Solar Technology is a specialist in solar power and is one of the largest producers of solar panels in the UK; the company has launched two new solar powered products designed to provide eco-friendly lighting in mains free environments.

Each Solar Mate lighting kit from Solar Technology is quick and easy to install, requiring no special tools and is ideal for UK weather conditions, featuring high power solar panels designed to absorb sun light even on dull, cloudy days.

When installing the new Solar Mate lighting kits there is no need to comply with Part P of the new building regulations introduced in the UK in 2005, whereby, a qualified electrician must complete all outdoor electrical work.

The Solar Mate Point 5 in our picture, is an efficient and easy way to provide lighting where mains power is not available and ideal for garden lights, or in buildings such as; summer houses, sheds and stables, or even for camping/festival trips. RRP £19.99.

The Solar Mate Point 5 features a Solar Panel using thin film solar cell technology, which powers three internal rechargeable batteries during the day, to provide power for 10 super bright LEDs, powerful enough to illuminate up to 9 Sq Metres for 3 hours.

Solar Technology has also designed a movement-activated security light, The Solar Mate Secure I features an integrated PIR movement sensor, which can be easily adjusted both for sensitivity and time.. RRP £24.99.

Web: http://www.solartechnology.co.uk.

Tel: (01684) 774000

Marmitek, specialists in the field of X-10 home automation, has introduced the CM15Pro computer interface, which along with the supplied ActiveHomePro software enables you to control and operate affordable home automation on your computer.

Marmitek brings comfort and safety to your home in an innovative manner, using the very latest techniques in the field of multimedia, video surveillance, home automation and security:

Once your settings are programmed in your computer, you can save them in the memory of the CM15Pro and it can be turned off:

• Your lighting and appliances are easily switched on and off with the CM15Pro and appropriate receivers.

The choice of settings is limited only by your imagination – random switching of your lighting, create a home movie theatre, control your exterior lighting, or have your coffee ready when you wake.
 
Using macros you can programme your preferred environment e.g. the main lighting in the living room only switches on when someone enters the room, its dark outside and the atmospheric lighting is off.
 
Furthermore the CM15Pro has more extended programming possibilities and a memory for about 1400 macros/timers, with which you can expand your home automation almost without limitation.

• The mutual compatibility of Marmitek products is one of the main benefits, allowing you to construct your own ideal system, adding the latest user options at any time in the future.

The recommended retail price for the pioneering CM15Pro (Computer module + ActiveHomePro Software) is £59.95 incl. VAT.

Web: http:// www.marmitek.com
 

When he created Motorlight, designer Jake Dyson felt that contemporary home lighting –uplights in particular – had been neglected; functionality had been sacrificed for form; most designs were sculptural and the choice was somewhat limited.

After two years of development, Jake has realised his vision that a light can be versatile as well as beautiful, resulting in Motorlight, the world’s first variable angle uplight.

Motorlight enables you to adjust the angle of the beam from 8 degrees to 60 degrees wide, from a focused spotlight to a broader ambient light, in a striking modernist design.

It is possible to alter the angle of the beam with Motorlight’s unique focusing mechanism, which enables you to vary light angles to suit different environments and needs - from ambient light through to spotlighting.

The angle can be fixed or switched to continually cycle through the angles, using simple controls at the back.

Derived from Jake Dyson’s belief that function and form go hand in hand, Motorlight boasts a striking modernist design that would sit well in many styles of interiors.

Motorlight retails at £495 and available in five different colours; Red Glow, Blue Glow, Black Gloss, White Gloss and Clear Glow.

Motorlight is available online as well as The Conran Shop, The London Lighting Co., Twentytwentyone and Central Oxford.

Web: http://www.jakedyson.com

Tel: (0207) 713 0188

It isn’t always easy being green - whether it’s driving 20 metres to grab a pint of milk, because it’s just started raining, or sneaking up the thermostat so you can sleep with the covers off.

So have some fun this spring, by confessing all those eco-sins and lighten your conscience with The Green Confessional; you can bare all to Together.com’s online priest and have the chance to win a fantastic prize:

They are giving away a Brompton bike, cutting edge Voltaic solar backpacks and some sexy Wattson energy monitors.

