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A combined heat and power (CHP) system generates both electrical power and heat from a single fuel (e.g. natural gas). The system comes with a whole host of benefits. The technology was devised to serve large buildings such as hospitals. Today however, it is also available to be used in single family homes .
The difference between rich and lean gas is their calorific value, i.e. a different quantity of energy. However, this difference does not affect your bill.
You can sell your green certificates at the market price to an energy supplier or an intermediary.
Solar panels allow you to convert light directly into electricity. This is done by the converter. The expected output is dependant of the electrical capacity and the orientation of the panels.
This is a system that captures sunlight, converts it into heat and uses this to reheat the water in your pipes.
The gas we use in Belgium is imported from abroad. The electricity is generated in Belgium and in the neighbouring countries in different types of power stations.
The calorific value of gas is the energy that is released in the form of heat when it is burned. This is used to calculate your natural gas bill.
A private individual who generates green electricity receives, by default, one green certificate per 1,000 kWh for 10 years starting from the date of certification of their installation. In Brussels, a multiplication coefficient entitles consumers to additional green certificates.
No. In Belgium, and in Brussels in particular, it is better to produce renewable electricity with solar panels than invest in a wind turbine.
Electricity is the same for every home in Belgium. But if you choose a green electricity contract, your supplier undertakes to produce or buy a quantity of electricity equivalent to your consumption generated using renewable sources.
In the liberalised energy market, you are mainly in contact with two players: the supplier and the distribution system operator. However, alongside these two main parties, other companies or bodies also contribute towards supplying energy and ensuring that the market runs smoothly.
Microgrids are energy distribution systems which only involve a small group of connections. They can operate independently or be connected to a larger grid.
The smart meter or intelligent meter is an electronic meter that is capable of recording and transmitting power consumption data. Smart meters will be rolled out in Brussels gradually.
We hear a lot about shale gas and hydraulic fracturing, but what exactly is it? Is extracting shale gas dangerous for the environment?
A heat pump powered by natural gas recovers the heat that is released as part of the combustion process. Which means the appliance delivers enhanced heat efficiency that outstrips its electric counterpart and it is well placed to replace a heating boiler.
Our Dutch neighbours have decided to halt the extraction of lean gas. The entire Brussels region therefore switched to rich gas at the end of 2022.
While the Fukushima disaster seemed to have sounded the death knell for nuclear power, it now appears that we haven’t heard the last from this energy source.
Your installation has to fulfil technical and regulatory conditions for you to be entitled to green certificates.
Why not buy back the surplus solar energy produced by your neighbours? This is the concept of collective self-consumption.
When you are much more at home, you also consume more energy. A few simple saving tips will immediately have an impact on your energy bill.
In Brussels the roll-out of the smart meter is being organised by Sibelga, the power and gas distribution network operator.
A small photovoltaic generation installation (≤ 10 kVA) may automatically disconnect from the network. These automatic disconnections occur when the voltage or the frequency at the attachment clamps on the converter reach values that are too low or too high. There may be several reasons for this.
There are three possibilities: buying green energy, owning shares in a green producer, or producing it yourself.
The rates you get through collective energy purchasing are not systematically financially more rewarding than those you could get yourself by contacting a supplier directly. However, they are still profitable in certain cases.
This measure is not applied in Brussels. The smaller number of solar panels here means that the situation in the capital is quite different. Of course, this may change, and Brussels may yet follow in the footsteps of Flanders.
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The answer to all your energy questions in Brussels
