About energypolicy.co.uk

Gordon Taylor - click for full size image
Gordon Taylor is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a consultant and writer on energy technology and policy. His career has included the automobile, energy and software industries.

This site has his documents on energy saving and supply from renewable sources, the dangers of  nuclear power, and the climate impacts of energy.

It also has links to topical articles in the energy arena, with his comments.

My career has had four phases :

  • Automobile engineering from 1961 to 1975, including 15 years with Ford Motor Company
  • Writing and consulting on energy from 1975 to 1984, including one and a half years with Granges Metallverken
  • Writing on and marketing computers from 1984 to 1996, including six years with Computer Concepts
  • Writing and consulting on energy in buildings and transport from 1996 to date.

In addition to earning my formal qualifications, I have gained substantial experience during my employed phases. I have also taken myself on several study tours - mostly overseas. I have written a number of professional papers. Then, during my freelance phases, I have written several reports for clients, and published a large number of articles - on energy and on computing.

I have long been interested in energy conservation in buildings and appliances, and in the use of solar energy for space and water heating in buildings. This dates from before my first degree, for which the thesis was entitled "The Use of the Heat Pump for Domestic Heating". Energy conservation and solar energy have also featured in many of my study tours. Since buying my own home in 1974, I have applied a large number of energy-saving measures. In 1998, I started making measurements on my heating system, and the results have helped when designing heating systems for myself and others. The measurements continue, along with analysis to determine the thermal performance and efficiency. With my current condensing gas boiler, the annual average thermal efficiency is about 96 percent.

I have also long been interested in cars, and have learnt a lot from working on them, including those I have owned. In December 2000, I bought a Toyota Prius, the world's first hybrid-electric car to be produced in quantity. This is consuming petrol (gasoline) at about 51 miles per UK gallon, or 5.5 l/100 km. Having done extensive research on it, mostly on the web, I created and gave a presentation on the Prius to a car club. I have also done some translation from German on various automotive topics, including aerodynamics. More recently, I have extended my research in vehicles and technologies for low emissions and fuel consumption. This was in response to a UK Government discussion document on Powering Future Vehicles

In February 2002, the Performance and Innovation Unit of the Cabinet Office of the UK Government published an Energy Review. I greatly extended my previous work on vehicles to include all four sectors - Domestic, Services, Industry, and Transport. This lead to working more than full time right up to the deadline of 13th September 2002 (and beyond). As well as submitting my study 'Energy Solutions for 60% Carbon Reduction' as a response to the PIU, I sent copies to a number of individuals and organizations interested in energy policy.

Having used computers since 1961, I have seen a lot of what is now history. I bought my first computer in 1977, and in 1982 acquired the first of eight different Acorn computers, which were designed and made in the U.K. I still have an Acorn Risc PC - now fitted with RISC OS 4. However, I also have several PCs, sharing a 10/100 Ethernet network. One runs Windows 98 SE, and is dedicated to logging data from my heating system. Another runs Windows 98 SE, and is used for tabulating and plotting the data from the heating system, and for most of my research and writing. I first connected to the Internet in March 1996, and use it extensively for email and web access -especially for research. In November 2002, I suffered a virus infestation, which necessitated saving my data files, and reformatting all the hard discs. As a result, my third PC, which runs SuSELinux 9.1 Professional, is now set up with a firewall, and is used for all email and some web browsing, and as a gateway to the Internet connection, which is via an ADSL broadband router.

Many of my leisure interests reflect my work activities :
For example, I have since extended my interest in cars to the history of transport - canals, railways, road vehicles, and aircraft- through books, and visits to various museums. I have also taken up cycling again, and become interested in the history and technology of bicycles. I am particularly impressed with the Moulton SpaceFrame bicycles, which are designed and made in Britain - especially since owning a Moulton APB-14, and using it regularly. I have also studied the history of computing through books and visits to museums.

For relaxation, I watch certain movies(on television and from video), and some television drama. My all-time favourite is the BBC's 1995 production of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". Having read little fiction since my schooldays, this encouraged me to buy and read almost all her novels.

About energypolicy.co.uk
Gordon Taylor is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a consultant and writer on energy technology and policy. His career has included the automobile, energy and software industries.

This site has his documents on energy saving and supply from renewable sources, the dangers of  nuclear power, and the climate impacts of energy.

It also has links to topical articles in the energy arena, with his comments.

Gordon Taylor - click for full size image