Introducing renewable energy into your home can improve energy self-sufficiency, reduce electricity bills and contribute to a healthier environment.

The Eco Experts have shared five renewable energy ideas to help reduce your home’s reliance on fossil fuels.

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1. Generate power from a nearby water source: If you live near a free-flowing water source, micro-hydroelectric systems can use the power of moving water to generate electricity to use in your home.

As rivers and streams flow downhill, they possess potential energy due to their height before descending the hill. Steeper gradient and water flow mean more electricity generated.

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2. Make your own biofuel: First feed a biodigester with scraps of food, grass cuttings, or garden waste. Microbes will then break down the organic material inside the digester to create methane stored inside the digester ready for use.

The biodigester can be hooked straight up to your stove, ready for you to cook your food. The digester also gives you rich fertiliser that you can use to grow plants.

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3. Install solar panels: Solar panels generate power during daylight hours and don’t require sunny conditions to function.

These panels can reduce your reliance on the national grid, and therefore reduce your electricity bill from the day they are installed. Typically, you can expect to save hundreds of pounds annually using solar panels.

If you can afford the upfront costs, solar panels will pay back your investment in between 10 and 15 years depending on the size of your installation. 

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4. Get a domestic wind turbine: Domestic wind turbines generate electricity through wind turning the blades of the turbine to create power. They can be installed on your roof, or freestanding within the grounds around your home. 

An estimated 6kW pole-mounted turbine could save you around £340 a year on electricity bills and earn about £235 per year in Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments.

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5. Get a heat pump: Rather than using fossil fuels to heat water, a heat pump uses heat that has already been generated by solar energy, and uses electricity to pump that heat into our homes and hot water systems.

Installing a heat pump will reduce the carbon footprint of your home by up to 70%.

As the transition from a gas boiler to a heat pump is expensive, the UK government is currently offering £7500 as a grant towards the installation costs of a heat pump, through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

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Eco Experts’ spokesperson Christopher McFadden comments: “Saving the planet aside, in a world that is becoming increasingly more unstable, it is more important than ever to become as energy independent as possible. Renewable energy systems, whether traditional, like solar panels and wind turbines, or more up-and-coming, like micro-CHP, are a great way to cut your reliance on fossil fuels.

“You should think of it like investing. If it saves you money now and in the future, stops you from worrying about rising energy costs, and adds value to your home, that can’t be a bad thing, can it?”