly consist of the heat transfer unit and condenser unit. This however will not be significantly more than the disruption caused by installing solar panels on a building’s roof and the requisite equipment inside the building.

Now the benefits:

1) Unlike solar and wind, Geothermal Heat Systems aren’t dependant on weather conditions. They will continue to heat your home whether it’s sunny, windy, cloudy or still. Because it uses heat stored in the ground which is always there, those installing these systems will always have access to that energy

2) It might seem unfair to compare Geothermal Heat Systems, solar and wind since wind produces electricity, solar can produce electricity or be used to heat water and Geothermal Heat Systems just heat water. However the cost of gas used to heat a home is currently higher than the cost of electricity to power a home. This means that though the initial investment may seem higher, the eventual savings will be better when Geothermal Heat Systems are compared to wind and solar.

Graduate jobs in the renewable energy sector

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:36:53 +0000

There is no doubt about it: Now is a tough time to a graduate. With the UK economy still in the doldrums there simply aren’t the number of graduate jobs available that there were five years ago.

There are however some sectors doing better than others and one of these sectors is renewable energy. Although spending cuts by both local and national governments has damaged investment in large scale renewable energy projects, demand is continuing to increase for renewable energy products on a smaller scale for example on residential buildings and small business premises.

These types of installations are seeing increases because consumers are coming more and more to appreciate the financial sense of having systems like these installed.

The great news for graduates is that this industry needs skills from all sectors and backgrounds. Those with an engineering or design background can find work designing, building and installing these systems. These jobs require a high level of technical competency and design ingenuity to ensure that the systems continue to evolve in efficiency and capability meaning that more people will see more benefits as the technology develops.

Graduates with computer skills will find work designing more efficient programmes to operate the systems. Remember that the amount of energy these units supply to the national grid relates to how much the person that has installed the unit makes from them, and this is monitored by computer. The units themselves contain computer components that regulate their on/off cycles and monitor energy production and storage. The better these computer systems work the more efficient the energy system will be and the greater benefits customers will see. If you’re more interested in the internet and web design side of things then all of these businesses are looking to spread their message on the web and sell online.

Marketing graduates will see increases in the amount of work this sector offers as firms in this filed see greater profits and look to reinvest that profit in spreading the word and ultimately selling more units. Remember that for this kind of technology there’s both a financial incentive and an environmental incentive to have the units installed so graduates marketing in this area will be able to present two good solid arguments for product uptake, and let’s face it, that beats “buy this product because it’s really good!” any day.

For everyone else there’s everything else, from the administration and accounts work, to purchasing to personnel. Those politics graduates might even find a few lobbying jobs in the sector as the leading businesses in the area look to flex their muscle politically.

Geothermal boreholes

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:41:05 +0000

Geothermal Boreholes are used for many purposes by geologists. They can be used as an experimental aid to discover the natural and size of geothermal energy resources, or these boreholes can also be used as part of a geothermal energy generation system. In this context, the boreholes are used to circulate a liquid solution into the ground. This liquid is then heated by the thermal energy locked in the earth and returned to the surface.

In commercial geothermal energy generation systems, these boreholes can be up to four kilometres deep. Such drilling requires access to highly specialised equipment and skills that are only utilised for a very small number of commercial geothermal energy generation projects.

There has, however, been a steady increase in the number of people looking for small scale geothermal borehole drilling where the energy is intended to be harvested only on a small scale for an individual house or business premises.

Ground source heat pumps have the capacity to supply enough hot water to a premises to reduce heating bills by 60-70%. This obviously represents a huge saving for the building owner or bill payer.

It is the geothermal borehole drilling for these systems that is the most expensive and complex element of the ground source heat pump installation process. For a small scale ground source heat pump, drilling of the geothermal boreholes is likely to account for the majority (ie. over 50%) of the total cost of unit installation. For a larger scale unit the geothermal boreholes account for 65-75% of the project costs.

The vast majority of firms that install ground source heat pumps subcontract the geothermal borehole drilling out to third party businesses. Customers should be wary of ground source heat pump installation firms that do subcontract out this work as they are likely to make a substantial profit margin between charging the customer more and paying the third party drilling firm less. Some firms will also deliberately underestimate the level of drilling necessary in order to make a sale. Once the project is part way through completion the customer will then suddenly find that they require far more extensive drilling works, having already committed to purchasing the rest of the ground source heat pump unit.

