Here is more about the much talked about new Energy Efficiency Directive from the EU Comission (Brussels, 22 June 2011)

The aim is to save energy and to reach the targets the EU has set : By 2020, we need to cut energy consumption by 20 percent. In absolute terms – calculated in million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe)– this are 368 Mtoe in 2020 compared to projected consumption in that year of 1842 Mtoe. The tearget needs to be achieved by the EU as a whole.

At the moment – with all the measures on EU and national level in place so far – we would only reach 1678 Mtoe, or 9% of savings.

What are the measures proposed?
•    Legal obligation to establish energy saving schemes in all Member States: energy distributors or retail energy sales companies will be obliged to save every year 1,5 % of the energy sales, by volume, through the implementation of energy efficiency measures such as improving the efficiency of the heating system, installing double glazed windows or insulating roofs, among final energy customers.
•    Public sector to lead by example: public bodies will push for the market uptake of energy efficient products and services through a legal obligation to purchase energy efficient buildings, products and services. They will further have to progressively reduce the energy consumed on their own premises by carrying out every year the required renovation works covering at least 3% of their total floor area.
•    Major energy savings for consumers:  easy and free-of-charge access to data on real-time and historical energy consumption through more accurate individual metering will now empower consumers to better manage their energy consumption. Billing should be based on the actual consumption well reflecting data from the metering.
•    Industry: Incentives for SMEs to undergo energy audits and disseminate best practices while the large companies will have to make an audit of their energy consumption to help them identify the potential for reduced energy consumption.
•    Efficiency in energy generation: monitoring of efficiency levels of new energy generation capacities, establishment of national heat and cooling plans as a basis for a sound planning of efficient heating and cooling infrastructures, including recovery of waste heat.
What exactly is planned for public buildings?
From 1 January 2014, 3% of public buildings should be renovated each year, with the clear aim to save energy. Currently, the same percentage is renovated per year but in only half of the cases energy efficiency improvements are included (1, 5% energy related renovation rate). In practice, this could mean that walls are insulated, double glazing windows are installed in kindergardens, schools or townhouses, roofs are redone and inefficient heating boilers replaced.
In many cases a cost optimal renovation can bring up to 60% energy savings. The benefit can be estimated to 6 Mtoe in 2020 would for illustration means that the construction of 17 coal power units or about 9 000 wind turbines would be avoided.
Due to the important share of public buildings (about 12% of the EU build up area), it could serve as a strong driver for higher market uptake of energy efficiency in other sectors and development of the skills and knowledge required.
Buildings (private and public) still represent 40 % of the overall final energy consumption.
How can you force government to spend money in times they have to save money?
The renovation of public buildings would to a significant extent pay for itself through the savings on the energy bills and would also help the economic recovery by stimulating business activity and jobs.
However, still there is a need for upfront investment in the implementation of energy efficiency improvements. For this reason, the proposed Directive includes provisions to strengthen the energy services markets. In these markets energy service companies (ESCOs) would pay for the initial investments and get their money back from the savings on the energy bills. In addition to energy savings, this will create business opportunities and new jobs, for example, for construction companies, equipment providers. The energy service market currently accounts for about € 6 billion as compared to € 30 billion in the USA where it is more developed). The EU potential for such market is estimated at € 25 billion.
In addition to the private funding, Member States can also use their allocations under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to finance the renovation of public buildings. In the period 2007 – 2013, 4.4 billion Euro where available for that purpose.
Which measures are proposed for energy companies?
Energy companies dispose of important commercial information about the energy consumption of their clients that could make them an important actor in the energy savings market but they do not have stimuli to do so. To engage these companies, the Commission proposes that either all energy distributors or all retail energy sales companies operating on the Member State’s territory achieve annual energy savings equal to 1.5% of their energy sales volume in the previous year. In principle, these are companies delivering gas, heating oil or electricity.
To achieve these savings the energy companies concerned would have to work with the final energy users (e.g. individual house owners, supermarkets, hospitals) to implement energy savings. The savings are counted in absolute terms and thus companies can still increase their sales.
Each Member State would have to devise its own scheme that best meets the national circumstances while following certain common EU requirements (e.g. same level of ambition, certification of savings).
In order to allow for sufficient flexibility, Member Sates have also the possibility to propose alternative energy savings mechanisms that lead to the same results but are not based on obligation on energy companies. These could, for example, be funding programmes or voluntary agreements.
If implemented properly and with a stringent level of ambition, it is expected that it will reduce the EU’s energy consumption by 6.4% in 2020 (or 108 to 118 Mtoe primary energy which is the current consumption of Poland and Portugal together).
Do such energy efficiency schemes already exist?
