Oxyvent’s Director, Paul Worswick, says: “The market is so focused on how we’ll power the UK in the future we are running the risk of overlooking new affordable non-intrusive technologies that can radically reduce emissions right now. Waiting for renewable energy to become mainstream and for public opinion to embrace the need to reduce carbon emissions will happen but until then, there’s no reason the industry should sit and await a fully renewable age when they can do more right now.”
However, when you look at the market for heating energy and money saving products, there is very little innovation at the affordable end of the market that an average homebuyer would be prepared to pay extra for and a homebuilder would see a return on.
The government’s 2009 Heat and Energy Saving Strategy Consultation made cost effective and non-intrusive loft and cavity wall insulation a priority by 2015, with smart meters to roll out in all homes by 2020. But beyond these and other basic measures outlined on the energy saving trust website, the focus then turns to technologies such as ground and air source heat pumps, micro combined heat and power boilers and solid wall insulation that cost thousands.
In time, these measures will become more accessible but in today’s market, they come with a very hefty price tag, are intrusive to install, particularly in retrofit properties, require specialist installation skills and with long pay back periods, will take many years before a homeowner realises the benefit.
So what new products are on the market now that won’t break the budget but will help builders add value to properties by boosting green credentials and lowering energy bills?
The Oxyvent tank is one new innovation that launched in the UK earlier this year, after success in Ireland. It’s a small, easy to install tank that is plumbed into a buildings central heating system. When installed, the Oxyvent makes a central heating system heat a home much more effectively by creating radiant heat but enforces a boiler to operate at a much lower temperature of 65 degrees (or 60 degrees when installed with a combi boiler) at the same time.
Not only will the Oxyvent tank reduce domestic carbon emissions and heating bills by up to 30%, but it also reduces common central heating problems such as the need to bleed, balance or flush a system. Much lower bills, much lower maintenance costs but much more powerful heating.
CombiSave is another. A small thermostatically operated valve that fits to new and existing in-situ combi-boilers, it reduces the wait time for water to run hot, saving significant volumes of water, gas and reducing carbon emissions. As an easily installed innovative technology that does not require any change of behaviour from the end user, CombiSave won the Consumer Benefit Award at the Energy Innovation Awards 2010. The device is currently shortlisted for two further innovation and technology awards: Merseyside Environmental Awards and Wirral in Business Awards.
“At £560 (plus VAT) a tank and £79 (plus VAT) respectively, these products are innovative, unique, have realistic price tags and short pay back periods which makes them viable for any builder to install now to reduce a builds carbon emissions and add value to a property – both important in today’s current economic and environmental climate,” says Oxyvent.
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