The ability to generate your own electricity has become even more tempting for many households and organisations given the soaring global cost of energy. This is often referred to as micro generation, because it is the small scale generation of electricity, usually to power an individual property. If you decide to generate your own electricity there can be many benefits. Firstly you can save money on the cost of your own electricity, spending less on buying expensive energy from greedy energy suppliers. Secondly you can actually make money by selling any spare capacity to the national grid and thirdly, you can feel happy in the knowledge that you are contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions, which are the primary contributor to Global Warming.

Solar Power (Solar Photovoltaic systems)

According to the Energy Saving Trust around 50% of domestic electricity use could be generated from Solar power alone. This is a staggering figure and the short term cost of fitting a solar panel to your home could be easily outweighed by the longer term savings on electricity costs. Solar Photovoltaic systems are designed around individual cells that make up your solar panel. Your solar panel is usually placed on your roof as this provides the optimum placement for attracting solar radiation from the sun. This solar radiation is then converted into electricity as it is processed by your solar panel. It is important to note that your roof space will need to be south facing in order to capture enough sunlight to make your system viable. Any electricity that you generate from Solar power can be sold back to the national grid or used to power your own home. It’s worth calculating the cost of producing your own electricity from solar power, with the cost of buying it from your energy supplier, that way you can decide on the most profitable option.

One of the common misconceptions is that it needs to be sunny for solar panels to generate electricity, but this is untrue. Solar radiation produced by the sun is present in our atmosphere all the time during daylight hours, however more electricity is likely to be produced when the sun is shinning.

Solar Power is extremely well developed and has been in existence for a number of years, meaning that the technology is much more efficient. You should expect to pay between £3,000 - £20,000 for installation although there are also DIY kits available from as little as £1,700 from sites like Heat My Home .

Wind Power (Wind Turbines)

Wind power has had a mixed reception since it was introduced to the UK. In the UK we have an abundance of wind especially in northern areas of the country, but local opposition to the siteing of wind turbines of all shapes and sizes has been significant. The great ting about wind turbines for generating your own domestic electricity, is that they can be significantly cheaper than solar Photovoltaic systems and you do not require a towering wind turbine. Indeed there are many small wind turbines that will fit neatly onto the side of your house and which poke slightly above your roof. The reason that it is important that they are located at height is because more wind is generally generated the further the distance from the ground. One of the drawbacks with generating your own wind power is that you many need a number of wind turbines to deliver sufficient electricity but they can be more effective than solar power given that the UK experiences more wind than sun in general.

Wind turbines generate electricity in the following way. They are designed with angular blades, designed to rotate as sufficient air passes over them. These blades are attached to a shaft which rotates inside a small generator. The rotating shaft produces kinetic energy, which is energy caused by movement, which in turn is converted by the generator into electrical energy and can be used to power appliances around your home or to sell to the national grid.

The cost of installing a Roof Mounted wind turbine is likely to be around £1,600 and it is essential that you check with your local council about planning permission rules, prior to installing your system.

You can buy domestic Wind Turbines to fit yourself from just £600.00 at British Eco.

Ground Heat Pumps

For those of you who have ever been caving you will know that temperatures underground are not as changeable as those above ground and will generally remain around a constant 12 degrees centigrade. Indeed sometimes the temperature underground can be significantly warmer than those on the surface, especially during winter periods. Heat pumps work on the principle that this constant temperature can be harnessed by pumping it into a home to run heating appliances like under floor heating and radiators. Using this naturally occurring heat means that you are less likely to have operate your main heating system. There are some drawbacks with a system like this. Firstly it only has a limited application in that you can only use the energy for heating purposes and it won’t generate electricity to power other appliances around your home. However as heating bills account for the main proportion of households electricity bills this can be a significant saving. Heat Pumps require a large garden area close to your property in which to sink flexible ground pipes which will then gather underground heat and circulate it back into your home. This can require significant disruption, however if you are building a house from scratch this can be easily incorporated into it’s design from the start. A Ground Heat Pump system is likely to cost around £5,000 - £10,000 to install.

Biomass/Bio Energy

Biomass is a contentious renewable energy source for the simple reason that it requires extensive land to produce and has be blamed for rises in food production, due to farmers producing crops for fuel rather than for consumption. Some people also believe that crops should be grown to feed people rather than solely as a fuel source, especially as large sections of the world have insufficient food to meet population needs. Essentially there are to types of biomass which are wood based (usually Willow) and non wood based. Non wood based biomass includes animal waste and high energy crops like sugar cane and maize. You may ask why it is considered a renewable source of energy, but that is because although it releases CO2 when burnt this is only equal to the same amount that it absorbs during the process of it being grown. This essentially makes it carbon neutral.

The great thing about biomass is that it can be grown almost anywhere, with a little care and attention and you can either purchase it or if you have sufficient land, grow it yourself for an exceptionally cheap cost. Biomass is usually used in two distinctive ways, either as a stove which can be used to heat a room or it can be used as a boiler to power water or heating systems around the home. These stoves or boiler can be run on logs, wood chips or Biomass pellets. Biomass is not a new energy source and has been with us right from the beginning of human kind, the only difference is that efficient stoves and boilers are now being produced which can convert Biomass more efficiently into energy. A standalone stove is likely to cost around £2,500 - £5,000. A more expensive option would be to fit a boiler system to run your heating and water system and this can range from £5,000 - £14,000.

Grants for Installing Microgeneration Technologies

The UK Government are increasingly keen to reward those willing to install microgeneration technologies. This is especially important given the global energy demand and price rises which are forcing the UK to increasingly buy more energy from non UK sources. These grants are available to all sectors of society including, households, non profit organisations and public and private sector organisations. The Low Carbon Buildings organisation was set up to administer this fund and they Offer grants of up to £2,500 towards the installation cost of an approved microgeneration technology, which include; Solar photovoltaic, Wind turbines, Small hydro, Solar thermal hot water, Ground source heat pumps, Air source heat pumps, Bio-energy (Biomass). In addition to this you will be required to use an accredited micro generation installer, so do not expect to be able to ask a friend or family member to be able to install your new micro generation system. You can find out more about the low carbon buildings programme here.

The energy saving trust have en excellent breakdown of the current grant levels available for all of the Microgeneration technologies listed here, you can find out more about the level of the grant you can apply for here.

Prior to applying for your grant to fund the cost of installing your chosen micro generation technology to generate your own electricity, you must meet four criteria, which are designed to ensure that your house has a minimum existing level of energy efficiency from the start. Firstly you must have a minimum of 270mm of loft insulation already fitted in your loft space. Secondly you must be currently using energy saving light bulbs in your light fittings. Thirdly you must have rudimentary controls for your heating system including a thermostat and programmable timer. It is unlikely that your heating system will not already be fitted with these controls, but it is important to check. Finally is you have a cavity wall, you must ensure that it has cavity wall insulation within it.

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