The event itself takes place at Earl’s Court in London, 2^nd – 4^th March, and is expected to top last year’s attendance of 35, 617.

Glow-worm will be showcasing their Clearly Hybrid 5kW heat pump, an intelligent heating solution which selects the most efficient fuel for the householder.  The unit can be programmed to automatically switch to use whichever fuel – gas or electricity – is the cheapest, based on outdoor temperatures and tariffs.

Over the next few months we’ll be providing exclusive insights into the new hybrid pump here on the blog – if you’d like to register for information on the Clearly Hybrid heat pump, then please get in touch via the blog and we’ll make sure you’re first on the list.

The stand at Ecobuild will also include information on our Clearly Heat Pumps, air to water heat pump solution, boilers, central heating controls, Clearly Solar and Clearly Heat Recovery solutions.

We’ll be tweeting all the action from the show all week– click here follow us on Twitter and hear our thoughts on the show for latest information.

To help answer some of the commonly asked questions about solar thermal and our Clearly Solar range we took some time with Product Manager Paul Honeyman at Glow-worm to get some information from the experts.

Here’s what we found out:

Sally
Paul, a lot of people seem concerned that installing solar panels is a massive job – just how disruptive is it?

Paul
Do as much research as you can and find an installer you can trust – we have an approved list which means everyone listed has been trained to a high standard.  In an average house – providing there are no additional complications – you should be able to complete a 2/3 panel installation, with a new cylinder, in two days.

Sally
Are solar panels suitable for every type of property?

Paul
Most properties yes – if an appropriate roof isn’t available we even have A frame designs to sit in the garden.

Sally
We’ve been experiencing awful weather recently – just how effective is solar power in the UK with limited sunlight?

Paul
OK, we need to dispel myths here. We may get limited sunshine in the UK, but not sunlight, which is exactly what the panels work on – it’s called diffuse radiation, and will see panel temperatures get very high even on hazy days. Next myth is they won’t work when it’s cold….even when it’s -2 outside, if it’s a sunny winter’s day, the cylinder temperature will be raised to a respectable, useable level – worst case is the boiler tops up the last few degrees, but the important thing is that it’s not working from cold, as would be the case in a home without solar!

Sally
Is there an ideal type of house for solar?

Paul
South facing roof always best, but anywhere between Southeast and Southwest is OK. They should never be installed on a North facing roof in the Northern hemisphere.

Your installer will be able to size the system correctly to ensure you’ve got the right number of the panels in place for your property and requirements.

Sally
Great, thanks Paul – lastly how much will this all typically cost?

Paul
There’s no set cost for installing Clearly Solar panels as the price varies so much with the property type, the installation, the number of panels required etc.  However the price will normally range between £4000 – £5000.

If you have any more questions of the Clearly Solar range check out the product information on our website or leave your questions here for Paul to answer.

But so far only 6% of the vouchers issued have been snapped up by people living in the North East.  Boiler manufacturer Glow-worm is urging more people to apply to be in with a chance of receiving a £400 discount voucher off the price of a new energy efficient boiler in place of an inefficient G rated model.

Darren Finely Commercial Director Glow-worm said: “Nearly 55,000 thousand vouchers have been granted but only 3412 of these have been taken up by people living in the North East.

“The scheme is a great opportunity for people to get financial help with the cost of a new boiler – but this incentive won’t be around for long.  Thousands of people across the country are applying on a daily basis and people need to act fast to claim their voucher.  Long term a new energy efficient boiler will help to reduce annual gas bills and heat your home more effectively so it really is a win win for home owners who want to improve their home’s efficiency and avoid a stress purchase further down the line.”

To celebrate the offer, Glow-worm is offering an extra year’s warranty on all Glow-worm SEDBUK A rated boilers bought through the scheme.  For more information see www.glow-wormheating.co.uk.
Glow-worm is also monitoring the nation’s tweets on the Boiler Scrappage Scheme. Visit www.yourhottopics.com to see how we’re feeling about the scheme.

Please do let us know and we’ll endeavour to investigate the issues where we can!

Thanks for participating in our poll this week – you can of course get in touch with us at any point to feedback on any aspect of Glow-worm’s products, questions or comments on boilers or renewables products.

Thanks, the Glow-worm blog team.

It’s day four of the blog poll and we want to discuss energy efficiency and how this affects your personal budget.

