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Just as home information packs have become the bedrock of legal importance when buying and selling homes, so the energy performance certificate also now has become a prerequisite by law.

Since October 2008 the EPC, (energy performance certificate) has been a legal requirement whenever a building is built, rented out or sold. A sliding scale from A to G rates the energy efficiency of the building. A home or building with an A rating is the most energy efficient and obviously the opposite is the case for a building rated G. Until recently British homes have been averaging a rating of D.

Accredited Energy Assessors are now responsible for providing EPC’s along with a report detailing improvements that should be made to make a property more energy efficient.

There are two main types of energy performance certificate, the Domestic or Residential Energy Performance Certificate and the Commercial Energy Performance Certificate. In addition there is also a Display Energy Certificate as detailed below.

Residential Energy Performance Certificate

Required by law for homes bought, sold or let. Certificate is valid for ten years and reusable within that time frame Landlords commission EPC EPC must be made available for inspection by applicants Free copy provided to tenant prior to letting

Commercial Energy Performance Certificate

Non residential buildings generally need Commercial EPC when built, sold or let Similar to domestic certificates Buildings of certain criteria also require a DEC ( Display Energy Certificate)

Display Energy Certificate

Different than both the residential EPC and the Commercial EPC the DEC has to show the actual energy usage of a building Display Energy Certificates only required for buildings with total useful floor area of over 1,000m squared that are occupied by public authorities and institutions providing public services to large number of people who are required to visit the building Must be displayed and visible to public Valid for one year Always accompanied by advisory report detailing the list of measures taken to improve the energy rating of the building Advisory report valid for seven years

In this new age of energy awareness, most people can see and appreciate how important these energy performance certificates are and the role they will play in the future of all buildings in both the residential and commercial sectors.

So whether buying or selling a property in the near or distant future it is crucial to have all the information needed regarding these certificates to ensure smooth transitions and transactions in what undoubtedly can be life altering decisions.

With inflation going through the roof and energy costing the sky, naturally, it will only be prudent to select the most energy efficient gadgets available to complete our day to day chores and routines. Let us take for instance, the clothes dryer. The conventional dryer used heating elements to dry the clothes. Now any one will know these energy guzzling gizmos can drive up the energy bills like no one’s business. It will be wise to use a centrifugal spinning clothes dryer that spins at an ideal 3300 RPM. This uses as much energy to dry the clothes as the heater dryer will use in the first fifteen minutes of operation.

When it comes to saving energy while cooling or heating your homes, use an electronic thermostat to control the temperature. These are far more energy efficient than the conventional electromechanical thermostats. Also remember to fix the temperature of the air conditioner to 24 degrees. This is the most comfortable temperature and uses the least energy to cool the place.

Lighting is another part of civilization that takes up a whole lot of energy. Using florescent lighting can bring down the energy consumption by over 50 percent. Since lighting uses up over 40 percent of the energy of a home changing over to florescent lighting will lead to substantial energy conservation as well as hard cash saved.

While industries and scientists strive to make gadgets more efficient it is a fact that the smaller and lighter the gadget is the more energy efficient it will be.

In today’s energy climate more and more people have become motivated to accomplish what they can to become more energy efficient to conserve energy and money. Regrettably this same climate has encouraged some to take advantage of innocent consumers’ desires to save energy and reduce operating expenses.

Vendors that advertise power factor improvement (kVAR correction) and transient voltage suppression to save energy are a good case in point of this bad trend. Recently we are seeing more and more of these businesses cropping up and we believe it is time to set the record straight.

First off, transient voltage surge suppression (TVSS) plays an important part in improving power quality to guard sensitive equipment inside a facility. However, TVSS does not save energy. TVSS’s are barely active an infinitesimal portion of a second to defend against voltage surges which only last for less than a millisecond. To actually decrease energy use the TVSS would need to essentially cut power consumption for an extended amount of time which is not what they are designed to do. Again, TVSS is essential to protect susceptible electrical equipment but consumers should steer clear of vendors promising, or even guaranteeing, a reduction in energy consumption.

And what about salespeople who maintain that increasing power factor will save 15% or 20% or 30% of energy consumption and resultant costs? This is false but also a bit trickier.

For homes, power factor correction does zero to save energy because the average home already has an average power factor of approximately 0.97 which is nearly the perfect power factor of 1 or unity. Additionally, the unit (called a capacitor) is installed at the homes main circuit breaker. According to IEEE 5.5.3.3 capacitors must be located at or near the individual inductive motor loads to decrease power system losses by reducing heat and distribution losses known as I2R losses.

So what about commercial and industrial facilities looking to use power factor correction to shrink energy expenditures? It is completely appropriate for a business that is incurring penalties or a kVA billing structure from the utility company to improve the facility’s overall power factor by installing a capacitor bank at the main electrical service entrance or individual capacitors at or near the particular motor loads. Doing so will do away with the power factor penalties and/or reduce the kVA demand charges on the electric bill which can save considerable money and provide a significant ROI on the investment.