There are already positive experiences from the countries that have introduced similar obligations, e.g. Denmark, France, Italy, the UK, and the region of Flanders. Because of the positive outcomes Poland has recently voted for similar scheme and Malta considers taking up a saving obligation scheme as well.
So far, reductions of 2.3% to 5.6% of final energy consumption have been realized by the energy companies concerned (typically suppliers or distributors) over the duration of the various schemes. The most advanced scheme works with an annual reduction of 1.5% as foreseen in the Directive. Still the level of ambition is lower than schemes in other countries like Australia or USA (Illinois: 2%, Massachusetts: 2.3% per year additional through 2020, Vermont: averaging 2% additional per year, Iowa: 1.5% per year additional, Maryland: 1.5% to 1.8% additional per year).
Who will pay for such schemes?
Depending on the way the schemes are implemented at national level the costs are either equally spread to all consumers or energy services companies are used and the upfront investments are recuperated from the savings on the energy bills over certain period of time.
Are you not imposing to companies unnecessary obligations? Why not being more market liberal?
No. The approach proposed by the Commission is a market based approach as Member States can decide – as it has happened in Italy, France, the UK and Flanders – to certify the savings and make them tradable. This allows for the implementation of the savings at least cost and it has proved very efficient in mobilizing energy savings improvements. However, an additional flexibility is foreseen by allowing that the saving target can be met through other measures such as voluntary agreements or funding solutions if the Member States chooses so.
What are the benefits for the industry?
The Commission proposes that large companies have to do regular energy audits carried out in an independent manner. Member States are also encouraged to develop incentives for companies that introduce an energy management system as a systematic framework for the rational use of energy. Exchange of best practices in energy efficiency and projects aimed at building capacity on energy management are also proposed for SMEs.
And for the consumers?
Member States shall ensure that final customers of electricity, natural gas, district heating or cooling and district-supplied domestic hot water are provided with individual meters that accurately measure and allow making available their actual energy consumption and providing information on actual time of use.
Member States shall ensure the accuracy and the frequency of the billing and that the billing is based on actual consumption, for all the sectors covered by the Directive, including energy distributors, distribution system operators and retail energy sales companies. This should be done not later than 1 January 2015 for electricity, natural gas; hot water and centralised heat. In a longer term, this may require introduction of intelligent metering although in the shorter term, frequent billing can be based on self reading of existing meters by the consumers themselves.
The potential savings that could be reached through improved information provided through more adequate metering and billing are estimated at the level of around 80 Mtoe. Indeed, some pilot projects have shown a potential of reduction of the energy consumption up to 15-20% (40% in electricity) when customers are allowed to turn off appliances by web interface or mobile3.
Why more obligations regarding ‘smart meters’ if they are already required in under the existing EU legislation?
Existing EU legislation on internal market for electricity and gas already foresees a roll-out of smart meters (e.g. at least 80% of smart meters for electricity deployed by 2020, subject to a positive cost-benefit analysis by Member States). Individual metering of heat and hot water consumption as well as frequent individual billing based on actual consumption of energy have also already been assumed by the existing Directive of Energy Services.
But there are shortcomings in the current display and presently the developments on individual metering and billing so far have not been always helping end-users to save energy.
For example, new electronic meters for electricity/gas are often provided without proper interface (e.g. in-home display or via some other type of electronic device such smart phones, tablets, etc). Billing is still often based just on forecasts and not actual consumption, billing of heat in multi-apartment buildings is often just based on flat rate per m2; billing based on actual consumption in some countries is sometimes required as often as annually, which all do not encourage the consumers to save energy.
The legislative proposal aims to ensure that certain minimum feedback from metering is provided free of charge to individual consumers.
What is proposed for district heating?
The Directive requires that by 1 January 2014, the Member States have established a national heating and cooling plan for developing the potential for the application of high-efficiency cogeneration (CHP) and efficient district heating and cooling.
Cogeneration is the simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and electrical or mechanical energy.
CHP saves at least 30% of energy compared to separate electricity and heat production. CHP is a mature, well-proven technology and there is an additional economic potential of at least doubling CHP by 2020. Despite this, CHP share remained flat. The current share is 11%. Since 2004 there was only 0.5% increase. A 6% per year growth would be needed to realise the economic potential by 2020, which is at least 21%.
Why not binding targets? What is the ‘two steps approach’?
We propose binding measures rather than binding target for each and every member state: once the directive enters into force, Member States will have the obligation to apply all its provisions. For instance, they cannot decide whether or not to implement the 3% renovation target for public If not, the Commission may start infringement procedures.
In addition, the Commission proposes that
(1) Member States set themselves non-binding national energy efficiency target
(2) the Commission will propose binding national targets if in 2014 we come to the conclusion that the EU is not likely to achieve the 20 percent target

