How HeatingSave Helps Businesses | Page 17

Climate change has hardly been mentioned in this year’s general election. Four parties – Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green – were represented in the capital on a panel (chaired by The Independent newspaper) called Ask The Climate Question, a coalition of nine environment and development charities and pressure groups, which has been trying to bring global warming back to the forefront of the election agenda.

Britain is not on course to meet its climate change targets for reducing carbon emissions, the Government was warned by the independent Committee on Climate Change. The Government needs to reduce carbon dioxide by 34 per cent (on 1990 levels) by 2020. However in its second progress report to Parliament, the committee said the sharp fall in UK greenhouse gas emissions of 8.6 per cent last year is almost entirely due to the recession, and that the proportion of the drop due to actual climate policies is but “a fraction” of the total.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says climate effects are already being felt in the UK in the form of higher temperatures and changing seasons. This is the first time the CCC has looked into how homes, businesses and authorities should be changing in order to deal with climate impacts. Previously it has concerned itself with matters like the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy supply.

Businesses’ energy bills could rise by 26 per cent in the next decade due to policies to cut emissions in the UK. In contrast, domestic bills would only rise by 1% in the same period, according to reports published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The Government is calling for input from various groups into changing the way in which the UK consumes and produces.

HeatingSave’s parent company Tensor plc has been given a certificate which rewards high standards of health and safety (H&S) among UK contractors.

A HeatingSave building energy management controller can help save the planet as emissions from nations go up worldwide.

Rachel Eden, councillor for Whitley, said installing solar panels would be a good investment for residents and businesses. Ms Eden said the technology would enable those in the Reading area to benefit from renewable energy sources.

A group of leading British businesses has called on the government to protect the UK economy against a new threat of rising oil prices. The industry taskforce, which includes retailers Kingfisher, warns a new ‘peak oil’ threat is likely to be felt in the UK within the next five years. Peak oil is the point when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters a terminal decline. The consortium is asking for improved government support for energy efficiency measures.

On the market are many energy-saving gadgets which are claimed to be making a big difference to the amount of energy you use in your daily life. Among them is a Radiator Booster, which circulates the hot air that rises off your radiator much more quickly around the room. It claims to reduce energy costs for households by about £10 per month because it saves the boiler from doing as much work.

Businesses have been recently feeling the pinch during the worst recession since 1945. If your company is struggling, then installing a HeatingSave system in order to cut costs could offset any fall in profits. By making your central heating set-up more efficient you could save £1000s per year.

A council in Wales has approved a plan to reduce its carbon footprint. Wrexham will put in place energy-efficient bulbs instead of all its residential street lights. The Welsh Assembly Government has pledged £280,000 towards the scheme, which will cost £336,000.

In a move which has been widely predicted but is still unwelcome nevertheless, British Gas is putting up gas prices by 18 per cent and electricity prices by 16% from August 18, 2011. The utility last raised its rates back in December 2010 by 6.9% for gas and 6.7% for electricity. This means British Gas customers will have seen their bills increase by one-quarter in the last year alone. The firm has blamed the rises on the increasing wholesale cost of gas.