But what about power factor correction reducing kWh consumption? IEEE also tells us that at most I2R losses only account for 2 to 5% of the total load in a facility. Simple arithmetic tells us that it would be in opposition to the laws of physics to obtain the 15% to 30% energy reduction claimed by some vendors. Consider it. Even if your facility had 5% distribution losses and you could correct 100% of the predicament via power factor correction at every load (which can’t be done) you would still save no more than 5% at most. No where close to the claims of some capacitor reps and manufacturers.

All that said, power factor correction when done appropriately will eliminate utility penalties and kVA demand charges, improve facility power quality, increase electrical system capacity, and save a modicum of energy when applied at the proper motor loads in an industrial facility.

So make an investment in transient voltage surge suppression and power factor correction when appropriate and necessary. But caveat emptor!

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Just when you didn’t think it was happening, or when complacency took full possession of our comfort zones – it started to happen again. This time, apparently, it means business.

What is this new version of an old problem? Why it’s our old friend, the energy crisis.

This past week, gasoline prices jumped back above $3 a gallon at the pump. This was on Monday, even as concerns about the economy and increases in crude oil supplies sent oil prices lower.

It becomes more important than ever to find ways of doing business and meeting with friends and relatives. The days of just jumping intp the car and driving across town or out to the far away city are coming to an end. We just can’t do it any more.

Retail gas prices have been slow to catch up with soaring crude prices, which have gained nearly 39 percent since late August. They are now at a trading high of $96.24 on Thursday. Gas prices only started rising steadily in mid-October. They haven’t stopped since.

The national average price of a gallon of gasoline rose 1.5 cents overnight to $3.004, It has jumped almost 25 cents in three weeks, according to the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. The sharp jump in gas prices could continue if oil keeps surging to new heights.

The price of diesel fuel sold to truckers, railroads, and bus companies are tied to the price of crude oil. There is no reason to believe the oil refineries will increase their yields of these products in the face of steady or rising demand for gasoline. With the onset of winter, the demand for gasoline might slow down, but the demand for home heating oil will pick up.

Some industry experts predict that if oil prices don’t retreat, gasoline prices could reach $3.50 or $4 a gallon by next summer. This would make it almost mandatory that business and the public consumer adopt cost-cutting measures before they cycle once again and pass their rising costs to their customers.

If companies were to adopt a new culture regarding meetings, training sessions, sales promotion, and interactive work sessions, they could eliminate 50 percent or more of all the travel required to bring people together into a conference room. Webconferencing is the answer to this now critical need to lower the costs of doing business. Webconferencing technology is here now. Not only is this technology getting better, but it is getting cheaper to buy or lease secure webconference software per month.

Conducting meetings and training sessions via webconference is totally secure. The VOIP communications networks that drive webconferencing systems have not as yet been successfully hacked. The moderator of a web conference maintains complete control of the attendees. He or she can ban a participant from a meeting if that person becomes unruly or counterproductive.

Many people will still prefer the old “face to face” way of conducting meetings and training sessions. Resistance to change is understandable. However, with the current surge in energy costs now upon us, the old “face to face” meetings may soon be a thing of the past. Only time will tell.

To market your company is to sell your innovations to the world. To showcase a company’s capability and to gather as much exposure to build a name that resounds in the ear of anyone who hears it. A good name develops a good company. Expansion takes one small step at a time. It works the same with a renewable energy company as well. Renewable energy marketing has to be more aggressive than normal marketing strategies for many reasons. Here’s four to show you:

First, renewable energy marketing adds awareness to the people that they have more than one energy options. To switch from traditional energy producers to something that is independent, not to mention compact as a source of energy. Many consumers nowadays are open to explore other possibilities of cutting down costs of electricity without compromising various home activities.

The increasing demand to produce energy has given various renewable energy company opportunities to meet demands of the citizens and by providing continuous and uninterrupted flow of electricity on their homes even on a nationwide black out.

The second would be that renewable energy marketing gives the company a chance to be steward of good will. Marketing involves communication between consumer and company. What do the consumers want? How much are they willing to spend? How would it help the environment? These are essential questions that should be listened to as a company. The earth is growing weaker and weaker with each decade passing by.

The overflowing demands to harvest its natural resources exhaust the land to the point that it is useless for the next generation. As a steward of good will, the advocacy is to promote a sustainable future. Renewable energy marketing establishes the renewable energy company character to the people and having a name that would be distinguished among other.

Third, Renewable energy marketing guides prospective consumers to the right direction. Active marketing entice both target market and possible target market. Renewable energy company exposure builds trust and confidence both within and outside the company. Most people have no idea what renewable energy means or how it works.

To educate the masses better would entice prospective consumers to try out the latest innovation on renewable energy. It would be best if your renewable energy company would take the giant leap towards that awareness.

Fourth, marketing attracts investors! It is not impossible that along side marketing your company’s capability and attracting possible market lure out potential investors. Investing takes double the time of thinking and good fore sight to the side of the investor. With a resounding name to the ears, it would be much easier to attract investors and help the company expand to its maximum potential.

These are just four reasons on why renewable energy marketing is essential to a renewable energy company. Unlike traditional established energy companies, renewable energy is optional and therefore deemed as un-necessary by others. It is important to show the masses that renewable energy is the future of energy consumption.