Germany’s decision to abandon nuclear power is expected to increase demand for natural gas and speed up the development of renewable projects. The European Commission has been pushing hard for the integration and liberalisation of the electricity market and has funded the construction of cross-border interconnectors. Here at home, a single, all-island electricity market exists and talks are taking place on the development of renewable, off-shore energy projects with the British/Irish Council along with ministers from Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The scale of such schemes is clear from an announcement made by Danish company Dong Energy in Belfast. It has arranged with Scottish Power Renewables to build an off-shore wind farm costing €1.8 billion in the Irish Sea. Turbines and foundations for the wind farm will be assembled at a new facility at Belfast Harbour and at least 300 jobs will be created. Harland Wolff is getting involved and Northern Ireland energy minister Arlene Foster expects the sector to grow rapidly in the coming years.

Wind farm and ocean/wave developments in the Republic are falling behind. Last year, applications for the development of off-shore wind farms in the Irish Sea alone envisaged the generation of 11,000 megawatts. But only 4,000 megawatts of that energy will come from Irish territorial waters. That may relate to long-standing interconnector problems. Whatever the reason, forward planning is needed to deal with such bottlenecks and greater attention will also have to be paid to the exploitation of renewable resources off the west coast. The wind speed and water turbulence there may be more challenging than in the Irish Sea but, with the use of more robust technologies, they also offer higher financial returns.

So far, the exploitation of wind energy has been developer-led and somewhat fragmented. Because of connection, technical and planning considerations, Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte now favours the concentration of wind turbines in large complexes, rather than the emergence of small, isolated wind farms. The same approach is likely to apply to off-shore facilities, where wave, tidal and wind generators can be located close together. Provision of meshed networks in the Irish and Celtic Seas would reduce the cost of cabling and production while allowing for transmission to similar facilities in Britain and, perhaps, in France. Such a step-up in renewable energy production will be costly. But failure to grasp the opportunities now offered in terms of job creation, energy security and electricity exports would be a disaster.

(C) Irish Times

The sun seems to have gone on strike and the result will be Arctic wintertime conditions across northern Europe for the next 50 years.

The sun should be getting more lively, kicking off solar storms and producing sunspots as it moves into a cyclical peak of activity.

For some reason, however, it has broken out of its normal pattern and has gone decidedly quiet, according to researchers presenting data at the American Astronomical Society annual meeting in New Mexico.

Data from a number of groups shows that solar activity has flatlined, the first time this has happened for years, said the US National Solar Observatory.

The last major example of this occurred during the Maunder Minimum, a 70-year period when no sunspots appeared during 1645-1715. This was also the time that record cold spells occurred, the Thames froze over to allow ice skating and long winters shortened the summertime growing season.

The sun was relatively quiet the last two winters even though it is supposed to be approaching a peak of activity in its 11-year sunspot cycle. The research shows the peak will be greatly reduced or may not happen at all.

