ecolishus.com

In late March, California Secretary of State Deborah Bowen set off a flurry of flapping jaws among the punditocracy when she announced that a marijuana legalization measure would be on the state’s November ballot. The ensuing discourse covered a range of topics from medicine to morality, consumption to consequences, but few pundits considered the economics of California’s move.

There is a huge market for marijuana; while it’s impossible to determine how many Americans smoke the demon weed, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws reports that there were almost 850,000 marijuana arrests in 2008. While staggering, this number represents only a small fraction of America’s marijuana consumers. With a potential market of millions, decriminalization of marijuana could open the door to a vast, largely-untapped market for smoking paraphernalia, accessories, and other lifestyle accoutrements.

The Pot Portfolio

If California’s legalization initiative passes, the first beneficiary will likely be the mainstream tobacco companies that already have a foothold in the smoking market. Most of the companies supplying rolling papers are privately held; for example, the Republic Tobacco company owns both Top and Job rolling papers, while Zig Zags, a French brand, is sold through National Tobacco. In terms of publicly-held tobacco companies, the biggest winner would likely be Britain’s Imperial Tobacco Company (IMT). It owns Phillies cigars, a brand that is popular among hempen necktie consumers, many of whom empty out the cheap cheroots and re-pack them with marijuana. While Imperial declined to comment on this story, it seems likely that legalization could be a major boon for them.

Legalization would also be a shot in the arm to dozens of privately-owned firms that manufacture pipes, bongs and other devices often used for marijuana consumption. Many of these companies are small and undercapitalized, with minimal market penetration. As Dan Steinberg, CEO of vapor Genie, notes, “If marijuana is legalized, we see the potential for significant growth in the smoking products industry. It will create a new market for our products. And of course legalization will attract investment that will fund further advances in smoking technology.”

Vapor Genie, which produces a portable pipe that heats tobacco without burning it, currently has eight employees and sells its product on the Internet and through a network of privately-owned stores. For Steinberg, marijuana legalization in California could translate into a massive boon: “We are trying to sell our products in any available markets; California legalization could greatly expand our options.”

Investing in small paraphernalia companies may seem a bit shaky for many investors; luckily, the marijuana smoker lifestyle offers a broad expanse of opportunities for even the most conventional stockholder. Cable providers like Time Warner Cable (TWC), Cablevision (CVC), and Comcast (CMCSA) could reap the benefits of a populace that wants to spend hours giggling at the television. The same could be said of Netflix (NFLX), which is increasingly expanding its inventory of movies that can be streamed over the Web.

And what of consumer electronics? After all, shows like the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week — a perennial favorite among the pot-smoking set — looks even better in high definition, and last-generation DVD players can’t very capture the transcendent wonder of the experience. Sony (SNE) or Phillips Electronics (PHG) could all reap massive benefits from legalization, particularly if they can figure out a way to combine a Blu-Ray Player and a nacho warmer.

Making Money Off of the Munchies

Speaking of nachos, marijuana famously goes hand-in-hand with Coneheads-level consumption of fat and carbohydrates, putting the snack food industry in a great position to reap the benefits of California’s legalization move. In fact, it seems likely that marijuana users were a key demographic consideration when many recent food innovations were designed. While Dominos’ (DPZ) recipe change (and advertising push) is clearly aimed at a broad spectrum of consumers, their competitor Pizza Hut (YUM) seems to be deliberately courting marijuana consumers. Late last year, the pizza behemoth decided to reintroduce its stuffed crust pan pizza, a dish that seems like a culinary Shangri-La for desperately hungry stoners.

Dominos and Pizza Hut declined to comment on this piece.

And what about the grocery store? Kraft Foods (KFT) and Pepsico’s (PEP) Frito Lay have both recently released product lines that are designed to attract desperately hungry carb fiends. Doritos, a Frito Lay product, is touting a new tagline, “Prepare to take snacking to a whole new level.” While not necessarily a nod to the cannabis-consuming populace, it isn’t hard to see how the slogan could be attractive for people in altered states. For that matter, many of the company’s latest offerings — including All Nighter Cheeseburger, Tacos at Midnight, or Zesty Pizza and Ranch flavored chips — seem designed by either cannabis consumers or pregnant women.

