Environment and planning
Building control
Energy - efficiency advice and assessment
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Energy – renewable
Renewable energy is that which is created from sources that can be used time and time again such as energy from the sun, water and the wind. It can also be created from sources that can be replaced, such as wood or waste products. The main ways in which to create your own energy at home, known as “microgeneration”, are briefly described below. For more in-depth information, and for details on grants available for renewable energy, click here or telephone 0800 512 012.
Photovoltaic – the production of electricity from sunlight. Commonly used to power calculators but can also be used to produce a proportion of a home’s electricity requirements.
Solar water heating – the production of hot water from sunlight. Panels are usually placed on the roof and can typically provide around 50% of a household’s hot water requirements. Wirral Council offers interest-free loans of up to £2000 for solar water heating. Telephone 0800 512 012 to find out more.
Ground Source Heat Pumps – these use the almost constant temperature of the ground to heat your home. A unit, much like a refrigerator in reverse, sits in your home and pumps a liquid through pipes which are dug vertically or horizontally in your garden and extract the heat. For very 1 unit of energy used to extract the heat from the ground, 3 to 4 units of energy are generated.
Small scale wind power – a smaller version of the large wind turbines found off our coasts and in windy rural locations.
Small scale hydro power – this uses the power of moving water, usually through a dam, to operate an electric generator.
Biomass – this is when energy is released from organic matter such as wood (but not fossil fuels) which can be replaced over time through new planting. An example of this is a wood-fired stove. It can also include organic matter produced as a waste product of industry or farming.
Please check with the Planningsection (link to Planning web pages) before you install any microgeneration technologies.
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