Remember, remember, the 12th of December….
Hello everyone – sorry for not posting in the last couple of months but we have been an extremely busy at Integr8 especially with the news that the government is cutting the solar PV tariffs by half (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Financial-incentives/UK-Government-proposed-changes-to-solar-PV-Feed-in-Tariffs) on 12 December 2011.
The tariff was due for a review in April 2012 but the government decided to bring it forward because of the high success of solar PV installs in the UK over the last year – saying that this growth is unsustainable and unaffordable in the long run. Put simply, according to the government, if we continued with the current level of incentive then the money for the FIT would run out. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/30/greg-barker-bonkers-solar-cut
It seems that the success of the feed in tariff has been its downfall. The generous tariff for under 4 kW systems has meant that people could expect a return on their investment in under 10 years (and with falling prices for PV equipment over the last year or so, this rate of return was always going to get even better as companies sort to compete in an ever-growing and competitive market).
The introduction of the FIT in 2010 was a watershed moment in the renewable energy industry in the UK – and made the installation of solar PV panels in particular a viable investment for many people. It was a first if its kind in the UK and the government should be applauded for introducing it in the first place.
The UK has a commitment to having 15% of our energy resources coming from renewables http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/policy-legislation/Energy-Supply/renewable-energy/Pages/the-renewable-energy-strategy.aspx and the FIT was one part of its commitment to achieving this level.
It is quite a tricky situation. On the one hand you feel for a lot of companies that may go out of business as a result due to cancellation of current and future jobs. The solar PV industry created thousands of new jobs and being a green industry this surely would have been a boost to our economy. Perhaps if the economic situation was not as it is there may have been more money to put into the FIT budget and this cut would not have to happen…?
How will the cut affect the popularity of the scheme for Solar PV in 2012? We will have to wait and see. Obviously if a payback suddenly doubles from what it would have been, this may put people some people off. Even though solar PV is a part of our business it is not the only part. We design and install solar thermal and heat pumps and also wind turbines. This puts us in a strong position within the renewables industry as we have a range of technologies available for our customers.
Electricity prices will surely continue to rise, and with falling equipment prices, the impact of the cut may not be as severe as some are saying. Don’t get me wrong – the cuts are harsh and very sudden but the incentive is still there – it just has been protected to make sure it lasts the course.
Please give us your feedback on this situation – if you have installed or were thinking to install solar PV for your home or business, what are your thoughts. We would like to hear from you.
Thanks!
The Integr8 Team
Platipus demonstrate ground mounted solar PV solutions
Platipus Anchors (http://www.platipus-anchors.com/) demonstrate their solar PV ground mounted solutions.
If you do not have the roof space for a solar PV system but would consider putting it in your garden or open land that you own, then a ground mounted system could be the answer for you.
You must make sure that this area is open and unshaded from any trees or buildings as this will affect the performance of the system.
The demonstration given to Integr8 was very informative and shows just how simple the process is to complete.
Email us today at info@integr8x.co.uk and we will be happy to discuss the benefits of ground mounted solar PV with you.
The Energy Event 2011
Hello everybody – seems like all our recent posts are going up on a Friday – really busy here at Integr8 but that can only be a good thing!
We went the Energy Event at the NEC on Wednesday – lots of big energy companies there including E-on and NPower. More to do with energy management than renewables but good to network and see what other companies are doing in this sector.
One of the highlights was the Segway (@SegwayInc) demonstration at one of the stalls and the range of low-carbon tech on show including an electric car.
Renewables Roadshow and Awards!
Hello everybody its been a while since our last post – have been busy installing PV/heat pump/thermal systems so haven’t had a chance to put something up for a while.
We were kindly invited by Daikin Air Conditioning (@Daikinuk) to the first ever Renewables Awards at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry which was held last night. Presented by Julia Bradbury (@JuliaBradbury) and with a set by Michael McIntyre who was really funny.
Lots of awards given out – none to Integr8 (this year!) but who knows what the future holds?
Earlier in the day we went to the Renewables Roadshow http://renewables-roadshow.co.uk/ (also at the Ricoh) which was pretty good as well. Lots to see including a solar thermal installation set up which was interesting. Lots of free USB sticks/mugs/pens which are always useful!
