Homeowners planning to sell this summer are being urged to ‘go green’ as research reveals that energy efficiency measures can increase the value of your property, says This Is Money.

Improving a home’s energy efficiency rating could add more than £16,000 to the asking price, according to government analysis released this week. And it need not cost a fortune.

Richard Patterson, at myonline estateagent.com, says: ‘Buyers want measures that will save money on bills. The most common requests are double glazing, an efficient boiler, and loft and cavity wall insulation.

Comedian Griff Rhys Jones said building a £25m solar farm near his Suffolk home would be a "folly" that would ruin the landscape, according to the BBC.

Hive Energy wants to build a 43,000-panel farm at Tattingstone, near Ipswich.

Mr Rhys Jones said he feared a "gigantic change of use to farmland".

Europe is gearing up for a fresh trade war with China with plans to impose a levy on billions of pounds worth of imports of cheap solar panels, says Emily Gosden.

The European Commission has proposed a tough 47pc “anti-dumping” tariff to penalise the imports, it emerged on Wednesday.

The move would benefit European manufacturers, who allege their Chinese rivals - whose panels are as much as 45pc cheaper - are unfairly subsidised by Beijing.

Chinese solar panel production quadrupled between 2009 and 2011, exceeding global demand, and EU manufacturers say China has now captured 80pc of the European market.

However, action against the Chinese imports is fiercely opposed by European solar panel installation companies which have thrived on the cheap supply and claim that hundreds of thousands of jobs could be at risk.

When a solar PV system is generating more electricity than the home is using the 'excess' energy is usually exported to the grid. Home owners normally receive an extra 3p/kWh for this exported energy, in addition to the payments they receive for generating renewable energy.

But since a unit (kWh) of electricity costs home owners about 13p to buy from the grid it makes sense to use as much of the energy a solar PV system generates as possible. Obviously there is no point in turning on lights, or other devices which do not need to be on, but if the 'excess' energy can be diverted into things which can store the energy, or make use of it to avoid buying electricity in the evening or at night, there are big savings to be made. Controlling a PV system in this way makes great sense and can reduce the time it takes for the system to 'pay back' its' installation cost.

Smart meters will deliver a range of benefits to energy consumers including:

• giving domestic consumers near real time information on their energy consumption through an in-home display to help them control energy use, save money and reduce emissions
• providing more accurate information and bringing an end to estimated billing
• new products and services will be supported in a vibrant market in energy and energy management

Sale price for the Wattson Solar Plus, whilst stocks last.

We are pleased to announce we are now selling the Wattson Solar Plus for the special sale price of just £125 including VAT and FREE delivery anywhere in the UK.

The Wattson Solar Plus is for monitoring energy consumption and production from renewables and helps you keep track of your home energy at a glance.

Order now, the offer is only available whilst stocks last.

You can win FREE prizes from some of the UK's leading ethical brands, as well as getting free tips for a lower carbon, more fairtrade, more organic and generally more ethical Christmas at http://extraethical.com

With Solarcentury and Trillion Fund on board it looks like there are going to be some solar panels and clean green investments going for free at some point in December.

Register now for your change to win.

British Gas has launched a smart home system to give you remote access to your heating system.

The Remote Heating Control technology allows you to access and control your heating system from your laptop or smartphone while you're away from the home – you can even turn your boiler on and off via text message.

This is a great perk for those occasions when you get to work and realise you've left the central heating ticking over but, unfortunately, still won't stop the mad dash back home if you think you've left the oven on.