Solar thermal systems
Solar thermal systems use a roof mounted solar collector to heat water, reducing the heat required from your boiler or immersion heater. A typical system should provide most of the summer hot water requirements and will still make a significant contribution throughout winter months. Solar thermal systems are compatible with most heating systems; however you may need a new hot water cylinder if your existing one is not compatible or you do not already have one.
The Hard Sell
There have recently been rumblings suggesting that installers in the renewable heating sector are making a name for themselves as the new double-glazing salesmen.
BBC’s consumer rights TV series ‘Don’t Get Done Get Dom’ aired a programme at the end of April which fought the case of one consumer whose new heat pump caused his bills to go up instead of down. The programme went to the company’s managing director for a refund. It also warned viewers of the dangers of signing finance agreements without knowing their rights.
The ‘You and Yours’ series on Radio 4 also recently warned consumers to do their research before buying as performance could vary.
We spoke to Tobi Kellner, who works for the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) Information Service, which provides free and impartial advice on renewable energy technology. Although Tobi was keen to point out that CAT had nothing other than support for renewable heating systems, he said he was aware of some cases of ‘pressure tactics’ being used to sell solar thermal kits, i.e. where salesmen turn up at your door late in the day, offering deals if you buy immediately. He also said that unrealistic promises about the equipment’s performance were sometimes made. He said a typical example is the promise that the system will “reduce your heating bill by 75%”, whereas in fact a typical solar thermal system reduces the water heating bill by 50-75%, not the total heating bill.”
The Renewable Heat Incentive
Launched in March 2011, the Renewable Heat Incentive offers money towards installation costs as well as payments for heat generated. Peter Bartley from CHB Sustainability explains more.
The Renewable Heat Incentive is an initiative similar to the feed-in tariffs for electronic generation, which aims to encourage the installation of renewable heat equipment in the UK. Unlike the Feed in Tariff though, it will use a whole-house approach which integrates both energy-efficiency and heat generation, so as not to encourage excess production of heat.
It is open to everyone (including homeowners, landowners, businesses, schools hospitals and entire communities who have joined up to invest in these technologies), and applicable to several different technologies, including biomass, solar thermal, heat-pumps, on-site biogas, deep geothermal, energy from waste and injection of biomethane into the gas grid.
There are three steps involved:
Step One: you install in your property renewable heat systems such as solar thermal panels, heat pumps or a biomass boiler
Step Two: you measure how much heat your renewable energy systems produce
Step Three: you get paid a fixed amount based on that output, the type of technology and the size of the system.
It will be introduced in two phases:
1) Beginning in July 2011, this will include upfront one-off payments (the Renewable Heat Premium Payment) to homeowners to reduce the initial capital cost of investing in renewable heat technologies.
This will be similar to Feed in Tariffs for renewable electricity with an annual payment based on the amount of renewable energy generated.
2) The second phase will benefit those who have installed an eligible technology since 15th July 2009; therefore it is a great idea to take advantage of phase one to get an upfront grant as you will still be eligible for annual payments from October 2012 when phase two commences.
Details of the phase two payments are unknown at the moment but are expected to be of the scale to give simple payback on investment within 15 – 30 years.
When considering any renewable energy technologies it is essential to ensure that you have already exhausted all the straight-forward energy efficiency measures that you can, such as insulation, draught proofing and low energy lighting. There’s no point generating renewable energy just to waste it!
It is expected that Energy Performance Certificates will be used to judge whether homeowners have suitably well-insulated homes in order to be eligible for the financial incentives. Homeowners should also ensure that both the renewable heat technology products and installers are accredited by the Micro-generation Certification Scheme (MCS) (see Links) both to gain the financial benefits of the RHI, and ensure that the products and installers are reputable. Products certified under the Solar Keymark are also eligible for the RHI, but this certification doesn’t cover installers, so you’ll need to make sure your installer is certified under MCS.
| Technology |
Typical Cost
|
Maintenance
|
Typical Annual Saving *
|
Typical Annual CO2 Saving *
|
Upfront RHI Grant **
|
| Solar Thermal |
£4,800
|
Service by accredited installer every 3 – 5 years
|
£50
|
250 kg
|
£300
|
| Ground Source Heat Pump |
£9,000 - £17,000
|
Service by accredited installer every 3 – 5 years
|
£70 (300% efficient)
|
750 kg
|
£1,250
|
| Biomass Boiler |
£11,000
|
Regular cleaning but generally no servicing requirement
|
-£80
|
1000 kg
|
£950
|
*Annual savings are based on comparison with a typical condensing gas boiler. Savings would be greater with more expensive and carbon intensive fuels such as oil or electricity. These savings do not include the benefits of the Renewable Heat Incentive.
**Phase 1 of the Renewable Heat Incentive is from July 2011 for the first 25,000 applicants (totalling £15m). These figures are based on the Government consultation and are not confirmed as yet.
Links