Get the Most Out of Your Solar PV Installation

Installing solar PV on your home is a great way to reduce your electricity bills and your carbon footprint and there are easy ways to get the most out of your system, therefore maximising your savings and also doing your bit to help save the world! Some small lifestyle changes and planning ahead can make all the difference to your savings.

• Use appliances during the day: Solar panels work by converting the energy in sunlight into electricity. This is done mostly during optimum conditions – the daytime. Therefore by using appliances during the day, the electricity being generated is used straight away. Washing machines, dishwashers and vacuum cleaners especially use a lot of power. When using them in daylight, even a low light day will supplement the energy usage, and a sunny day may power the whole operation.

• Pull the plug: many electrical appliances run in the background when they are not switched off at the plug, and this can use more electricity than you realise. Switch off your TV, chargers, and any other items that could be running on standby.

• Stagger your electricity usage: Using electricity during the day is the most effective way to get the most out of your solar panels. However if you use everything at once, you may still be importing the extra electricity needed from the grid. Stagger your energy usage throughout the day to maximise your solar energy; and keep this in mind when setting timers too

• Generate hot water from solar: By installing a solar immersion switch alongside your solar PV system, you can use the excess electricity generated by your PV to power your immersion heater. This means that you would get as much of the free energy generated by your system as possible. The switch works with intelligent controls which react to household demand, which means that is more electricity is needed somewhere else in your home, the electricity will be diverted there.

• Monitor your electricity: you can use a system monitor to access your generation and electricity consumption. Some monitors will work with your computer, smart phone or tablet so that you can access these figures easily. By utilising this information, you can work out how much energy you are generating at a given time, and then tailor your electricity usage to this so that you only use the energy your solar is producing.

• Convert your lighting to low energy: as most lights are used at night when the PV system is not generating, it is beneficial to install low energy or LED light bulbs. This will reduce the amount of energy the light needs to power itself, which will save you money on your bills.

Some of these actions are small changes you can make to your lifestyle, and others are things that may need some investment in time or money. When this is the case, it is vital to keep in mind how much these products/actions could save you in the long run, and you can guarantee that it will be worth it.

Urban Energy

We are an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economical and environmentally sound green energy solutions for homes and businesses in the South West.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system i.e solar panels, to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house installation team and electrical division, it is our promise to you the customer, that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

The Granary, Phillips Lane, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YR
Tel: 0800 2321624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk

Court of Appeal Rejects Solar Feed In Challenge

The Government has failed to overturn a decision to block its attempts to reduce solar feed-in-tariffs.

The Court of Appeals today confirmed that it had rejected the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) challenge to a High Court ruling that its move to halve feed-in-tariffs were illegal.

However the Government has already confirmed that it will next seek to approach the Supreme Court in an attempt to introduce a new tariff, saying that current levels are unsustainable.

The feed-in tariff (FiTs) scheme- which pays households with solar panels for the electricity they produce currently pays just over 43p per kilowatt-hour generated. However the Government is concerned that the FiTs scheme has already exceeded its budget for the year and wanted to introduce a new tariff of 21p per kilowatt-hour for all solar panels installed after December 12, 2011.

The on-going challenge to the rulings means that homeowners and the solar industry alike cannot know what rate of incentive they will be able to claim.

Environmentalists and the solar industry had lead a challenge against the cuts, claiming that it threatens industry jobs and jeopardises the Government’s claim to be the ‘greenest’ ever.

Solar panels are particularly popular with electric car drivers as they can often mean drivers can recharge for free using their own green electricity.

Welcoming the news of the rejected challenge to the FiTs rate, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said: "This landmark judgement confirms that devastating Government plans to rush through cuts to solar payments are illegal – and will prevent Ministers from causing industry chaos with similar cuts in future. ”

"Helping more people to plug into clean British energy will help protect cash-strapped households from soaring fuel bills."

Urban Energy

Urban Energy are delighted that nearly half the population would like to install renewable energy technologies; what worries us is the lack of awareness surrounding it. To bridge the Green Gap it’s essential we continue to educate consumers and break down some of the myths surrounding the Green Deal, energy efficiency and microgeneration.

Urban Energy has earned a reputation as the south’s leading renewable energy specialist. This has been achieved by ensuring that from the initial point of client contact we offer 1st class customer service and care.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house electrical and plumbing division it is our promise to you the customer that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

For further information about Urban Energy products and services:

Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/

Renewable Heat

Detailed proposals for the governments Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) have emerged, after a long delay.

Heating accounts for 47% of total UK final energy consumption and 46% of carbon emissions, so it’s not a marginal issue. The RHI cover biomass, ground source and water source heat pumps, solar thermal and bio-methane, and participants will receive quarterly payments for 20 years from the date they enter the scheme.

It will be introduced in two phases. The first phase is expected to start after the regulations have been processed by Parliament in July. It will offer long-term tariff support for non-domestic projects, i.e. for the big heat users - the industrial, business and public sector - which contribute 38% of the UK’s carbon emissions. But under this phase there will also be grant support of around £15m for households through an interim ‘Renewable Heat Premium Payment,’ for ‘well-developed’ projects, essentially as a ‘test drive’ for the more diffuse domestic sector.

The second phase of the scheme will see households also able to apply for long-term tariff support, this transition being timed to align with the ‘Green Deal’ loan system, which is intended to be introduced in October 2012.

Unlike the feed-in tariffs for renewable forms of electricity, which are paid for through higher energy bills, the renewable heat incentive will be paid for from taxes - in all, £860m government funding has been allocated.