Here is a selection of perfect ways to atone for your eco sins – just check out the saintly deeds below, now easier than ever to follow through:

Saintly Deeds

1. Switch your bulbs to low-energy ones.
2. Recycle an old mobile phone.
3. Switch to a green energy tariff.
4. Do a home energy audit.
5. Make sure your loft is fully insulated.

Confess here:
Web: http://www.together.com/feature

Architect Your Home, are leading suppliers of architectural services for the homeowner market in the UK.

They have recently conducted a survey of over 500 respondents, which revealed that aspiring homeowners are now actively investing in their homes to avoid the ‘dead money’ involved with moving.

Hugo Tugman, architectural expert and founder of Architect Your Home commenting on the results, said:

‘As the price of bricks and mortar has soared, homeowners in their thousands have caught on to some simple maths:

If you move, stamp duty, legal fees, moving costs and estate agency charges can all add up to an eye-watering five-figure sum – and that’s before you’ve shelled out to get the new home redecorated to your taste.

However, if you spend that money on your current home, you can provide extra space and transform it.

Unlike all those cheques we write when we move home, builders’ bills don’t represent “dead money” - plan wisely and you can increase your home’s value by much more than you spend.’

Some of the other results revealed:

• More than a third (35%) of UK homeowners are bankrolling their renovations to the tune of between £20-40k.
  ·
  Homeowners are investing up to one fifth of the value of their homes into renovation projects.
  ·
  Today’s homeowners are aware of the importance of the design in the whole process, with 46% of those questioned, stating that the quality of the design work has the biggest impact on the success of a renovation project

Architect Your Home operates nationwide with a network of more than 46 architects and has developed a unique pay-as-you-go service that makes architectural design accessible to all home improvement projects, regardless of their size, complexity or budget.

Web: http://www.architect-yourhome.com

Tel: (0800) 849 8505

Together.com is independently approved by The Climate Group, which is an international charity dedicated to working with big business and government to help solve climate change.

Climate change can seem like an overwhelming problem, however doing something, even a small something, can help reduce emissions and your impact on the climate.

The Together Community believes that reducing emissions should be easy and have partnered with some top household brands, to produce a great range of products and ideas to help you do just that:

• From low-cost eco car insurance and budget energy-saving light bulbs, to free energy-saving kits and simple household tips, to help you save energy and money; each solution, idea, tip or tool on their website has been chosen because it really can make a difference.
• Some are easy.- some are a challenge, but even if you commit to just one or two, you’ll be well on your way to saving a tonne of CO2.
• If you join in today, you can use the website to add-up all the CO2 savings you’re making – every day!
• You can also join the website Community – and show people what you’re doing; share tips, keep track of your savings and get inspired by the ideas.

Don’t stand on the sidelines. We’re in this together and only together can we hit our targets and make our efforts count.

Web: http://together.com

British Gas is commited to cutting emissions and helping their customers to be more energy efficient; they are launch partners in the ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign, which has the same aim.

Cut energy bills by up to a third, average savings of £175 and half a tonne of CO2 every year.

How does it work?

Energy Savers Report is a quick, free and effective service:

• It only takes a few minutes to fill in a simple online questionnaire about your home.
• Enables you to understand your homes energy efficiency performance, cut your energy use and save money.
• The report calculates your home’s current energy rating and suggests practical ways for you to reduce your energy use
• You receive a personalised summary of the simple measures you could take, to reduce your energy consumption and how much money you would save.
• Awards your home a current and potential rating on the familiar colour-coded A to G scale.

1.7 million people have already completed their own Energy Savers Report; each one is unique and contains a range of solutions to suit every budget.

91% of those people who filled in the report, found it useful in helping them understand how to save energy and money.

Everyone in the UK can now complete the free Energy Savers Report.

Complete your free questionnaire now!

Web: http://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-efficiency/energy-savers-report.html

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre is to host its second Self Build & Renovation Show at the Renovation Centre, just off Junction 16 of the M4 next month, (Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th March 2008).

