It is possible for you to generate a proportion of your energy needs yourself in a number of ways. You can also potentially store that energy, and supply it back to the grid.

In addition to generation of electricity, new buildings can be designed to trap solar energy, to reduce heating and lighting costs.

Here is a small sample of goods that are alternatives to battery powered versions.

Wind-Up Torches

Freeplay

If you have flowing water running through your property this may be an option. More information is available from the British Hydropower Association .

A heat pump is an electrically powered device that transfers heat from one place to another, through a heat exchanger, which concentrates the heat to enable it to be usefully used.

A ground source heat pump consists of pipes in a trench or bolehole which bring underground heat at 10-12^oC into the building.

When you burn wood you are burning carbon that has been absorbed from the atmosphere in the form of trees (i.e. part of the “carbon cycle”), rather than releasing new carbon into the atmosphere which is what happens when you burn coal.

Photo-voltaic cells generate electricity from light, in any weather. PV generators come in many forms to suit your property and needs.

Solar water heating panels, usually fitted on a south (ish) facing roof, can provide up to 50% of a household’s hot water requirements. The panels work on dull days, as well as sunny, winter as well as summer. In the summer, they may be able to heat the water to a useful temperature without further heating being required, whereas in winter, they will at least heat the cold incoming water a certain degree, reducing the amount of fuel your boiler needs to burn to get the temperature up to that which you need.