Are there any monetary incentives (excluding a free boiler!) which may help to improve the efficiency of your home, within budget.  Perhaps a free energy audit, expert advice to help translate your home information pack or maybe even an extra year’s warranty on your boiler.

Please send through any suggestions, including any of your own energy saving tips from around the home.

Do you think the controls on your boiler are easy to use?  Spring will soon be sprung, but do you know how to change the programmable settings to adapt to the changing climate.

We want to hear your thoughts on the function of your boiler – maybe you feel that the dials would be easier to use if the clock was digital, maybe you’d like a sticker on the outside to display common codes.

Please get in touch!

Under the plans, homeowners could earn £900 a year when they first put in the technology, along with saving £140 a year on their bills, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said.

The clean energy cashback plan, known as “feed-in tariffs”, offers incentives from April for those who install small scale renewables on their homes.

Could this announcement affect your decision on whether to invest in renewables?
Will you consider investing in renewable products in the next 5 years?

Would you like to see more information – what can we help with?

We’re going to be posing a question everyday in the hope to gain a better understanding on what you think about a whole range of issues from the affordability of renewable energy products to the scope of the Boiler Scrappage Scheme.

We can’t promise to change legislation but we can promise to listen and hopefully offer some insight and opinion along the way.
1.    Day one and we’re revisiting a topical favourite.

We’ve written a lot about the boiler scrappage scheme over the last few weeks and it’s featured as one of our top hot topics on our website www.yourhottopic.com.

Now we want to hear from you; what do you think about the scheme?

Do you rate it? Will you apply?

Do you think the Government should be commended?

Or, should they be doing more?  For example, the Warm Front scheme has been criticised recently in the press owing to long delays.  Is there a better way to eradicate fuel poverty and increase energy efficiency.

We’ve received loads of creative entries on the blog and on twitter, with pledges to save energy ranging from switching to energy saving light bulbs to turning the TV off standby.

It seems many of us also recognise that we need to add an extra layer when it gets cold at home rather than cranking up the heating.

The pledges don’t stop there – we’ve also received loads of emails from staff at Glow-worm keen to play their part in the company wide effort to save energy.  In fact one of the entries was so good we wanted to share it with you:

Chris French, Sales Analyst “The area of Horsley Woodhouse where I live is susceptible to power cuts. Whenever the power goes off, me, my partner and two children get quite excited at the prospect of getting out the candles, lighting the open fire, putting the radio on and playing some board games. Nine times out of ten the power is back on again before we have got everything ready and for some strange reason we usually go back to watching telly / using the computer etc.

“We therefore decided, in the winter, for a bit of fun to have a “no electric night” once a week if possible. It normally takes place on Wednesday nights after we have eaten tea. We turn off as many of the electrical things in the house as possible and break out candles and stuff as we had planned to do whenever the power went off. We have done it about 5 times in the last few months and have included friends whenever possible. I know this may seem a bit odd but we have had some good really fun whilst saving energy.”

A great way to save energy and an even better excuse for a party!

Keep your resolution and commit to save energy in 2010.

Winners of the #saveenergypledge competition will be announced on Twitter and the blog w/c 1st February 2010.

So not only will you get £400 back for the cost of your new energy efficient A rated boiler, you’ll also have that extra peace of mind that if anything does go wrong, help is just a phone call away.

To find out if your boiler (Glow-worm and other brands) is a G rated model and therefore eligible to replace on the Boiler Scrappage Scheme check our comprehensive list here.

The next step is to obtain a quote from a Gas Safe registered installer – you can contact a Glow-worm approved installer by clicking here. You can also be assured that all installers listed are Gas Safe registered.   This information then needs to be used to register for your voucher online at the Energy Saving Trust website (www.est.co.uk) or via telephone (ACT ON CO2 advice line on 0800 512 012) providing the following:

i)   Full name
ii)  The address of the property you wish to claim the voucher for
iii) The make and name of the boiler being scrapped
iv) The company name, address and contact details of the installer carrying out the work
v)  The type of replacement boiler to be installed e.g. gas, heatpump, biomass
vi) Confirmation that you have received a quote or visit from the installer to carry out the work

It is important to wait until you have received the voucher before you give the go ahead to your installer on the job itself.  When installation is complete simply claim the money back by sending the voucher with the invoice to the Energy Saving Trust.

To see which boiler is best for you, why not use our Boiler Calculator? Or you can find a professionally accredited installer in your area simply by entering your postcode.