Frito Lay/Pepsi also declined to comment on this story.

And what of Kraft? While munchie classics like Cheez Whiz and Chips Ahoy cookies have long since placed the company in the pantheon of cannabis cuisine, these offerings pale beside the pot smoker wonderland that is the classic Oreo cookie. While Kraft refused to discuss this market segment, its snack food innovations seem tailor-made for carb fiends. Chocolate-dipped Oreos, Oreo snack cakes, Oreo “Fudgees,” mini Oreos, white fudge-covered Oreos, Oreo wafer sticks…the list of stoner-ready Oreo snacks seems infinite. And, just in time to capture the tiny segment of the Oreo craving populace that was missing from its market, the company recently released “Oreo Sticks.” Basically straws constructed out of Oreo cookies, these morsels enable consumers to slurp chocolate milk through chocolate cookies. While these may not have been designed by marijuana-loving consumers, it isn’t hard to see how that particular demographic would be key to their popularity.

Not surprisingly, Kraft declined to comment on this story.

Ultimately, the ripple effect of legalization in California is almost immeasurable, and could work its way across vast segments of the economy. It is easy to make jokes about boosts in blacklight purchases and a spike in sales of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, but the truth of the matter is that hundreds of companies stand to make a profit if marijuana becomes legal in California. From fast food restaurants to agricultural suppliers, newspaper publishers to convenience stores, it isn’t hard to imagine the economic benefits of this move. Then again, with the promise of rich tax revenues from the sale of cannabis, the biggest winner may well be the state government of California. They could emphatically use every penny.

Despite all the challenges with fossil fuels, this plant is not without many other ways to produce power from what are termed ‘alternative energy’ sources. An example that can be cited is one that is driven by photovoltaic cells called the solar power which in time can get more advanced and affordable. Solar energy power can be utilised for electricity, heating, and making hot water plus solar energy produces no pollution, as its input comes completely from the sun’s rays.

However, a lot more work still needs to be done in order for us to economically harness the sun’s energy. Oneproblem still to be overcome is retention of the collected power for ‘night-time’ use and when there the sunshine is not at its best.

As of now, a large number of private investors as well as the government take pride and support in investing for the utilization of wind energy as an alternative energy source. These are large windmills with two but more often three blades which harness the power of the wind to generate electricity for many communities. We have used windmills for a number of centuries but it is only in recent times that they have been converted to produce electricity on an industrial scale. Modern wind turbines are simply much more advanced variations on the old theme. Just like any other ways, using the wind energy has its own hitch such as having to worry what to utilize if ever the days are calm and still.

Unsurprisingly, you cannot fully depend on wind energy during these times and this is where the electric company plays an important part of powering your home or office. Hydroelectric energy is available as a source of alternative energy, and it can generate a substantial amount of power.

For more electrical energy, turbines are activated by the downhill motion of water which its flow in response to gravity and it is crucial that hydroelectric energy uses.

As water is everywhere it has not generally been a problem finding places where it can be employed. Having said that, building large dams is very expensive, time consuming and there are other issues which usually make the whole process costly at the start. To utilise this power, the dams that are built are huge structures otherwise they will not be able to a) hold back the water and b) have enough water to run the turbines effectively. Conservationists are starting to be worried about operating a dam as it not only requires a lot of labour building it to store and control water’s potential and kinetic energy but it can also be dangerous and complex. If you are not in the need to supply the electrical needs of a city or an area with large population, then building a dam for it is not that necessary.

There are small run-of-river hydroelectric converters which are good for supplying neighbourhoods or individual offices or residence.  When artesian waters just below the earth’s crust are heated, a naturally-occurring energy in the structure of geothermal energy can be produced which is more often than not the most underrated form of alternative energy that gains less of the gratitude and pride. The heat from the earth’s core gets taken up by the water. A number of different ways are used to harness this ‘free’ power which is drawn up into power plants. The objective of drawing up the hot water is for the gathering of the steam. The Geysers, approximately 100 miles north of San Francisco, is probably the renowned of all geothermal power fields – it’s an example of a dry stream plant.