People interested in installing ground source heat pumps should, as with any other home improvement or modification project, seek to obtain three quotes to ensure that they are getting the most competitive deal. This will lead to effective ground source heat pump installation and the best reduction on household bills.

Ground Source Heat Pumps

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:51:11 +0000

Ground Source Heat Pumps are perhaps a less famous green energy system than solar or wind power but they should not be overlooked by those investigating options for producing green energy for their homes.

Ground source heat pumps could reduce your heating bills by as much as 65%- 70%. This obviously represents a massive saving for any household.

What can further benefit households installing these systems are government grants designed to help the UK meet its carbon reduction commitments. These grants can help home owners that install renewable energy systems, including ground source heat pumps, in their homes quickly recover the costs in just a few years. Home owners may begin to find however, that government grants are soon no longer available as government cutbacks threaten to reduce the number of grants and the level of cash awarded. It is possible depending on the extent of legislation that these grants may soon not be available at all.

This does not mean that homeowners can find no financial support when considering installing ground source heat pumps it merely means they may have to look a little harder. Regional development agencies may still offer homeowners grants to develop alternative energy supplies on their properties assuming of course that the home owner lives within their jurisdiction. Some local authorities may likewise still offer grants though many authorities have also suffered a level of spending cuts similar to central government. A small number of charitable organisations offer grants however these are likely to be small again in both the number given and the amount of money each grant is valued at.

Many people wonder how ground source heat pumps actually work. Like solar panels, ground source heat pumps use energy from the sun. However, instead of taking this energy directly from the sun they instead utilise solar energy that is stored in the ground. Because they are simply moving energy from one place to another instead of creating it (for example coal is used to create energy when it is burnt) ground source heat pumps are highly efficient. Approximately for every 1kw hour of electricity utilised by a ground source heat pump 4kw of energy are produced.

This heat is harvested by a network of pipes laid in the ground. Each one of these pipes contains a water/ glycol solution at a temperature that is lower than the surrounding ground temperature. The heat in the ground then warms this solution as it is pumped through the ground.

This warmed liquid is then fed to a heat exchange unit. This extracts the heat from the liquid and then returns the liquid to the ground where it is used afresh to collect heat. What is left is then compressed. As this gas is compressed is temperature increases and it is at this point that is used to heat water in the home.

Waste management jobs

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:25:51 +0000

Those looking for waste management jobs will perhaps have an easier time finding work than those in other sectors. This is because as the global population continues to increase, so does the amount of waste that is produced and has to be dealt with.

At the same time waste management is becoming more complex. As more and more individuals see the need to recycle what they have used and both national and local governments legislate to increase the amount of recycling that gets done, the number of waste management jobs continues to increase in order to deal with this increasingly complex waste management world.

Waste Management professionals are also fortunate to find their services required both by public and private sector employers. When most of us think of waste management jobs we think of local council bin men, but the private sector also has plenty of specialist waste management firms with a range of specialisations looking for workers in this sector.

As well as hands-on operatives, there are plenty of management and senior corporate roles. Many of these roles are in areas such as landfill management or lie in managing teams clearing large construction or engineering sites. Often the managers of such facilities or teams will have begun their working life at the bottom of the chain working as a hands-on clearer moving rubbish and refuse around. People that demonstrate intelligence and leadership qualities in these roles can then quickly progress onwards to more senior positions.

Other more senior positions can be found in consultancies that help business reduce their refuse either in total or the proportion that goes to landfill against the proportion that is recycled. Many experts in these types of roles are seeing an increasing number of opportunities to work abroad in developing economies that are becoming more keenly aware of the problems caused by environmental damage as well as the negative public relations that they increasingly find go with an irresponsible waste management policy. These sorts of roles can provide challenging problems as the solutions that these consultancies devise must be both ethical and cost effective.

Others may find fulfilling jobs working in or leading a project team that must take account of waste disposal from the project design phase onwards. People working in this area of the waste disposal market will have to bring many skills to the table. As well as expertise in waste management they will also have to have excellent people management skills, communication skills, finance handling expertise and time management skills.

Waste management jobs

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:25:51 +0000