“This is highly unusual and unexpected,” according to Dr Frank Hill of the observatory.

Three groups using different methods all came up with the same result. The fact that they match up “is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation”, said Dr Hill.

Prof Mike Lockwood of the University of Southampton has closely studied the implications of a quiet sun, and will publish new findings within weeks.

He has already established that low solar activity causes high altitude jet stream winds to twist back on themselves during winter months. This channels bitterly cold Arctic air and frigid winds from the Russian Steppes across northern Europe and on to Ireland.

“Our evidence shows that low solar activity makes it easier for something called ‘jet stream blocking’ to occur,” he said yesterday. “I predicted a year ago there was a 10 per cent chance we would be in Maunder Minimum conditions by 2040.”

It hardly seems fair having to plan for a cold winter before Ireland’s summer has arrived. There are advantages, however, including a greater likelihood of a white Christmas.

The financially minded might try making a mint by investing in grit.

(C) The Irish Times – Friday, June 17, 2011

We can add from ourselves that insulating your property in advance would be the right move.

However grant levels have been reduced (except for external wall insulation).  Here’s a comparison table of grants for homeowners wishing to upgrade the energy efficiency of their dwellings:

**A Building Energy Rating (BER) is an integral part of all grant applications under the HES scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER on their home after grant aided works have been completed. A homeowner is entitled to BER funding of €80 once per home. This funding will be applied to your grant application automatically provided you have never applied previously for BER funding. You will be informed during the online grant application process if BER funding is available for your home or as part of your Letter of Grant Offer if you have applied through the post.

In the instance where a Contractor is completing works within his own home then only the cost of materials will be deemed qualifying expenditure.

Grants are claimed after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by or entered a financing agreement with the homeowner.

If you are unsure of the procedure or what type of works is best for your property – contact us today on 01 66 88 403

Greener Homes and Home Energy Saving schemes Suspended for Applications from Midnight on Monday 9th May, 2011

The Greener Homes and Home Energy Saving schemes have been suspended for new applications from Midnight, Monday 9th May, 2011 pending government announcements regarding the forthcoming Jobs Initiative. Following planned announcements this week by the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, revised scheme details will be published on the SEAI website.

It is currently expected that the revised schemes will reopen for applications on Monday 16th May, 2011. Ahead of that time, any confirmed details of the new schemes will be published on the SEAI website.

Existing Applicants: Applicants, who have already been approved under either scheme, can continue with planned works in accordance with their existing grant offer and terms and conditions. Requests for payment can be submitted as normal.

If you have applied on-line and not yet accepted the grant offer, please do not worry as SEAI will honour your grant offer and will be in contact with you over the next few days to confirm your acceptance.

New Applicants: If you are planning to undertake upgrade works and believe you may be eligible for a grant but have not yet applied, then you are strongly urged to await the revised scheme details and to consider your options at that stage. In order to be eligible for a grant, you must ensure grant approval is received before proceeding with any product purchase or installation work.

Registered Installers / Contractors may proceed with all existing works where you have confirmed that your client already has grant approval in place yet they are strongly urged not to initiate any other works pending the announcement of the revised schemes.

Black Mold

Mould is a significant problem for a number of properties in Ireland. Partially the damp climate is to blame but the quality of built and the ventilation system which is used in the property both have a significant effect on the probability of mould appearance.

Relative Humidity:

Any air contains vapour even the air over a desert. The warm waters of the Gulf Stream cause sea temperatures around Ireland to be a good deal higher than the average in this latitude band, and the prevailing westerly winds carry warm and saturated air from over these waters across the island. The quantity of water contained in the air depends on the temperature of the air and this ratio of water to air is called ‘Relative Humidity’. In Ireland throughout the year relative humidity averages about 90% late at night and in the early morning. Typical mid-afternoon values range 65% to 70% between April and August and 75% to 85% during the months from October to February. Hot air is able to carry much more moisture than cold air, so as the temperature of air increases it is able to hold a greater volume of water. By breathing, bathing, cooking and other domestic activities we add to the humidity of the air inside of a property.