A solar panel kit is more than worthwhile for individuals who are willing to put in a little bit of work in order to drastically reduce the cost of installing a solar power system. There are several types of solar panel kits available. Go to solar panel cost if you want to know about the cost of solar panels.

The first type of solar kit will contain a set of instructions for building a solar panel, including where you can get the necessary supplies. Since they’re very inexpensive, these kits are a good place to start for anyone with an interest in solar energy. Kits that include videos are especially useful. The videos will provide you with step-by-step visual instructions on building a solar panel. For the best guide I have found for building your own solar panels, which includes where to buy the solar cells, what tools and materials you will need as well as step-by-step videos, go to best DIY Solar and Wind guides.

You can also find kits that include parts in addition to instructions necessary for building a solar panel. This will include a choice of solar cells, soldering equipment, and connection wires. With these kits, you’ll find some that let you build your own enclosure for the panel, and others that contain a pre-built enclosure. Putting together your own solar panel will give you a good chance to find out about how solar power systems work, in addition to saving you plenty of money. You can then use the solar panel to do things like charging batteries, or powering small appliances.

It’s also possible to get large-scale solar panel kits which can be used to set up an entire solar power system for your home. This means that these kits usually include solar power panels, inverters, charge controllers, and batteries. This type of kit will allow you to avoid the frustration of incompatible parts. Otherwise, you’ll have to be sure that your panels will work with your inverter, and so on.

Solar panel kits will allow you to take a staggered approach to establishing your power system. In this way, rather than making one large investment, you can spread out the cost of installing a system over a longer period of time.

Building your own solar panels can be a rewarding experience. It can provide you with not only savings, but the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping to reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil. All it takes to build a solar panel are some common tools, basic skills, and the right instructions. Solar cells are very easy to acquire, and any of the other parts can be found at your local hardware store.

Are you fed up with conventional gardening? If so, hydroponic farming is a great alternative if you’re sick of the high maintenance of soil based gardening methods. However, if you’re new to the technique, you have a lot to learn about how the process works.

Hydroponic gardening renders soil obsolete in that you are able to immerse the roots in hydroponic nutrients instead. This allows the plants to absorb everything they need directly from the source. As you can imagine, this creates a variety of different benefits. For example, since there is no soil, you will never have to till or weed your garden, let alone spend money on expensive soil. Furthermore, hydroponic nutrients are proven to allow the plant to grow faster and yield better results. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why everyone from mass producing greenhouses to home gardeners use hydroponic nutrients in their gardening.

Hydroponic gardening does require some maintenance, though. Typically gardeners are able to keep their plants fed and hydrated by adding a certain percentage of hydroponic nutrients to the water their plants are constantly exposed to. However, as there is always such a thing as too much of a good thing, it’s important to measure carefully and go by a strict feeding schedule. A failure to do so may result in your plants wilting or suffering due to an overabundance of acidity.

That aside, there are thousands of hydroponic nutrients to choose from. Some tend to the essential needs of the plant while others can even enhance the plant’s growth rate, production rate, and more. There are even solutions that improve upon the flavor of fruits and vegetables or the color and size of flower blooms. It all depends on what you want to grow and what your goals are for each crop.
Along with tending to the plants’ nutrients, it’s also a good idea to ensure that the room is well ventilated. Humidity is often a common problem with hydroponics, particularly if you use grow lights. The heat of the lamps combines with the moisture in the air, thus resulting in your plants rotting and withering. It can also cause the growth of harmful bacteria as well. Thus, when making your purchases, it’s important to invest in a dehumidifier at the very least, as well as some fans to keep the air circulating. By following these tips, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of this amazing gardening method. Learn more today!

