CAT Senior Lecturer and Short Course Tutor Dr Alan Owen explores how our Renewables for Household short courses can help people save time, money and frustration finding out what renewable energy options will work for them.
I’ve been teaching at CAT since 2017 as part of the Graduate School for the Environment and on CAT short courses. One of the things I enjoy most about teaching is helping people understand how renewable energy can work for them.
My own journey started as an apprentice engineer in the 1970s, and over the years I’ve worn many hats – stonemason, roofer, researcher, and lecturer. Later in life, I earned my degree and PhD in mechanical engineering and ran a research centre in Aberdeen, working on renewable projects for remote communities in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, and Indonesia. I’ve also retrofitted numerous homes myself, cutting energy demand by up to 80%.
This mix of practical and academic experience shapes how I teach today. It’s important not to just bring theory into teaching but to bring teaching that is grounded in plenty of real-world experience.
Helping People Make Informed Decisions
The reason I teach these courses is simple: knowledge saves people money, time, and frustration. Many participants come to CAT because they want to install solar panels, wind turbines, or heat pumps, but they’re unsure what will actually work for their home. The internet is full of advice, but it’s often conflicting, or designed to drive sales.
Our courses give people the tools to cut through that noise. We start with the fundamentals exploring how systems work, what factors matter for your site, and how to interpret the numbers. It’s not about turning everyone into an engineer but about giving enough understanding to make informed choices.
One story that sticks with me is a participant who came to learn about wind energy. He was keen to install a turbine on his property. After the course, he realised his site wasn’t suitable for wind, but he also realised we’d saved him about £5,000 in wasted investment. He went on to install solar PV instead which is working really well for him.
Supporting CAT’s Mission
CAT exists to inspire, inform and enable practical solutions for a sustainable future. Teaching householders is a big part of that. Every informed decision helps accelerate the transition to low-carbon living.
It’s not just about technology, it’s about understanding the bigger picture. For example, grants like ECO4 in Wales can be helpful, but only if the property is suitable for the technology. A heat pump might sound great, but if the building fabric isn’t right, you could end up with high bills and poor performance. Our courses help people see the whole system: insulation, energy demand, generation, and storage.
We also talk about options beyond home ownership. Community energy projects, shared investments in solar farms or wind cooperatives can all be just as impactful. Even if you rent, you can still contribute to renewable energy and benefit financially.
Why Learn at CAT?
CAT is a unique place to learn. You won’t just sit in a classroom listening to theory, you’ll walk around the site and see working systems in action. Solar PV, solar thermal, wind turbines, hydro, batteries, they’re all here. You can go from learning the principles to standing next to a real system in minutes.
That hands-on experience makes a huge difference. It’s one thing to see a diagram of a solar array, it’s another to stand in front of one, understand how it’s wired, and see the data it produces.
And then there’s the people. At CAT, you’re taught by practitioners. I’m not just an academic – I’ve built systems, retrofitted homes, and worked internationally on renewable projects. Most of us here have similar stories. We’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and we share that honestly.
A Series Designed for Real Homes
Our Renewables for Households series is designed to be flexible. You can take one course or the whole series. We are part the way through this series which usually starts with an introduction to renewables, then move on to insulation and draught-proofing. From there, we cover solar PV, wind energy, heat pumps, and more.
Each course builds knowledge so you can make decisions with confidence. Maybe you come thinking you want wind, but discover solar is better. Or you realise that before adding technology, you need to improve insulation. That’s exactly what these courses are for.
People travel from all over the UK to attend. Why? Because they want to get it right. And that’s what we help them do.
Join us at CAT and take the next step toward a low-carbon future.
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About the author
Alan is a Senior Lecturer in CAT, and teaches renewable energy systems on a number of our Masters degrees and short courses. He is a Chartered Energy Engineer, with 30 years’ experience in renewable energy and has taught at a number of universities, including Heriot Watt and Robert Gordon.