After transportation, buildings are one of the next most energy-hungry creations by mankind. With previous decades providing cheap oil, gas and coal, there's been little incentive to reduce the amount of energy used in homes, offices and factories. However, now with global warming, pollution and much higher energy costs being on the political agenda, buildings are getting much more focus.

 

In most developed countries, new-build houses and commercial premises have to meet strict insulation and energy consumption guidelines. To date, only a few enlightened countries have passed laws requiring owners of older buildings to improve their efficiency. If energy prices stay high, some of this will be self-governing as it may become as increasingly expensive to live in an inefficient house as it it will be difficult to sell one.

 

Micro-generation is a hot topic at present, but the payback time to recoup the initial investment is still too high for most people :

Wind turbines on most domestic buildings give very disapointing results at present. In built-up areas there simply isn't enough wind to generate meaningful amounts of electricity. Out of town in windy areas, the sums can add up, but it's a very small proportion of the population who can really benefit from this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solar water heating is starting to become cost effective. The latest solar tubes have a 5-10 year payback period, and as long as they can be located on a sunny south-facing roof they are worth investigating. Photovoltaic solar panels are not such a good investment unless they are located in areas with extended sunny periods. In fact, speculators are currently buying up large tracts of desert inland from California with a view to producing electricity that will be provided to Californians via low-loss high voltage cables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat pumps work in the opposite way to a refridgerator in that they take warmth from the ground or ambient outside air, compress it and then pump it around a heating system. They are finding favour with remote households that do not have mains gas and are reliant on oil or coal-fired heating. A well designed ground source heat pump system can have a relatively short payback period and thereafter prodvide low-cost heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insulation is probably the best and lowest cost current solution for most buildings. In fact, there's not much point installing more effecient heating or cooling systems if the building isn't optimally insulated. It's best to ensure that a building has copious amounts of loft insulation, filled cavity walls, double or triple glazing and so on, before embarking on any form of micro-generation.