There are a variety of dissimilar form of solid wood fuel heating, including basic logs stoves, wood chip systems as well as pellet stoves. However for larger properties a biomass pellet stove generally isn’t sufficient to meet the heating demands of the property. Therefore a wood pellet boiler is a more suitable alternative. The biomass pellet boiler shares many of the same internal component features of biomass pellet stoves, the main differences are how a wood pellet boiler captures warmth from wood pellet incineration. Wood pellet stoves generally provide warmth via hot air as well as heat radiation from the stove its self. Yet, this only generally provides ample warmth the room in which the stove is located. Some pellet stoves do have back boilers fitted. Here the warmth generated from the wood pellet stove is split, usually 20% via hot air along with 80% because of the back boiler. The back boiler can then be connected up to your existing central heating system to provide heat via radiators or under floor heating. For large properties, a dedicated biomass pellet boiler is used. The positioning of the biomass pellet boiler is generally in the basement, in the garage or out-building. This means the biomass pellet boiler can be located closed to the fuel source plus also makes daily maintenance easier.

Learn more about Wood Pellets For Sale

When purchasing a biomass pellet stove or wood pellet boiler, it is important to remember that not all pellet burners are equal. Some biomass pellet boilers are heavily focused on only premium grade fuels, in addition to high automation by quite a lot of maintenance saving features. These features include springs which clean the heat exchanger tubes at regular intervals. Also, some systems come complete with ash compression systems. Here, the ash will be compressed into a brick. This means the owner has the remove the ash less often plus in its compressed form, is cleaner to remove. However these features are very useful, they do on the other hand severely limit the abilities of the pellet burner. Different sources of wood, produces wood pellet energy of various ash contents. Premium grade fuel produces a very low ash content of only 0.5%, where lower grades of biomass pellets produce ash content around 2-3%. Yet many consumers choose only premium grade fuel, the price of these pellets is only set to enlarge. There simply isn’t adequate resources to meet future market demand with premium grade pellets. Therefore as demand increases as well as reserve reduces, the price will inevitably enlarge. This will prove a particular issue for consumers who purchased wood pellet boilers which can only burn low ash premium fuel.

Read more about Biomass Energy

More people are interested in getting involved in generating their own pellets, either to start their own pellet business or just to make sufficient pellets for their own needs along with maybe that of friends along with family. Well it all starts with choosing a suitable raw material. This raw material will then needs to be processed because of a chipper/shredder in addition to finally with a hammer mill to make a consistent particle size for the pellet appliance. The particles are then compressed.

More information on Biomass Fuel

Experts in wind energy are gathering in Ames this week to talk about the future of their industry.Wind energy production made up 40 percent of all the new energy generated in the U.S. last year, but experts said there are challenges ahead if the industry wants to continue that growth. All renewable energy sources combined, including wind, are less than 5 percent of U.S. energy sources.”We added 35 new manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and we didn’t lose a single job, in fact we added new jobs,” aid Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.Bode and other experts are attending two conferences in Ames this week that focus on wind energy. The first was hosted by the Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development. The second conference will be hosted by the Iowa Wind Energy Association and started Tuesday afternoon.Many of the experts said they consider Iowa to be a leader in wind energy. They said it’s more than just the growth of wind farms in the state; it’s also the state’s investment in incentives to draw green companies here.”You lead manufacturing in the U.S. in wind. You lead more wind manufacturing jobs than any other state,” said Bode.Experts said that being a leader brings with it the challenge of maintaining that position and continuing to grow. One of the biggest challenges is how to move the power from wind farms to places beyond Iowa’s borders.”I mean we’re lucky here in Iowa that we do have some transmission availability and we do have wind availability, but there’s a lot of states that may have wind but not transmission,” said Bob Loyd, the chief operating manager and plant manager at Clipper Windpower in Cedar Rapids.Experts said that expanding the ability to move the power generated by wind farms across state boundaries would take a national policy. There’s a push to get Congress to develop a renewable energy standard to make it easier to export wind energy generated in Iowa.”To drive people into the technology of renewable energy be it solar, be it geothermal, be it wind power is critically important that’s our most important resource,” said Steve Nolet, principal engineer and director of innovation at TPI Composites.Experts said another challenge is to get universities to develop renewable energy programs.

GreenDIYEnergy

GreenDIYEnergy is the most comprehensive and the best of the DIY solar guides. They include ebooks, videos and spreadsheets – 17 different components in all. What really separates GreenDIYEnergy from the rest of the pack is the quality of it’s videos.

