Global warming is the increase of the Earths average near-surface and ocean temperature. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that this increase in temperature is due to the production of excess CO2 gas, created by burning fossil fuels and deforestation. This increase in temperature is causing sea levels to rise, changing rainfall leading to floods and droughts, and the melting of the polar ice caps.

The energy used in our homes (around 6.5 tonnes per year) is responsible for around 27% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions. Making even small changes like insulating your loft or replacing traditional light bulbs with energy saving ones can make a big difference. Just having your loft alone insulated will prevent you from losing 25% of your homes heat, which adds up to a big household reduction in the cost of heating your home, and the CO2 it produces. To find out about the various ways you can make a difference visit our homeowner solutions page, or contact us.

We can give you free advice tailored to your homes needs. Just pop into one of our Green Energy Centres or phone us on 0800 975 0166. Alternatively, we have created a comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide to help you get started and clear up some common energy saving myths.

There are many ways to improve the insulation of your home, which can all save you money on your heating bills and in turn reduce your household carbon emissions. These techniques include solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. To find out more about each of these visit our homeowner solutions page.

An important place to start is ensuring that your house is insulated effectively so that the heat your house produces isn't lost out of your walls, windows and roof. To find out about ways of doing this visit our homeowner solutions page.

Greener solutions for heating your home range from replacing your current boiler with a much more efficient condensing boiler, fitting ground sourced heat pumps to take heat from the earth, fitting air sourced heat pumps and fitting solar panels. To find out about all of these visit our homeowner solutions page or download our free guide to find out about the benefits and savings of these heating alternatives.

Energy saving light bulbs are the most energy efficient way of lighting your home. They use different technology to traditional light bulbs that enable them to produce a highly efficient and compact light using a fraction of the energy. As well as being good for the environment they are also good for your bank balance. Replacing all the remaining traditional inefficient light bulbs in your house could save you around £50 and 170kg CO2 a year, or £675 and 3 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of the bulbs.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) low carbon buildings programme provides grants for householders. You can receive a grant towards paying for your solar panels, wind turbines, small scale hydro, heat pumps and bioenergy. For more information on these grants, and how to apply, call us on 0800 975 0166 or pop into your nearest showroom at the addresses given on our contact page.

A qualified, registered installer will help you to buy an appropriate boiler for your home. In most cases, the ‘right boiler’ will mean a condensing boiler. In fact, exceptional circumstances aside, all new gas and oil central heating boilers fitted in the UK must now be condensing boilers by law. Traditional non-condensing boilers convert only 60% of fuel into heat, whereas condensing boilers work at a rate of at least 90%. Condensing boilers have become vastly more popular over the recent years, they are now built with standard parts and are no more complex to service than a modern flue boiler.

Photovoltaic (PV) cell solar electricity is free after the initial installation costs and can halve your annual electricity bills. You can sell your excess electricity to the grid to make extra profit on your investment, and despite popular belief, they are still able to power your home in cloudy or rainy weather.

The cost of fitting a solar panel will depend on the size of the area you want it to cover and your household needs. For the most accurate pricing information visit our page on Solar Panels.  There are Government grants available for those wishing to fit solar panels, and we can give you advice on how to apply for these grants. To contact us about this visit our contact page, or call us on 0800 975 0166. 

Wood-fuelled heating is actually a carbon neutral process. This means that the CO2 produced from burning the wood in your home is cancelled out by the CO2 the tree has used up whilst it was growing. Just ensure that you get your wood from a good supplier who is a member of the Forestry Standards Committee.

You can contact us by phone, on 0800 975 0166, or go to our contact page to contact us via email. Alternatively you can visit us at either of our two Green Energy Centres, addresses and maps for these can also be found on our contact page.

We have two Green Energy Centres, one in Christchurch and one in Ferndown. You can visit us for advice about our services, view some of our products in action or even ask us for advice about creating a more energy efficient home.