The proposed tariffs (still subject to consultation) range from 1.9 pence / kWh for small biomass projects, to 8.5p/kWh for solar thermal, but these prices will be degressed’ (i.e. reduced) in stages over time to match the development of the market and avoid a boom-and-bust situation. Details of that are promised soon.

The RHI only meets the extra costs above that for installing conventional systems, not the total costs. Even so, it should yield a rate of return on outlay of about 12%. So it could be quite popular- if participants have the upfront capital available. However, DECC says that ‘We do not intend to allow agents, such as installers, suppliers or other third parties, to apply for support from the scheme on an applicant’s behalf.’ So you are on your own!

And there are some other limits. DECC says ‘by domestic installations, we mean installations where a renewable heating installation serves a single private residential dwelling only. This does not include multiple residential dwellings served by one renewable heating installation (e.g. district heating) nor residential dwellings which have been significantly adapted for non-residential use’.

Rural areas won’t get special treatment, despite DECC accepting that ‘a higher proportion of rural than urban areas tend to lack access to the gas grid and organisations not connected to the gas grid, for example small rural businesses, tend to have higher heating costs due the use of more expensive fuels’. It simply says that ‘those off the gas grid will have the potential to benefit most from the RHI’ and ‘those in rural off-gas grid areas may have better access to biomass in particular and not face the same installation and biomass fuel supply barriers as those in urban areas.’

The RHI will operate via Ofgem, who will provide accreditation and will carry out equipment inspections. In that context there some interesting technical conditions/requirements e.g. heat pumps must have a COP of 2.9 or above (but air sourced units will not be supported initially) and biomass sources must meet eco-eligibility criteria. As a condition of receiving support, participants will also be required to maintain their equipment to ensure it is working effectively: Ofgem may check this periodically.

All biomass, ground and water source heat pumps and solar thermal plants of 45kWth capacity or less will need to be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or equivalent schemes. The MSC will be upgraded.

The RHI will only support ‘useful heat’, with Ofgem determining eligibility according to RHI regulations. In outline, acceptable heat uses are said to be ‘space, water and process heating where the heat is used in fully enclosed structures’. The heat must be supplied to meet an ‘economically justifiable heating requirement i.e. a heat load that would otherwise be met by an alternative form of heating e.g. a gas boiler’. This should be an ‘existing or new heating requirement i.e. not created artificially, purely to claim the RHI’. The only exception is for bio-methane injection into the gas grid, with no specifications on how it is then used.

Heat used for cooling counts towards the renewables targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and therefore, provided it meets all other eligibility criteria, it will be eligible for RHI support, but not passive solar or exhaust air heat pumps.

Renewable heating systems that replace an existing renewable heating system will be eligible for the RHI support, despite the risk that some people may therefore scrap old but viable systems to get the RHI. More commonly, renewable heating capacity is likely to be expanded, and the extensions are eligible for the RHI up to the (joint old/new) total capacity threshold.

And finally, the RHI is not intended as a mechanism to support ‘innovative technologies in development or early deployment’- but happily, deep geothermal is allowed.

It could involve some quite big schemes. Public sector and not-for-profit organisations, such as schools, hospitals and charities, can use the RHI, and DECC says ‘the support provided by the RHI will also enable communities to come together to find local solutions tailored to local energy needs. The opportunities are many, from setting up anaerobic digestion plants using local waste to establishing community- owned biomass co-operatives sourcing fuel from sustainable local woodlands’

It adds ‘In some situations, district and community renewable heating, whether as a central boiler for an apartment building, or as a network of pipes delivering heat from a central installation to a number of local households or businesses, can be a cost-effective alternative to installing individual heating systems in properties. By supporting this sort of application, the RHI will encourage investment and give developers confidence to install centralised plant’.

So we could be seeing some local district heating networks like those elsewhere in Europe, powered using renewable sources.

URBAN ENERGY

Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care.

"Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government incentive schemes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.

Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, MCS certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.

For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624

Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/

Solar Aid: enabling some of the poorest communities on the planet to receive clean, free energy!

Urban Energy actively supporting Solar Aid, enabling some of the poorest communities on the planet to receive clean, free energy:

Hi all at Urban Energy!

During my recent trip to Kenya and Tanzania last month, my colleagues and I made a series of short films about our work on the ground and how our donors and supporters are having a real impact on the lives of thousands of people. I’d love you to watch this short film. Please simply type: urbanenergy.mysolaraid.org into your web browser to view the special web page and to watch the short film. I hope you enjoy it! I look forward to catching up soon.

All the best,
Anna
Marketing Manager
SolarAid

http://defaultrecord1.mysolaraid.org/links/Microsites/8f9a5b31_fe4c_4056_9c05_a40fed929aa8/www/index.html?enc=5e6zaFEYMp2YYTDybwVAt/nvcnURQhK020/eECFlH6vHCX/dRH3w/7znXH9cNDzs7AXY3ug2BgQxdW4PJBfuXIQfcydyvoufunwoibyzTHVEFiTrvbTTS/wLZOLuXyksTG0Ny5VpY4SN93RY4Bdy9BMZxNmDnaqRzjrWh6UQIwURLCOWTnyEbxNJy4CyrxRq2KaLM4RjAAwcUpIXk1FRsEdpdTay7BxtU5BgR3uDJces0KJeluvdKGd2a8ArhEKSRyRzfTE3W1OhJDePILJzabs4I27GE7QGhBOhcJooibg=&

For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/