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Over the last 15 years, we’ve seen how confusing and overwhelming home energy upgrades can be. But when you get the basics right first time, the benefits last for decades: delivering warmer, more comfortable homes and buildings, lower energy bills, and a stronger, more energy-efficient UK housing stock.

Since 2011, more than 10 million people have joined us on this journey, making us the UK’s number one independent energy-saving advice portal. They’ve done so by using our clear how-to guides, trusted product insights and expert tips; and by taking practical steps to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and buildings.

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In this video James and Nick talk about everything to do with the new Government approved Green Homes Grant (GHG). You can read more about the GHG on our website: https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/green-homes-grant-comprehensive-guide/
Episode 34: The Green Homes Grant (GHG)
The Green Room: What happens when you put two energy experts in a room and ask them about electric boilers? We’re answering all your burning electric boiler questions. Are gas boilers still legal? Are electric boilers better for the environment? Is an electric boiler more expensive than gas? Should I swap my central heating for an electric boiler? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ HOW DO ELECTRIC BOILERS DIFFER FROM GAS ONES? The short answer to this is that they use different methods of heating water. A gas boiler takes in gas from the national network supply and burns it to produce heat. This then goes through a heat exchanger, which heats the water used for both your central heating and hot water. With an electric boiler, it’s a similar process but instead of burning natural gas to create heat, an electric boiler heats the water using power directly from an electricity source (almost always the national grid). It works a lot like a kettle. This means that electric boilers are actually significantly more efficient than their gas counterparts. Modern gas boilers can reach as high as 95% efficiency (or even higher), but electric boilers can reach 100% efficiency. However there are a lot of issues with electric boilers that don’t come up with gas boilers. In this podcast, we explain the benefits and drawback or electric boilers, and discuss the governments move towards this type of water and space heating. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More: The Green Age: Electric Boilers - https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/tech/electric-boilers/ The Best Electric Boilers 2020 - https://www.boilerguide.co.uk/articles/best-electric-boilers Gas boilers could be banned from all homes by 2050 - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/02/08/homeowners-could-forced-replace-gas-boilers-ensure-uk-meets/
Episode 33: Electric Boilers Explained
The Green Room: What happens when you put two energy experts in a room and ask them about Big Energy Saving Week 2020? We’re digging deep into one of energy’s biggest events of the year this episode, and giving our own take on the top tips that BESW20 published in aid of the event. From tariff switching to taps, we’re taking a closer look at which energy saving measures really do work. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHAT IS BIG ENERGY SAVING WEEK 2020? Big Energy Saving Week is a national campaign to help people cut their energy bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to. This year it is running between 20th-27th January, and you can get involved on social media using the hashtag #BEST20. WHO IS BIG ENERGY SAVING WEEK TARGETING? Everybody! BESW20 is al about getting people aware of their energy use and thinking about their habits. This year, there is a special focus of 4 major groups: people using electric heating, people in debt to their energy suppliers, people with hard-to-heat homes, and anyone that doesn’t have full access to the internet. These are the groups reckoned to be in the most need of energy saving and general energy advice, but really BESW20 is for everyone. WHAT IS HAPPENING DURING BIG ENERGY SAVING WEEK 2020? There’s plenty going on this week to get involved with! Citizens Advice are holding events around the country for people to go and get free energy saving advice. There are also plenty of resources that have been produced, including lectures, social media, and a whole lot of content. Don’t forget to use the #BESW20 hashtag to be part of the conversation! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More: 20 Ways to Save - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/campaigns/BESW%202020/20%20ways%20to%20save%20(1).pdf Big Energy Saving Week 2020 official website - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-campaigns/all-our-current-campaigns/besw/ Big Energy Saving Week 2020 on the Energy Saving Trust - https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/blog/big-energy-saving-week-2020 100 Ways To Save Energy In Your Home - https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/100-ways-to-save-energy-in-your-home/ Where Can I Get Advice on Saving Energy? - https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/big-energy-saving-week-advice-saving-energy/
Episode 32: Big Energy Saving Week 2020
The Green Room: What happens when you put two energy experts in a room and ask them your questions about bills, energy, and the environment? We’re back for 2020 and we’re answering all the questions you asked while we were away. We cover insulation, triple glazing, the DECC, and celebrate the 2019 energy mix. If you have questions about energy saving, we have the answers. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHAT IS DECC? DECC is the Department of Energy & Climate Change, a now defunct department of the British government. Controversially, DECC was scrapped and became part of Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in July 2016. We’re wondering if it’s likely to come back any time soon. WHAT IS TRIPLE GLAZING? Put simply, triple glazing is 3 panes of glass instead of 1 or 2. The claim is that by having an extra pane, you will increase efficiency and reduce noise. We already know that double glazing makes a significant improvement over single glazing, but even so, upgrading from single to double glazing takes a long time to pay back in terms of energy efficiency. So would making the jump to triple glazing make that much of a difference? WHAT IS A U-VALUE? The U-value signifies the heat lost through a given thickness of a particular material. You don’t really need to understand the mechanics of how it is calculated; instead it is useful to be able to compare different substances by their U-values. The lower the U-value is, the better the material is as a heat insulator. WHAT IS THE UK’S ENERGY MIX? We haven’t had the full figures released yet for the last quarter of the year, but the first part of 2019 saw a significant shift towards renewbles, providing 38.9% of our electricity. Nuclear provided 18.4%, gas 38.8%, oil 2.9%, and coal 1%. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More: Internal and Cavity Wall Insulation (The Insulation Masterclass Series Pt 3) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ya7uXupx_U Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change Triple glazing – Is it worth it? - https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/triple-glazing-is-it-worth-it/ Should I get external wall insulation on cavity walls? - https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/get-external-wall-insulation-on-cavity-walls/
Episode 31: Energy Saving - Your Questions Answered

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