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British Gas New Boiler to Reduce CO2 Emissions by 50 per cent

British Gas has announced that it plans to develop a household boiler that is powered by fuels cells. The new domestic boiler, a major improvement on current renewable technologies, will produce up to two and half tones less of carbon dioxide per year compared with a standard boiler. According to British Gas, the new boiler will cut a typical households carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50 per cent. The new boiler will be an outcome of British Gas collaboration with Ceres Power.British Gas parent, Centrica PLC has agreed to buy new shares in Ceres Power Holdings PLC, and agreed to provide funding for research and development activities leading to the development and commercial launch of the new boiler.The new boiler, powered by fuel cells, is of the Combined Heat Power (CHP) type. The boiler generates heat and electricity through an electrochemical reaction, thus reusing the heat generated during the electricity generating cycle. This way the boiler eliminates heat that normally is bei ...
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Plumb Merchants Sales Down

Wolseley, the largest building materials merchant, known for its plumb centre and build centre trade counters has seen slowing performance due to the downturn in the UKs housing market.Known by virtually all UK plumbers and heating engineers, Wolseley has reported trading profits were down 28% in the past 11 months. The company warned that things can get worse.The company not only suffers from the slowdown in plumbing and heating jobs in the UK, but also from a major exposure to the US market. Wolseley normally makes around half its profits in the US, which has seen a sharp downturn of property prices and building activity.The company said it also had to reduce its staff worldwide by 6,000 since August 2007. The company, which operates under several merchant names such as Plumb Centre, Build Centre, has also called off its final dividend to cut costs.Chip Hornsby, Chief Executive said: “The deterioration in some of our key markets continues and it is likely that conditions will g ...
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