Dew Point:

At any temperature, when the air becomes saturated, it will deposit beads of water (condensation) onto any surface that is cold enough.  The temperature of the surface at which this moisture will form is called the ‘dew point’. (For an example, take a glass bottle out of the fridge and leave on a surface for a few minutes – you’ll see a thin veil of condensation on the glass).
If this happens near the ground, to a small layer of air, dew or frost will be formed, if a larger amount of air is involved, mist or fog will arise. If this happens to air that is rising in the atmosphere and expanding -it leads to formation of clouds. If it happens in the property – we call it condensation.

Condensation:

As soon as warm air, containing vapour, reaches a cooler surface, it will condense. This is most obvious on windows and wall tiles, but it is happening on the walls and ceilings a lot of the time. Even if the property is well insulated and the house is warm it can still happen and the reason for it is lack of controlled ventilation. The air temperature will continue to rise until it finds a cooler surface, unless we let that air out and some cooler air in. If the building envelope is not airtight and uncontrolled air leakage occurs the condensed water accumulates in the insulation layer and can cause mould infestation even after a few months.

Controlled Ventilation:

Airtight building envelope prevents moisture escaping yet you still need to let the moist air out by opening several opposite windows at least once a day for 5 to 10 minutes maximum. Having a window opened permanently, on the other hand, will significantly increase your heating bills during the cold seasons.

Mold Growth:

Unless the moist air is allowed to escape the environment inside a property warm and humid common household dust, containing microscopic spores of mould lands on wet surfaces and becomes the breeding ground for mould.  The most common types of mould found in homes are Aspergillus and Stachybotrys chartarum which can thrive on water damaged, cellulose-rich material in buildings such as sheet rock, paper, ceiling tiles, insulation backing, wallpaper, etc
Airing the rooms can aid in resolving damp and mould issues but for a total solution the problem has to be dealt with on a more professional level.
Once the cause of the dampness/mould appearance is established and you have rectified whatever was causing the excess humidity you can treat the areas affected by mould and repair the wall, ceiling or window as necessary.

Here are a few tips which can help in resolving the mould issue.

1. Buy a chemical Mould Cleaner to treat areas affect by mould before repainting, or it will reappear.
2. Invest in a Home Condensation Meter to monitor & prevent Condensation.
3. Painting with Anti-Mould Professional Paint or Concentrated Additives which can be added to most types of paint can stall further spreading of mould.

Problems Caused by and Solutions to Condensation

Condensation is most obvious on mirrors, single glazed windows and wall tiles, but it may also occur on walls and ceilings, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms because we carry out most of the vapour producing activity in those rooms. If you insulate and warm the house thoroughly, you might think that condensation can be avoided, but unless you keep the moisture content of the air (the Relative Humidity – RH) below about 65-70% RH, condensation may still form. To control the Relative Humidity you need to balance heating with ventilation, or use a Dehumidifier.
Condensation is an extremely underestimated cause of damage to our homes. It can significantly contribute to ruined paintwork, wood, wallpaper and flaking plasterwork and the total bill for repair can by far exceed the expenses of a timely intervention. All redecoration using paints should incorporate Anti-Mould Additive: avoid wallpapers if possible, (mould loves to grow in the lining) but if you decided on using wallpaper – use an anti-mould wallpaper paste.
The condensed moisture can also react with the plaster ‘skim’ coat and cause ‘salting’ – you may need Salt Neutraliser to eliminate the salt before redecoration.

Condensation and Black Mould

Now we know that excessive condensation can cause the growth of black mould on walls and ceilings and mold in its turn can have a negative impact on your health. Sensitive people (e.g. asthmatics) can be adversely affected by the airborne spores.
Black mould growth is the most common effect of condensation, but mould can appear in many other colours on carpets, clothing and wood.
This picture shows the effects of condensation in the corner of a room. Note the way that the black mould climbs and concentrates on the coldest part of the wall – an outside corner.