GreenDIYEnergy covers the entire solar panel build process in 6 videos. The videos are at a resolution of 852×480 and are mp4 videos. Compared to the videos in the other guides, the videos in GreenDIYEnergy are much larger and higher quality. They look awesome and they show the entire process step-by-step from start to finish. The large size and high resolution let you see everything.

The videos start with what tools and parts you’ll need for the solar panels. Next, acquiring and soldering the solar cells together is shown. The next step is building the actual container and attaching the solar cells in the container. Up next is final wiring and finishing work. Finally the solar panel is connected to a volt meter and you can see it actually producing electricity.

The ebooks included in GreenDIYEnergy cover, among other things, solar electrical, solar tax credits, solar installation and DIY solar power. With over 200 total pages, the ebooks are really comprehensive. They also include spreadsheets with calculators for how much electricity your appliances consume, solar panel sizing, battery sizing, charge controller sizing and power inverter sizing.

GreenDIYEnergy is the best and most comprehensive DIY solar guide I have seen, after buying and reviewing quite a few DIY solar guides in preparation for building a solar panel for my electric bike. For a more comprehensive review, visit GreenDIYEnergy Reviews.

Homemade Energy

Homemade energy is also a very good DIY solar panel guide. It also includes videos, in fact more videos than any other guide. It includes ebooks, though fewer than GreenDIYEnergy, and similar spreadsheets.

Homemade Energy includes more videos than any other DIY solar guide. They show the whole build step-by-step in plenty of detail. You get to see everything – parts and tools, connecting the solar cells, constructing the box and cover, affixing the cells and final finish. The videos are flash videos and aren’t quite as big and high quality as GreenDIYEnergy, but they are still quite good.

All parts of the build are covered in the comprehensive ebook include with Homemade Energy. I would suggest using it as a reference alongside the videos. It also includes a spreadsheet with sizing calculators that is very similar to the one included with GreenDIYEnergy.

I would say GreenDIYEnergy is a little better than Homemade Energy mainly because of the higher quality video and more ebooks. You definitely get your money’s worth with Homemade Energy and it is a very good package.

For a more comprehensive look, check out HomemadeEnergy Review.

Earth4Energy

In third place is Earth4Energy. It includes ebooks, online calculators and videos, but less of them than GreenDIYEnergy. The solar material is pretty good, though in my opinion not as good as the solar guides above, however Earth4Energy is the only guide that includes video for building a wind generator.

The parts of the project that are most likely to cause problems are covered with videos, but the videos are not comprehensive. You have to go to the ebook for much of the build information with Earth4Energy, while the other 2 guides show you the whole project from start to finish in the videos.

The Earth4Energy ebook is also pretty good, but not as comprehensive as as the other two guides. Earth4Energy includes online calculators for appliance electricity requirements, solar panel output and battery sizing.

So, can you build a solar panel with Earth4Energy? I think the answer is yes, but both GreenDIYEnergy and HomemadeEnergy are more comprehensive, particularly when it comes to the video, which is the most important part of a DIY guide in my opinion. If you are looking for a DIY wind guide, Earth4Energy is the only guide to include wind project video. For a solar project, you can definitely build a solar panel using the Earth4Energy guide, but both of the other guides above will give you more for your money.

For a more complete review, visitEarth4Energy Review.

All around the world people consume volumes of materials each day. It is hard to handle all of the waste generated, because it takes up such a huge amount of space. Where will we ever put all of the waste? There is also the question of the negative effects that waste will have on planet Earth in the long term future. One way to cut down on the waste generated is to recycle all of the materials that we can. Recycling allows you to Go Green and recycle waste materials so that they can be reused again in another form.

Types of Materials for Recycling

There are many different waste materials that can be recycled in our communities, including auto parts, computer and electronics components, glass bottles, scrap metal, used motor oil, paper, plastic bags, and rain water. Natural recycling occurs when a composting pile is used for biodegradable waste.

