Roof mounted turbines, solar panels contribute little to envirnment

Times:

Roof-mounted wind turbines and solar panels are “eco-bling” that allow their owners to flaunt their green credentials but contribute very little towards meeting Britain’s carbon reduction targets, according to the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Developers will waste millions of pounds installing such micro-generation devices unless the Government revises its building regulations on carbon-neutral homes and offices.

Doug King, Professor of Building Engineering at the University of Bath and the author of a report on low carbon buildings published today, said that far greater savings could be made by installing better insulation and methods of trapping the Sun’s rays.

He proposed that the government target for all new homes to be carbon-neutral by 2016 should be relaxed in return for developers making equivalent contributions to wind farms and other large-scale renewable energy projects. “Wind turbines and solar cells on the roof achieve little or nothing and are what I describe as eco-bling. It’s just about trying to say to the general public, ‘I’m being good, I’m helping the environment’.

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Using current technology, it is rare that these systems will ever pay back the added expense during the life of the home much less the life of the owners. Professor King is correct on the matter of insulation and siting for the house. In areas like Texas is is important to have a three foot overhang to shade the windows during the summer. The south side of the house will get winter sun on the widows to help heat the house.