Further Tips to Consider:
- Keep furniture a little further away from the walls so the air can circulate freely.
- Do not overfill storage – let air to flow.
- Make sure the insulation in the loft is not blocking the ventilation provided by the gap between the facia boards and the house wall, or purpose made vents.
- Invest in some quality cavity wall insulation in your home.
- Get the heating thermostatically controlled wherever possible.
- Ventilate tumble driers externally.
- Install extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom.

To sum it up:

Mould spores are a common component of household and workplace dust. Once the conditions are adequate (ie. the air is moist, stale and warm) black mould starts to grow. Whilst it is next to impossible to get rid of mould spores indoors it is still possible to prevent the mould from growing and spreading. By ensuring that the property is adequately insulated, ventilated and the moisture content (relative humidity) in the air is kept around 35% – 45% you can prevent the mould from becoming an issue and a potential health hazard.

A professional property surveyor can advise you on possible causes of black mold and our thermal imaging report can pinpoint the locations of air leakage. Current building regulations (Part L) require all new built properties to have maximum permeability (q50 = rate at which air escapes/leaks  through the building fabric, expressed in m³/hr/m²)  of 10 m³/hr/m² @50Pa. However a Passive House Standard would require a much tighter build: the Air Changes Per Hour (n50) should not exceed 0.6/h. According to the Passive House Institute an average a house built to Passive House Standard should achieve between 0.2/h and 0.6/h.

Melatonin, thought to protect against some breast and prostate cancers, is produced and secreted by the brain’s pineal gland around the clock.

Highest secretion levels are at night but light depresses production, even if one’s eyes are shut.

A possible link between night time light exposure and breast cancer risk has been known for over a decade, since a study was published showing female shift workers were more likely to develop the disease.

Prof Haim explained that a recent study by himself and fellow colleagues had found a much stronger association than previous research between night-time bedroom light levels and breast cancer rates.
Their study, published in the journal Chronobiology International, found breast cancer rates were up to 22 per cent higher in women who slept with a light on, compared to those who slept in total darkness.

They thought one of the reasons for this stronger link could be that people had switched to using energy saving lightbulbs.

They wrote: “In the past decade, light bulbs emitting bluer light waves (~460 nm) have been widely introduced to save energy consumption and reduce CO2 emission.”

They quoted another study which showed that exposure to bluer, shorter wavelength light for two hours in the late evening suppressed melatonin production more than the same exposure to yellower light (~550nm), which is more typical of filament bulbs.

The bluer light also made people more alert and increased their body temperature and heart rate.

Prof Haim thought this was because the bluer light from eco-lightbulbs mimiced the stronger light of midday closer than filament bulbs did.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he said he had subsequently removed eco-friendly lightbulbs from his house, as he thought they caused “light pollution”.

He said: “Around the world the advice is to change the lights to ‘green’ bulbs – but they are not really green. They pollute much more light.”

Because people thought they were so cheap to run, they were turning on more lights at home, he explained.

He emphasised that the study did not prove that using eco-friendly light bulbs late at night or overnight resulted in higher breast cancer rates than using filament bulbs, and that it remained an unproven theory.

British cancer charities echoed that point.

Jessica Harris, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “As this study didn’t investigate low energy ‘eco’ light bulbs and there isn’t any other evidence that they have an effect on breast cancer risk we can’t draw any conclusions about the risk of breast cancer from low energy light bulbs.

“Although it’s far from settled, the evidence that light at night – from any source – could affect breast cancer risk is strengthening and the World Health Organisation classify shift working as a ‘probable’ cause of cancer.”

telegraph.co.uk (C)

GLOBAL CLIMATE is warming, with 2010 expected to go down as yet another record year. You can count on our winters being colder than usual, however, at least for the next few years.

“There is a difference between global climate and regional climate, and there is a very peculiar thing we are finding about the European climate,” says Prof Mike Lockwood of the University of Southampton and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Colder winters are expected because at the moment solar activity is very low.

Solar activity, in this case, does not mean direct heat or light from the sun but the energy emitted from the solar surface by sunspots. “What we are finding is that Europe and western Asia are particularly prone to solar influences, especially in winter,” Lockwood says. “What we are seeing is much cooler winters if solar activity is low.”

Last winter was particularly cold here and on the Continent, and low-temperature records were set.

