We cover all aspects of renewable energy - wind power, solar power, solar water heating, hydro, biofuels, wave power and much more. http://www.reuk.co.uk If the OWL CM119 Wireless Energy Monitor is a bit expensive and feature rich for your requirements, then the new OWL Micro (CM130) could be the product for you. OWL Micro The OWL Micro is back-to-basics wireless energy monitor which only displays four values: current power usage, cost per hou... http://www.reuk.co.uk/OWL-Micro.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/OWL-Micro.htm Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:44:49 GMT The new OWL CM119 Wireless Energy Monitor is now available for sale in the UK. The CM119, is an upgraded version of the original OWL Wireless Energy Monitor (itself a rebranding of Electrisave - reviewed here). The old version of OWL/Electrisave though very reliable and well made lacked the dee... http://www.reuk.co.uk/OWL-CM119-Wireless-Energy-Monitor.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/OWL-CM119-Wireless-Energy-Monitor.htm Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:44:49 GMT In our article Freeloader Solar Charger we looked at the best selling solar charger designed to charge mobile phones, and handheld devices such as iPods and PDAs. Now there is a new improved Freeloader product available called Freeloader Pro - marketed as being the ultimate professional solar charge... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Freeloader-Pro.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Freeloader-Pro.htm Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:56:36 GMT A fantastic recent innovation is the solar roof tile. Rather than put a standard tiled roof on a property and then fit solar panels on top of it, it is possible to purchase roof tiles with built in photovoltaic solar cells. These tiles can be used on new build properties, or incorporated into an... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Roof-Tiles.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Roof-Tiles.htm Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:03:41 GMT An automatic hen house door opener and closer is very useful for anyone who keeps hens and cannot guarantee they'll be able to manually open or close the door every day. Simple systems have a light detector and the door is opened at dawn and closed at dusk. More advanced systems have a programmable... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Automatic-Hen-House-Door-Closer-Opener.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Automatic-Hen-House-Door-Closer-Opener.htm Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:47:34 GMT There are now many solar chargers on the market which can be used to provide power on the move for mobile phones, iPods, PDAs, GPS units, and other electronic devices. The Freeloader is the best selling solar charger in the UK, and also one of the cheapest commercially available units. NEW The n... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Freeloader-Solar-Charger.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Freeloader-Solar-Charger.htm Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:01:41 GMT The SolarMate 0.5 is a solar powered remote controlled utility light. It is a complete system including a solar panel, lamp, battery storage, remote control, and all necessary wall fixings. On first impressions everything is well made, weighty, solid and sturdy. A one A4 sized printed sheet is pro... http://www.reuk.co.uk/SolarMate-Solar-Shed-Light-Review.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/SolarMate-Solar-Shed-Light-Review.htm Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:35:33 GMT Unlike modern coal and gas power stations, renewable energy generation cannot be turned on with a switch. If the wind is not blowing, wind turbines make no electricity, and if it is nighttime or cloudy solar panels do not. Similarly there are times when demand for power is low, and renewable supply... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Immersion-Heaters-to-help-Renewable-Energy.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Immersion-Heaters-to-help-Renewable-Energy.htm Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:34:11 GMT United Utilities have won financial backing from DEFRA for a project to extract methane from the UK's second biggest sewage works in Davyhulme, Manchester. The collected biomethane will be sufficient to meet the heating and cooking needs of up to 5,000 homes by 2011, with the gas supplied through t... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Biomethane-from-Sewage-in-Manchester.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Biomethane-from-Sewage-in-Manchester.htm Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:40:50 GMT A feed in tariff (FiT) is is a means for governments to set above-market rates for electricity generated from renewable sources. By obliging electricity utility companies to buy renewable electricity at a fixed price for a fixed number of years, renewable installations become cost effective for the... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Feed-in-Tariff.