Touchwood Homes have a good array of experience with micro generation technologies through our partnership with Segen. We have used most types of micro generation available and know which are suitable for which situation, and which are not. Here’s a brief overview of the most often talked about:

Rainwater Harvesting
Since water is falling from the sky, and is already collected by guttering, installing a rainwater harvesting system makes perfect sense. Rainwater can be used for baths, washing machines, toilet flushing and the garden, saving around 80% of your mains water usage.

Wood Fuel and Hot Water Heating
We no longer need to heat a new house with a standard central heating system – our houses stay warm all the time and only require heat if left unoccupied. An automatic wood chip hot water system offers the convenience of a conventional boiler without the associated carbon emissions. Alternatively a simple room sealed log burning stove provides an excellent heat source, while providing a fantastic lounge centre piece. These stoves can also be installed with back boilers to provide hot water.

PV Panels
We have installed various PV systems so can confidently estimate the kWh electricity a system will produce. For us it has been interesting to note that a 5kWp wind turbine and a 2.9kWp PV system have both produced around 250kWh units of electricity per month in the south east region of the UK.

A 4kW grid connected system should supply the majority of a three-bedroom house’s annual electricity usage.

Solar Water Heating
Heating your water directly from the sun is a simple but reliable technology. Having been involved with many solar installations we can offer our advice on which systems to go for, and how to maximise their effectiveness.

Warmcel Insulation
Fire-proofed recycled newspaper is blown into the cavity under pressure so fills the void perfectly - unlike other manually installed insulation materials. This offers excellent insulation, environmental performance and near zero embodied energy. Warmcel also provides a great deal of thermal mass to the structure, stabilising the internal temperature.