Metal from soda cans can be saved and recycled for the aluminum. Metal scraps from cars and other types of building materials can be melted down and recycled. The volumes of paper that are used each day can also be recycled. Paper recycling already helps to reduce the number of trees that are cut down each year.

Rubber is an item that is used for various products. The main source of rubber waste comes from vehicle tires. Rubber can also be recycled to make new tires. Glass and plastic bottles are also recycled.

Recycling efforts contribute to reducing the amount of waste materials that end up buried in landfills. However, some types of materials, such as Styrofoam, are not easy to recycle. Therefore, many restaurants have changed from Styrofoam containers to ones made from paper that can be recycled.

How to Start Recycling Each Week

Every one can also do their part to recycle waste materials. Many communities have locations where you can drop off cardboard, glass, aluminum cans, and motor oil. The collected waste materials are then picked up and taken to bigger recycling facilities.

If every family was to collect one load of waste materials per week to be recycled, imagine the beneficial difference it would have on planet Earth overall. Many schools teach children about recycling, and they are very excited to go home and implement what they have learned. Be willing to make some changes to the household routine in order to Go Green and help them to start recycling.

One of the many issues to be overcome is that it can be expensive to recycle certain materials. However, research has shown that the long term cost is worth it, if the amount of materials that end up as waste is reduced. Companies are also encouraged to come up with better product packaging methods, to reduce the amount of waste produced.

You may ask yourself, what is the purpose of the domestic boiler scrappage scheme?

The UK has one of the most ambitious CO2 emission reduction targets in the world. The installation of an efficient heating system is an effective way of reducing household energy bills and CO2 emissions, as domestic heating accounts for 14 per cent of our CO2 emissions.

There are currently around 3 and a half million properties in England with the very least economically friendly type of   boiler (G-rated or worse).

To address this our Government will provide up to 125,000 homes £400 towards the cost of upgrading their boiler (if G-rated or equivalent or worse) to a high efficiency A-rated one or a renewable heating technology. This will help to save in the region of 140,000tCO2 per year – equivalent to taking 45,000 cars off the road.

What are the benefits in upgrading your boiler?

New boiler systems have rated efficiencies of 90 per cent or greater   showing that they use significantly less fuel, resulting in lower CO2 emissions and running costs . Renewable heat technologies do not use fossil fuels, reducing CO2 emissions further .

For example, this means by upgrading your G-rated boiler to an A-rated one, your home heating bill should drop by about a quarter – a saving, on average, of around £235 a year.

Who is eligible for the funding ?

The funding is open to 125,000 householders in England living in an owned or privately rented house .

Please note:

i) If you are a homeowner (including tenants ) under 60 you can only make an application for the scheme if the boiler you are scrapping is in working order and is the main boiler used to heat the home .
ii) If you are a homeowner (including tenants) and 60 or over you can apply for the scheme regardless of whether the boiler system you are scrapping is in working order. However, it still needs to be the main boiler used to heat the home.

Only householders and landlords who privately own and lease dwellings are eligible to make an application for a voucher . Boiler installers and manufacturers, local authority registered social landlords, and housing associations are not eligable for the fund .

Why isn’t this funding  running in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The devolution of power to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland means that their assemblies and governments will take decisions on whether they want similar schemes.

How can you tell if your boiler is G-rated?

A good quick test for gas boilers is to see if it has a permanent pilot light -if it has then it is very likely to be a G-rated boiler. If it is gas fired and over fifteen years old it is likely to be eligible. If it is oil fired and over twenty five years old, it is likely to be eligible.

For a better idea, why not see if your boiler make and model is listed as G-rated or worse by going to

* Government Boiler Efficiency Database
* SEDBUK Boiler Efficiency Database

Alternatively, you can ask your nominated installer to assist you in determining whether your boiler is eligible.

Want to register an interest in the boiler scrappage scheme?

If you believe that your home has a G-rated or worse boiler and wish to register an interest in the scheme to receive a £400 cashback voucher towards the cost of upgrading to an A-rated boiler, then arrange for your nominated installer to visit, provide you with a quote and have the following information to hand

i) Your full name.
ii) The address of the property you wish to claim the voucher for.
iii) The make and name of the boiler being scrapped.
iv) The company name , address and contact details of the installer carrying out the work.
v) The type of replacement boiler to be installed e.g. gas, biomass.
vi) Confirmation that you have received a quote or visit from the installer to carry out the work.