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Feed-in-Tariff.htm Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:21:54 GMT Before spending a lot of money installing a PV solar or wind turbine generating system, it is vital to survey the planned site to ensure that the prevailing weather conditions are suitable. In our article Survey Wind Speed at Turbine Site we looked at how an anemometer with a data logger can be u... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Power-Predictor-from-Better-Generation.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Power-Predictor-from-Better-Generation.htm Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:00:32 GMT Plans have been revealed for what will be the first geothermal power plant to be built in the UK. In a joint partnership between EGS Energy - a geothermal power company - and the Eden Project in Cornwall, a 3MW geothermal power plant will be constructed. It is designed to supply all of the power req... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Eden-Project-Geothermal-Power-Plant.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Eden-Project-Geothermal-Power-Plant.htm Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:47:59 GMT We have been selling our solar water heating pump controllers now for a few years - see here for details: Solar Water Heating Pump Controller. While this controller is suitable in most cases it is not ideal for use with swimming pools. One key difference is the need to set a maximum temperature... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Pump-Controller-for-Swimming-Pools.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Pump-Controller-for-Swimming-Pools.htm Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:37:38 GMT We include a pair of LM335Z temperature sensors with our solar water heating pump controllers. They are reliable, relatively inexpensive, and very easy to use, however they do have one disadvantage - they are not at all waterproof. One sensor has to be fitted to the side of the hot water tank under... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Make-a-Waterproof-Temperature-Probe.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Make-a-Waterproof-Temperature-Probe.htm Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:37:37 GMT A network is being built in the North Western German town of Lünen to collect biogas and burn it to provide up to 30-40% of the town's electricity and heat. It is due to be completed by December 2009. Local farms will collect slurry from animals, waste from crops, and other biodegradeable mate... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Worlds-First-Biogas-Network-to-be-Built.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Worlds-First-Biogas-Network-to-be-Built.htm Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:20:52 GMT One of the biggest power consumers in the home is the fridge. Turned on constantly, opened frequently, filled with warm items needing to be cooled, and not generally very efficient, a fridge can often be responsible for a large chunk of the electricity consumed in a home. In this article we will lo... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Use-a-Chest-Freezer-as-a-Fridge.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Use-a-Chest-Freezer-as-a-Fridge.htm Sat, 30 May 2009 12:26:52 GMT A low voltage battery disconnect (LVD) is a circuit which will automatically turn off the load connected to a battery if the battery voltage falls to low. Preventing lead acid batteries from being deeply discharged is absolutely key in terms of ensuring battery longevity. Low Voltage Disconnect Pu... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Low-Voltage-Battery-Disconnect-Circuits.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Low-Voltage-Battery-Disconnect-Circuits.htm Thu, 28 May 2009 15:04:48 GMT The Scottish Executive has finally approved plans for the largest onshore Wind Farm in Europe which will now be completed in 2009 at a cost of GBP 300m. ScottishPower Renewables' Whitelee Project Wind Farm will consist of 140 110 metre tall Siemens 2.3 MWwind turbines generating a total of 322... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Whitelee-Wind-Project.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Whitelee-Wind-Project.htm Wed, 27 May 2009 12:23:15 GMT Pictured above is the Sharp LR0GC02 ultra-thin solar panel module for mobile phone recharging. Until recently, this solar panel has only been available in Japan, but it is now (May 2009) to be sold by Sharp to the rest of the world's device manufacturers. While photovoltaic solar panels have be... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Sharp-Solar-Panel-for-Mobile-Phones-and-Devices.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Sharp-Solar-Panel-for-Mobile-Phones-and-Devices.htm Wed, 27 May 2009 12:20:00 GMT The Anaconda is a new wave power generator which could soon be harnessing the vast amounts of clean power around Britain's coasts. Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd have put together a proof-of-concept prototype system to convert wave energy into electricity using bulge waves - Anaconda. Anaconda is simply... http://www.reuk.co.uk/Anaconda-Bulge-Wave-Power-Generator.htm http://www.reuk.co.uk/Anaconda-Bulge-Wave-Power-Generator.htm Wed, 27 May 2009 12:18:50 GMT