Lockwood, who is Southampton’s professor of space and climate physics in the school of mathematical and physical sciences, believes we will see more of the same this winter. Climate change naysayers argue that temperature changes come down to a weakening or strengthening sun, but in fact Eurasia’s colder winters will be triggered by the jet stream, Lockwood explains. It is a phenomenon known as “set stream blocking”.

Sometimes the normal winter flow of the high-altitude jet stream “gets kinked into a reverse S-shape”, says Lockwood. “What happens in a blocking event is the normal flow changes, the warm westerlies get disrupted and we get cold Arctic air from the north and east.”

This in turn changes the weather we see on the ground. “Although the jet stream is very high up it is known to direct weather patterns further down.”

The thing that gets the jet stream into a winter twist is none other than the sun, but only when it is not very active.

“There is no doubt that the frequency of those blocking events in winter is higher when solar activity is low,” says Lockwood. “What was a slight surprise is that the sun was changing the jet stream, but only when the jet stream has travelled across the Atlantic and begins hitting land over Europe.”

Lockwood believes that the phenomenon may have been responsible for the “Little Ice Age” in Europe, a time between about 1650 and 1700 when people skated on the frozen Thames. During that time astronomers noted that there were no sunspots for 50 years, and Europe became extra cold.

Scientists have directly monitored solar activity continuously throughout the space age, giving us more than 40 years of data and a chance to assess the links between activity and temperatures, says Lockwood. Activity can also be inferred by other methods, and when examined over time it shows that recent years have seen very high activity.

“We find the sun typically goes through 400-year to 500-year solar minimums and maximums. This was one of the 24 grand maximums in the past 9,000 years,” he says, putting the recent solar levels in the top 15 per cent.

All of this is expected to change. Activity has rolled back and is expected to decline still further. “We have returned to the lowest solar-activity conditions since the 1920s,” Lockwood says. “I would anticipate more cold winters in Europe. This is despite and on top of a gradually warming world.”

Why Iceland’s ash hit Ireland

The ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano (left) was spread across countries from Ireland down to Italy thanks to the weather phenomenon that is to make Irish winters colder in the coming years. Currently, weak solar activity is causing the wintertime jet stream to twist back on itself, channelling air first east and then west in a wide loop.

(C) The Irish Times – Thursday, September 23, 2010

ENERGY COSTS:

ONE OF the most depressing and shocking things about the downturn has been the number of people who have had their electricity cut off because of an inability to pay their bills in recent months. Almost 2,500 households a month – or 80 a day – had their supply disconnected by the ESB, Bord Gáis and Airtricity in the four months to the end of July, according to the Commission for Energy Regulation.

Many of these people had good jobs only two years ago but now find themselves in a position where they can no longer pay for the most basic services. Anyone who has found it tough to make ends meet this year will have been dismayed to read last month that, in spite of the fact that energy prices are stable on the international market – if anything, they are falling – the cost of domestic electricity is set to rise by 4.9 per cent next month.

The increase is to pay for the public service obligation (PSO) levy and the money raised will support home-produced and renewable energy sources. The Bord Gáis Energy Index, which measures prices in the wholesale energy markets, fell by 2 per cent last month to its lowest point since April. Natural gas fell by 7 per cent, while coal and electricity prices also fell, and analysts have predicted that energy prices are unlikely to rise in the coming months.

There is one way that some Irish consumers can get their own back in the face of these Government-generated price hikes, and that is through payments from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), to which they are entitled if they upgrade their home’s energy ratings.

As many as 1,000 Irish homes are getting payments from the State every week to upgrade their energy ratings, according to the SEAI. Grants of up to €4,500 are available for roof insulation, wall insulation (which includes either cavity wall, internal dry lining or external insulation), the installation of a high-efficiency gas- or oil-fired boiler and an upgrade of heating controls or the installation of a thermostat. Roof insulation – which can be completed in less than a day and costs around €800 – is worth €250 in grants, while cavity-wall insulation, which costs in the region of €1,000, will get you €400.

