Everest, one of the UK’s leading home improvement companies, has launched a new business arm, Everest Energy.

The business will initially operate in the Meridian television region across the South of England prior to a national roll-out, and will focus exclusively on selling and installing boilers and central heating systems, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, which generate cheap green electricity from sunlight, and a selection of other energy efficiency products for the home.

Simon Jarman, Everest’s Managing Director, said: “Everest has been improving homes for many years with its energy efficient windows and we feel that the time is now right to move into energy generation.

As with its home improvements business, Everest Energy will only install the highest quality and most efficient products on the market. It will therefore only fit highly energy efficient ‘A’ rated boilers.

It is estimated that approximately 4 million homes in England are fitted with the least efficient types of boilers, which are potentially costing households hundreds of pounds annually in higher energy bills and are more harmful to the environment.

Everest’s Solar PV panels can save the average household up to 40%5 off a household’s electricity costs, meaning UK households could save up to £5 billion a year collectively – or £186.40 each - on their energy bills by having these panels installed.

In addition, in April 2010 the Government launched the Feed-in Tariff (‘FIT’) scheme, which means that energy suppliers have to make regular payments to householders and communities, who generate their own electricity from renewable or low carbon sources, such as Solar PV or wind turbines.

Homeowners with Solar PV panels can earn 41.3 pence for every kWh produced regardless of whether it is sent back into the grid, which could equate to £1,200 per year or over £30,000 over 25 years with a 2.88kWp system.

The full range of products available from Everest Energy includes:

• High efficiency boilers; Passive heating monitoring; Solar PV panels;

• Solar Thermal panels Loft insulation; Cavity wall insulation; Voltage optimisation.

Everest Energy will not be providing an emergency boiler repair service.

For further information on the Everest new energy products, please visit the website.

Tel: (0800) 008 7167

Your house will soon feel the full force of the British weather again with winter’s wind, rain and snow inevitably on the way.

Here are five jobs for your home that you need to do as soon as possible, to get ready for winter.

1.Service your boiler
Now is the time to check your boiler is in efficient working order so that it doesn’t let you down when you most need it.
Gas Safe Register recommends you get your boiler checked annually by a registered engineer - mainly to protect you and your family from Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

This may be a good time to replace an old boiler for a newer model. Paul Coupe from Northern Gas Heating, nationwide installers of condensing and heating boilers says: “If your boiler is over 10 years old, you could be wasting up to half the gas you buy!

Replacing an old boiler with a new condensing model, can save around a third on your heating bills and it dramatically reduces CO2 emissions too, making it much better for the environment.”

2. Clean out your gutters
With autumn on the way your gutters are liable to be filled with debris such as falling leaves, twigs etc. As they’re designed to direct rainwater away from your house, a faulty gutter can cause water damage, which is expensive to fix.

Gutters should be cleaned out twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn, but if they are directly below trees, this may need to happen more often.

3. Seal draughts to windows and doors
It’s no good having a boiler in tip-top order, if the heat it’s pumping out is leaking through cracks and gaps in your windows and doors.

Around a fifth of heat lost from the home is due to draughts, but this can be fixed simply by locating draughts and sealing them and is a much cheaper solution than replacing old, draughty windows or doors.

Installing draught proofing will save you around £25 and reduce your CO 2 emissions by around 130kg a year. (Depending on the age of your property.)

One important thing to remember, however, is to ensure your property is adequately ventilated; e.g. trickle vents for windows can be closed and opened according to need.

4. Insulate your loft
The Energy Saving Trust reports houses with un-insulated lofts, lose around a quarter of their heat via the roof and this is especially important in winter as your heating bills may literally go through the roof!

There is of course an associated cost, but as your loft insulation will be effective for around 40 years, you will make back the money over time and start reducing CO2 emissions straight away.

5. Inspect your roof and chimney
Your roof is the first point of contact between your house and rainfall or snow, so if your roof is collecting snow for days on end and has weak points, you could end up with some costly leaks.
Now is the time to check that your roof… is weatherproof.

Web: http://www.northerngasheating.com
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements

How about a gift voucher from nicenstripy for Mother’s Day this year? Mum may find this a most welcome gift, providing her with a head start in getting her garden in shape for Spring.
 
nicenstripy is a leading garden maintenance company operating across the UK, who provide an extensive range of professional gardening services at sensible prices, with teams of fully-trained, reliable and trustworthy staff.

Vouchers come in values to suit the purchaser so whatever your budget, nicenstripy can provide an affordable solution.

The service is tailored to meet the individual needs of each customer - whether it’s an exclusive package or just a one-off job - and prices start from just £10 a cut.

nicenstripy’s core grass cutting service can be booked for regular cuts, or one-off jobs. In addition, the company offers a special discount package; for a set fee each month, your grass is cut at the appropriate frequency, depending on the requirements of the season.

The company also provides seasonal lawn feeds, scarification, aeration, weed and moss control; plus hedge cutting and leaf and gutter clearance; state-of-the-art equipment and only the very best lawn care feeds are used to ensure superb results.

So this Mother’s Day, let your Mum sit back and relax, while nicenstripy takes care of her gardening problems!

Web: http://www.nicenstripy.com
Tel:   (0845) 230 7676

A well-kept garden is a year-round delight and can also increase the price and saleability of your property.

But with today’s hectic lifestyles, there’s little or no time left for the garden and many of us don’t have the skills required for proper maintenance.

nicenstripy - the leading UK garden services company is ready to help!

Operating across the UK, its teams of fully trained, reliable and trustworthy staff provide an extensive range of professional gardening services at affordable prices. 

The company uses state-of-the-art equipment, quality lawn care feeds and wood treatments, to ensure superb results and customer satisfaction.

Employees complete a comprehensive training programme and undergo a strict vetting procedure including police checks, to ensure that clients enjoy the highest levels of workmanship and peace of mind.

The nicenstripy service is tailored to meet the individual needs of each customer, whether it’s one of their exclusive packages, or just a one off job.

As well as its core grass cutting service, nicenstripy also provides lawn treatments, seasonal feeds, pruning, turfing, general tidy-ups and hedge cutting.

So why not sit back and relax while nicenstripy takes good care of your garden?

Prices for nicenstripy garden services start from just £10 a cut.

Web: http://www.nicenstripy.com
Tel:  (0845) 230 7676

Believe it or not, today is National Gutters Day!

You may well laugh - but there’s a serious purpose behind National Gutters Day: SPAB (the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) are trying to raise awareness of the damage that can be caused to buildings by blocked guttering.

And it’s not just ancient buildings at risk - a new-build urban semi is just as vulnerable to water damage caused by blocked gutters - and the results of water damage (such as dry rot) can cost a fortune to fix!

So now that all the leaves have fallen - and quite a few of them are probably clogging up your gutters, it’s a good time to get your guttering cleared.

Kevin McCloud, presenter of TV programme Grand Designs says:

“Back in 1877 William Morris, SPAB’s founder spoke of the need to ’stave off decay by daily care, to prop a perilous wall or mend a leaky roof’.

That’s still good advice today. Maintenance is a Cinderella subject, it’s not as exciting or sexy as interior design or buying a new sofa or bathroom suite, but it is essential to the future of a building.”

web: http://www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk