Hot property12 May 2008
Looking at the heatwave that's hit Britain.
What is it?
In a word, hot. Two weeks ago, anyone wearing shorts and a t-shirt outside would have picked up pneumonia rather than a tan.
Last weekend was a different story - the weather was sizzling.
What does it mean?
Barbecues galore, then rain.
On the plus side, sunshine is nature's way of telling you to think about solar power for your home.
What's to like?
If you have roof space, you can generate electricity by fitting photo voltaic (PV) solar panels. Thermal solar panels provide hot water.
Both types help to reduce climate-changing carbon emissions and can take the heat out of your monthly power bills, too.
What's not to like?
At teh moment, solar electric technology is still relatively expensive.
We'd like to see an amendment to the Energy Bill, so anyone who generates electricity from renewable sources can sell energy back to the grid at premium prices - a so-called feed-in tariff.
Feed-in tariffs have worked in Germany, which has 200 times more solar power and 10 times more wind power than the UK.
- For more on reducing carbon emissions, check out our new book How Can I Stop Climate Change?, which is available from our shop at a special price of £12.99 (RRP £14.99).
- To demand action on feed-in tariffs, see http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/
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