The show is offering a unique practical learning experience for anyone interested in building their dream home.

With a shortage of the right kind of affordable homes and uncertainty in the existing property market, ‘doing it yourself’, whether self building or renovating, to create a home that is compatible with individual lifestyles’ is becoming more appealing and is a very realistic option for many people looking to get on, or move up, the property ladder.

• This year’s show offers visitors:
  Lots of instructive seminars; product demonstrations, and presentations.
• Visitors can get to grips with a selection of the newest technical gadgets, professional tools and accessories from leading suppliers, including Festool, ITW and Skil.
• Sample the latest in kitchen cooking ranges and appliances from AGA and Britannia.
• Learn about finding land, arranging finance and buying materials from self build and renovation experts.
• Book one-to-one sessions with CAD designers and take part in practical skills workshops in plastering, bricklaying and tiling, with Trade Skills 4U.
• There will also be an exclusive launch of ‘Tommy’s House by Potton Homes; a new eco-friendly timber frame package range, inspired by Tommy Walsh’s eco house, which he built for £60,000 in 60 days.

The Self Build & Renovation Show will run between Thursday 6th and Sunday 9th March, at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon. Entry cost £10 per adult, or £15 per couple.

Buildstore Ltd has kindly arranged a generous ½ price ticket discount for UK Home Ideas readers, who are invited to log on to the website to book their tickets and enter this code - SBMUKH005, for the discount, on any of the four days of the Show.

Web: http://www.mykindofhome.co.uk/show

Tel: (01506) 409 616

Together.com is a consumer engagement campaign, which has helped UK households reduce CO2 emissions by one tonne over three years.

Many of the UK’s favourite brands are united behind the campaign to provide millions of customers with a growing range of new products and ideas that make it easier to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Switching to energy saving light bulbs would save UK households £1.2 billion every year; almost two thirds of the UK’s consumers are still in the dark, about how much money switching to energy saving light bulbs could save them.

The National climate change campaign Together.Com has released research revealing that 30 million people across the UK are unaware that they could shave £55 off their annual energy bills by replacing their inefficient bulbs. (At a time when household bills are rising steeply)

Statistics compiled by Together suggest there are still around 440 million light bulbs in the UK that could be switched to energy saving ones, which would cut nearly 5 million tonnes of CO2 from the UK’s annual footprint, equivalent to taking nearly two million cars off the road each year.

This month Together.com has helped bring about an unprecedented series of initiatives that will result in an estimated six million energy saving light bulbs going into Britain’s homes, including Tesco’s current buy-one-get-one-free promotion across their entire range.

Visit the website to discover quick and easy things you can do TODAY to help fight climate change. Best of all, you can save money and track everything you do to see the difference you’re making – live!

Web: http://together.com

X10 has been used since the 1960’s and is now a world wide standard for sending a signal over your existing mains circuitry to enable home automation.

Domia Ten is the latest incarnation of the original X10 system; no messy wiring is required, you simply plug your lamp or appliance into a Domia Ten module, which then plugs into your wall outlet.

Each Domia Ten module can have its own unique address to control individual devices so that multiple devices can be used.

Whilst Domia Ten retains full backward compatibility with the original X10 systems, it now offers a much improved range and greatly increased reliability; in particular it has better filtering capabilities, which makes it more robust in ‘noisy’ environments.

There is a variety of Domia Ten products available catering for many of your home automation needs. They are ergonomically designed, easy to program and offer visible feedback of activity through LED lights.

There are 13 individual modules - not all are necessary for the system to function – but are available only to expand the system capabilities.

Should you wish to control the appliances or lights in the home from your PC, just obtain and install the Harmony software plus the X10 interface and you’re ready to go.

Also the Harmony Media Center software will enable you to control your home through your TV, PC or remotely via the Internet.

With Harmony and Domia extensions, you can integrate your CCTV, use remote controls to dim your lights, include motion sensors to turn appliances or lights on when you walk into a room; set up a chain of commands triggered by an event, such as a security alert - the possibilities are almost endless!

Web: http://www.simplyautomate.co.uk

Tel: (08450) 644 3330