Once you have this information please email us here/call our ACT ON CO2 advice line on 0800 512 012.

When will the vouchers be issued?

The £400 vouchers will be issued from 18 January 2010. You will receive the voucher approximately ten days after application. Vouchers are valid for 12 weeks from date of issue. If the voucher is not redeemed within this time, it will be cancelled and reallocated. There will be only one voucher per household, but if the voucher expires, it will be possible to apply for another if funds are available.

Installations made before receipt of your voucher will invalidate your claim and you will no longer be eligible to receive the £400 rebate.

Please note that no vouchers will be sent out before 18. January 2010.

Which boilers and boiler manufacturers can the vouchers be redeemed against?

Vouchers can be redeemed against a boiler from manufacturer which is for A-rated or equivalent gas, oil or LPG boilers, boilers with a Passive Flue Heat Recovery Device, Micro CHP units or Microgeneration Certification Scheme-registered biomass boilers and heat pumps. Solar Thermal is also eligible if combined with an eligible boiler replacement. Electric boilers are not eligible.

Who can carry out the installation of your new boiler?

Installation of a gas or oil boiler must be carried out by an installer registered with a competent person’s scheme (such as GasSafe or OFTEC). Installation of a microgeneration technology must be carried out by a person qualified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.

How can you find the best deals on boilers and installation?

We recommend that you shop around by enquiring with a range of installers, manufacturers or energy companies for the most competitive deal. Some companies will be offering complementary deals to encourage you to scrap and replace your boiler with them. Once you have chosen an installer, you will need a quote from them in order to register for a voucher.

How will payment of the £400 be made?

Once you have received your voucher, you can then proceed with the installation. You will need to pay for the new boiler and installation upfront and then claim back the £400 by sending the voucher and invoice to us. If you proceed with your installation before you receive your voucher, this will invalidate your claim and you will no longer be eligible for the £400 rebate.

Payment will be issued within 25 working days of receipt of the voucher and invoice.

What other schemes are available to help you with the cost of installing new heating systems or energy efficiency measures?

1.Warm Front

The Warm Front Scheme in England, which provides owner occupier or privately rented households with a package of insulation and/or heating measures up to a maximum value of £3,500 (or £6,000 where oil, low carbon or renewable technologies are recommended).

Measures include:

i) Loft insulation
ii) Draught proofing
iii) Cavity wall insulation
iv) Hot water tank insulation
v) Repairs of an existing herating system
vi) Gas, electric, oil central heating
vi) Conversion of a solid fuel fire to a glass-fronted fire

All successful grant applicant’s homes will be visited by a trained Technical Surveyor/Assessor, who will determine the full requirements of each individual property.

If you meet the following criteria then you may be eligible for the Warm Front Scheme.

1. Householders aged 60 or over in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:

* Income Support
* Council Tax Benefit
* Housing Benefit
* Job Seekers Allowance (income-based)
* Pension Credit
* Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

2. Householders with a child under 16, or pregnant women with maternity certificate MAT-B1, in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:

* Income Support
* Council Tax Benefit
* Housing Benefit
* Job Seekers Allowance (income-based)
* Pension Credit
* Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

3. Householders in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:

* Working Tax Credit (with an income of less than £16,040, which must include a disability element)
* Disability Living Allowance
* Child Tax Credit (with an income of less than £16,040)
* Housing Benefit (which must include a disability premium)
* Income Support (which must include a disability premium)
* Council Tax Benefit (which must include a disability premium)
* War Disablement Pension (which must include a mobility supplement or Constant Attendance Allowance)
* Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (which must include Constant Attendance Allowance)
* Attendance Allowance

If you think that you are eligible for Warm Front you should visit their website ,www.warmfront.co.uk, or call their enquiry line on 0800 316 2805 to see what help can be provided before you proceed with an application under the boiler scrappage scheme.

