In the UK we are at the mercy of those in power who promise to save the earth on the one hand (despite us being a tiny nation) and then having to think of ways to meet the targets they set for carbon emissions etc.

One of the easiest targets is the motorist, who has to pay tax to own a car, tax to park it (what else is a parking meter but a local tax generator) and two lots of tax to put fuel in it. In some areas we are charged to enter a zone or pay tolls to use certain roads and with global positioning systems the prospect of being charged per mile looms large. Insurance companies will use it to adjust their pricing model (and increase profits no doubt).

Homeowners are another easy target, with annual council tax bills always rising well ahead of inflation. Today I heard that central government is set to approve "chip & bin" for our domestic waste disposal, allowing councils to charge residents by the weight of rubbish collected. The one thing you can be sure of is that it will cost the homeowner more. I fully endorse the principal of reduced waste, and more efficient use of energy and with world oil supplies set to diminish at the same time demand grows, it is paramount that we look towards reducing our energy costs and usage where possible.

What if there was a way to reduce your energy bill every month and cut your carbon emissions; a way to lower your expenditure on a necessary resource and help save the planet.

I am pleased to inform you there is a very simple way to achieve this remarkable feat; a way that is already being used by 50% of homeowners throughout Germany and many other European countries.

By fitting a solar thermal hot water system to your house you can cut your costly energy use and reduce your carbon emissions at a stroke. Think about it. You will be using daylight to provide 70% of your annual domestic hot water and cutting your CO2 by up to 1 tonne a year.

The best bit is that it's free energy and no future government can ever tax it. In fact, due to the commitments made by the current government, they positively encourage it as a way to help them meet the targets they have set themselves. For a very modest outlay you can reduce your total dependence on the fossil fuel industries and save yourself huge sums of money in the longer term. These systems can even be self-funding if you use the unspent energy money to pay for them.

About the Author

Graham has worked in energy related industries for 30 years and now runs a website dedicated to educating homeowners and businesses to the benefits of "going solar". Solar Energy is Free Energy. Solar Energy is Zero Carbon Energy. http://www.solarism.co.uk