External wall insulation is a significantly more labour-intensive and time-consuming process and will take more than three weeks to complete for an average-sized house. It costs around €15,000 for a three-bedroom semi, but a grant of €4,000 is available.

Of course, getting the grant is not without complications – a pre-approved contractor has to be employed and, once the upgrade has been done, forms need to be filled out before the grant can be applied for. At least, that is the current position.

One of the downsides of the SEAI grants is that householders have to come up with the cash and then get a rebate. For most of us, getting access to €14,000 from a bank is not easy. Problems with credit is one reason why the grants look set to be replaced by a discount-based scheme which will, according to its cheerleaders in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, reduce the amount of energy needed to power the country and allow consumers improve their energy rating without stumping up the cash upfront.

A consultation document says customers are more likely to undertake energy-saving measures under this scenario. It has been described as the “most innovative, ambitious, energy-related initiative ever introduced in Ireland” and could reduce our energy use by 8,000 gigawatts over the next decade. The measures are designed to make “Ireland a cheaper, more competitive and environmentally friendly country”, according to the document.

There are, of course, easier ways to knock substantial sums off your annual energy bill, particularly if you are still an ESB customer. Recently Pricewatch got into a small row with an otherwise bright person who declared that they were sticking with the ESB this winter.

We are not set against the ESB, nor do we have any love for their rivals, but by switching to Bord Gáis Energy or Airtricity, consumers will knock at least 10 per cent off their annual electricity bill. And switching is genuinely easy. More than 680,000 customers have already changed their electricity supplier since the market was liberalised 18 months ago, so the people who have stayed with the ESB are effectively just throwing money away.

No infrastructural changes are needed to switch provider, so people can move from one provider with ease. And if the service offered by one of the ESB’s rivals is not up to scratch, switching back is simple.

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) sets prices for the ESB, but its competitors are allowed to undercut these charges. The CER has said it will deregulate the domestic electricity market when the ESB’s market share falls to 60 per cent, which is expected to happen by early next year.

(c) The Irish Times – Monday, September 20, 2010

Ministers from Europe’s three biggest economies made the exceptional move in a commentary published by the Financial Times, the Frankfurter Allgemeine and Le Monde. They

“If we stick to a 20-percent cut, Europe is likely to lose the race to compete in the low-carbon world to countries such as China, Japan or the US – all of which are looking to create a more attractive environment for low-carbon investment,” they warned.

The commentary was written by German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen, his French counterpart Jean-Louis Borloo and Chris Huhne, the British climate change secretary.

Alone among the major economies, the EU has vowed to cut its emissions of man-made heat trapping gases by 20 percent by 2020 over 1990, the benchmark
year used in UN climate negotiations.

The EU has until now offered to go to a cut of 30 percent if other industrialised powers follow suit. The proposal was put on the table, but not reciprocated, at December’s world climate talks in Copenhagen.

The joint commentary did not specifically suggest that the 30 percent should be a unilateral initiative, saying only that the EU “should raise its emissions target.” Achieving emissions cuts carries an economic cost in order to achieve greater energy efficiency and switch to cleaner sources.

In May, proposals by the European Commission to deepen the target to 30 percent were resisted by the Brussels business lobby on the grounds of cost, and by French and German economy ministers, who defended the previous policy of a quid pro quo.

Röttgen, Borloo and Huhne said that a 30-percent cut would not only help meet the international target of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). It would also spur green investment by boosting the cost of carbon
pollution, they said.

Carbon traded in the European emissions market had fallen by 11 percent from pre-crisis levels, a price judged too low to stimulate capital in green jobs and technologies.

“Because of reduced emissions in the recession, the annual costs in 2020 of meeting the existing 20 percent target are down a third from €70 billion ($89 billion) to €48 billion,” the trio said.

“A move up to 30 percent is now estimated to cost only €11 billion more than the original cost of achieving a 20 percent reduction. Furthermore, these costs were calculated on the conservative assumption that oil will cost $88 a barrel in 2020.

“Given the current constraints on supply-side investment, rapid growth in consumption in Asia, and the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, oil prices may well rise further. Under one IEA (International Energy Agency) scenario, the price could reach a nominal 130 dollars a barrel,” they said.