Please note that you can only apply for either the Warm Front scheme or the boiler scrappage scheme – not both.

2.Low Carbon Buildings Programme

If you are looking to replace your old boiler with a heat pump, biomass boiler, or solar hot water system then you may be eligible for a grant of up to £2500 towards installation. Visit the Low Carbon Buildings Programme website,www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk, for further details.

Please note that you can apply for both the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and the boiler scrappage scheme.

How will the Energy Saving Trust guard against fraud?

The Energy Saving Trust will monitor the scheme and any detected fraud will be reported and prosecuted.

The processes and procedures for monitoring the scheme are as follows:

* A voucher submitted for a claim must contain the customer’s and the installer’s signature. It must also include the GasSafe/MCS registration number of the installer.
* As a requirement of law any work undertaken on a gas boiler has to be registered with GasSafe as matter of course. Therefore, Energy Saving Trust will check periodically voucher claims against work registered with GasSafe. If the work has not be registered with GasSafe in due course this will be further investigated by the Energy Saving Trust and where necessary followed by a home visit to ensure the work has indeed been completed) In addition, a random selection of installations will be checked by the Energy Saving Trust through home visits to ensure a new boiler has been installed.
* The Energy Saving Trust will do a daily check if more than one voucher has been applied for a property. This will be done by monitoring postcode data. If multiple applications are detected the Energy Saving Trust will investigate further.
* In addition to the post installation audits, the Energy Saving Trust will carry out a small sample of pre-installation audits to confirm that the details on a customer’s application are correct. These will be carried out before a voucher is issued.

Since the introduction of the modern silicon solar cell, the efficiency of solar cells has improved greatly. The first silicon solar cell was created by Bell Labs and demonstrated for the public for the first time on April 25, 1954. This solar cell worked at only about 6% efficiency.

The silicon solar cell succeeded the selenium solar cell, which was quite a bit less efficient. Selenium solar cells operated at only around 0.5% efficiency.

Since then, the focus of research has been put toward the task of improving the efficiency of solar cells, and reducing the cost of producing them. Cells with as much as 40% efficiency have been produced using rare materials. The manufacturing cost for these cells is over 100 times higher than that of the current standard, 8% efficient cells. Reducing production cost is perhaps even more important than improving efficiency when it comes to encouraging more homeowners to switch to solar power.

The sun provides about 1,000 watts of power per square meter under ideal conditions. A solar cell’s advertised production is based on this figure. Of course, there are a variety of factors that can impact the intensity of sunlight, such as weather, elevation, pollution, and dust. Some events, such as volcanic eruptions, can even reduce sunlight on a worldwide basis for long periods of time. Low elevation also negatively affects solar cell efficiency. This is because, as elevation gets higher, the air gets thinner, and the effects of dust and pollution are reduced.

Multicrystalline solar cells are currently commercially available, and these operate at about 14-19% efficiency. However, as mature technology, this kind of cell is thought to be close to its limit in terms of production capability. Amorphous silicon cells, on the other hand, although currently about 8% efficient, are widely thought to be the next big thing in solar cell technology.

Even without any major improvements in solar cell efficiency, the goal of replacing fossil fuel-based power production with solar power isn’t realistic. To supply all of the electricity currently produced in the United States, it would take just over 10,000 square miles of solar panels. There is much more suitable land than that currently unused.

Solar power systems, in order to provide power even when the sun isn’t out, need to also make use of some type of power storage. For this purpose, batteries are the most common solution, often being used in banks either in homes or near them. Batteries could also represent a solution to the problem of spikes in demand presented by hot days.

Since they were first introduced, solar cells have improved substantially in terms of efficiency, from 0.5% to as high as 40%. Although the efficiency of mass-production solar cells is not considered likely to increase significantly in the near future, solar cell prices continue to decrease.

If you are looking into installing a solar power system, you need to consider the kind of roof panel that you are going to use. More info about roof solar panels is available at Roof Solar Panels.

For the finest guides to building your own solar panels, including complete instructions and step-by-step videos, go to Build Solar Panel and GreenDIY Energy Review.