As time passes we all become more and more aware of the impact we have on the environment. Through research and the development of eco friendly products and produce we can lessen the impact we have on the ecology of our planet. There are people that are passionate about saving the planet and there are people that just don't care. Then there is the overwhelming majority. Most people in the so called western world, (although this phrase is being outdated with the development of many eastern economies), are aware that there is a problem, but it's not theirs until it actually directly affects them. Here in lies a problem. You see, it is small changes by a large number of people that have a huge impact on how we affect our environment. But the majority of people won't take any action until they are forced to through legislation, or they are adversely affected directly by environmental changes.

Let me make something clear now. We are not actually going to be saving our planet. The planet WILL survive. What these environmental initiatives are for is to preserve the planet as we know it and our way of life, or worst case scenario, the very survival of our species. That may sound a little dramatic, but the truth is, we don't know exactly how bad things could get, all we can do is estimate and it does appear that we are constantly surprised by the ferocity or extremes of nature when they actually impact on civilisation.

So what's the answer? How do we get the majority to make the necessary changes that are required? How about making it attractive for people to make these changes until we hit a point of critical mass and those changes in behaviour and technology become the norm.

Viridis Energie Consultants work in the field of renewable energy. They are not what you would describe as traditional eco warriors. In fact, both Peter Moore and Barry Nutley who set up and run Viridis both used to work for a regional energy company in slough. Whilst there, they identified a need for a completely independent and impartial service for potential consumers of renewable energy equipment and systems. There is a veritable mine field of information out there and it took Peter and Barry 6 months to put together relevant information on usable, cost effective and efficient products and systems that they were happy to recommend, of course they also have a list of stuff to steer well clear of. That's 2 men 6 months from within the industry who both already had a background in these sorts of energy products. You or I could spend 6 months researching a single product and still get it wrong.

Viridis has been trading for approximately 1 year now, although the web site only went live in October 2009. Just in case you were wondering, Viridis means green in Latin. What these guy's do is approach things from a different angle. You see of all of the people that Viridis have dealt with over the last year, whilst they may have an interest in the reduction of their carbon footprint, the reason why they carry out any installation is purely financial. You see, what Viridis do is come out to your home or place of work and complete a very thorough survey of your premises and then compile a comprehensive report outlining what energy producing, or saving measures are available to you, how viable they would be, what would be the cost of purchase and installation and, crucially, how you can get a return on this. All of this is done completely impartially as Viridis do not actually sell anything themselves.

If you're anything like me you may have just read that last paragraph and thought, "how on earth do you get a return on installing renewable energy producing equipment". Well allow me to explain. The government has recently committed to a scheme were by energy company's are obliged by law to purchase any surplus energy you may produce through renewable sources and use it in the national grid. And the price set is actually quite an attractive one. This scheme is guaranteed for the next 25 years. Even the most expensive equipment, provided you have the location and appropriate environment to install it, will pay for itself over between 1 and 5 years. Now I'm no expert, but worst case scenario that's 20% per year. Try getting a return from your bank like that. Another point to bear in mind is that if you don't have the spare capital, The Carbon Trust could give you an interest free loan in order to pay for the equipment, which could well pay the loan back by itself, then everything it produces is revenue, which is tax free. Yes you did read that correctly, any income generated from renewable energy production is NON TAXABLE INCOME! Being green is starting to become a little more attractive don't you think?

So what of the products that are available. Well there are so many out there now, but the main ones are Solar Photovoltaic (solar panels), Wind Turbines and Ground Source Heat Pumps. The latter of this trio, the ground source heat pumps seem to be very much in vogue at the moment. Whilst these are very effective, they are certainly not suitable for any building. In fact only the best insulated buildings can really benefit from an installation like this. This is because on average the system runs at a temperature of around 35 degrees, as opposed to maybe double that of a traditional central heating system. They can also be fairly expensive to install and if you've had one fitted to an older property, you may well find yourself compensating with a gas, electric or oil fired secondary system. If however you have a very well insulated property, especially one that meets the B.R.E.E.A.M environmental standard, then this system should work fine. Next, the wind turbines. Let's get the negatives out of the way first. If you purchase a small domestic unit to bolt on to the apex of your home or office, they are next to useless, (unless you're a politician and you want to be seen to be green). Many of them would struggle to charge a mobile phone. To make wind turbines viable, you would need to have at least 1 acre of land. The turbine should be at least 25 metres high and have a 5 metre wing span. Whilst this may cost up to around £30k to purchase and install, this is the sort of thing you can make a profit from. The biggest problem with these is actually planning permission. The main objections for the planning are visual and noise. Finally, solar photovoltaic. No planning permission, cheaper to purchase and install, but obviously don't work of a night, although contrary to popular belief, they don't need direct sunlight, just daylight is enough. Obviously the sunnier it is the more power they produce, but with photovoltaic's, its all about tracking. If you mount the panels on to a frame that allows them to auto track the sun, you can increase their efficiency by around 25%. Now that's a significant difference. Photovoltaic's that are fixed in a vertical position, say on the side of a building, may only be working at 25 to 30% of their capacity. These systems are mostly maintenance free and are usually guaranteed for 25 years, although Peter suggests they should last longer than that. Here's a bit of trivia for you, did you know that the Germans are the most active country in Europe when it comes to renewable energy and that they have invented a solar photovoltaic towel, which is why they have been in training for years in Spain to get them out on the sun loungers first in the morning time. Ok, the towel bit isn't true, but they really do seem to have grasped this renewable energy thing with both hands, with vast numbers of domestic installations.

Viridis are currently in the process of becoming an accredited consultant with The Carbon Trust, which is quite an achievement. Also, they were very pleased to see that Manchester has become the first city in the UK to become a Low Carbon Economic Area. What this means is they will save 6 million tonnes of carbon per year, create an additional £650 million to the economy and will support 34,800 jobs. Well done Manchester!

Viridis Energie Consultants are passionate about what they do. Having one of their evaluation and survey reports done, which cost from just £250, is like having your very own specific Which Magazine produced, which cuts through the masses of information to give you the very best impartial advice and can not only save you a huge amount of time, help you reduce your carbon footprint and save you money, it could also make you a tidy sum and give you a tax free income which can also become part of your inheritance.

Contact Viridis by email at; info@viridisec.co.uk

You can see viridis at the following exhibitions:

• Eco Build - Earls court - 2,3,4 march 2010
• Homebuilt expo - NEC - 28,29,30 march 2010

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