That’s all from us for now – have a great weekend!
The Integr8 Team
Solar PV brands simplified by Integr8
If you take a look at what we can offer you can see we have broken it down into 5 brands – ET Solar, Sharp, Bisol, Antaris and Sanyo.
Solar PV from Integr8
Sorry if it is a little blurred – if you click on the image it should get a bit clearer.
So what is your main consideration when deciding on a solar panel brand?? Is it price? If so we can offer very competitive prices from ET Solar and Bisol. Is it having a long product/output warranty? If so then we would recommend considering Antaris – a high quality German brand with an industry leading 12 year product warranty.
Is brand awareness important to you? You may not have heard of Antaris or ET Solar but you may well have heard of Sharp – they may even have made your TV! Sharp are one of the leading names in solar PV globally thanks to their brand awareness and high level marketing strategy. We offer Sharp panels as part of our solar range as a result.
If you are considering high-end solar PV that will give you one of the best performing systems on the market, then we can recommend Sanyo HIT solar panels. 18% efficiency from the 250W panels is an excellent feature of these panels and are some of the best currently on the market. They are more expensive than the others but you get what you pay for with solar PV, like with anything nowadays!
Ok – hope that has been useful for you – if you are considering a solar PV system we hope you will get in touch with us @ Integr8!
*Please note this is not the complete list of Solar PV that we can offer (as this also includes solar tiles and thin-film technology) but gives you a good idea of the range of standard PV panels we can offer you*
Thanks – The Integr8 Team!
Renewable Heat Incentive “Premium Payment” figures released
Hello everybody – the weekend is coming and the Renewable Heat Incentive is on its way!
The RHI is a payment for generating heat from renewable sources (e.g. heat pumps and solar thermal). Like the Feed-in-Tariffs (for solar PV/wind turbines), it is set by Government.
Tariffs will be paid from July 2011 for non-residential systems and October 2012 for households. Until then, households may be able to benefit from what is called the Premium Payment (however there are some caveats which we will come to…)
The RHI Premium Payment is like a grant for household renewable heat installations installed after August 2011 and before March 2012 (the household RHI doesn’t start until probably October 2012).
The agreed Premium Payment levels can be seen below:
RHI Premium Payments
Ok so the caveats to this payment are…..
Except for solar thermal, which is available to any householder, other technologies are only available for households not currently using gas heating. So if you are replacing a gas boiler then you cannot receive the Premium Payment – which is a shame as a lot of people use gas to heat their home. The government’s thinking we believe (rightly or wrongly, you can decide for yourself…), is that they are focusing on the people who run their homes on direct electricity and oil which is currently more expensive than gas to heat your home.
Householders must certify that this is their main home (not too difficult!) and that they have basic energy efficiency measures in place (loft insulation to 250mm and cavity wall insulation, where appropriate).
Both the product and installer must be MCS (or equivalent) certified (just like the FIT).
If you want more information on this or would like some more impartial advice we suggest going to http://www.rhincentive.co.uk/ as this is a really good website that explains what can be quite a complicated process.
Ok thats it for this week – have a great weekend!
The Integr8 Team (please follow us on Twittter @Integr8_LTD for all the latest news and events happening with us.
Vaillant Product Launch at Donington Park
Danfoss last week, Vaillant this week, it seems like a lot of heat pump manufacturers are trying to master the air source industry. And with good reason – air source is cheaper and less time-consuming to install than ground source heat pumps but still give out great efficiences compared to a gas boiler (and they last longer).
The new Vaillant air source system @vaillantuk is called the geoTHERM air and comes in 3 sizes: 7kW, 12kW and 15kW all single phase. There is no 3 phase compatibility. We took some pictures of the day for you as well.
The Vaillant showcase - solar thermal, ground source and air source systems
On the left you can see the “evacuated tube” solar thermal collector – this is for hot water generation – you can also get a version called a “flat plate” which is similar in look to a solar PV module (but larger). Evacutaed tubes are slightly more efficient than the flate plate version, and are slightly more expensive.
To the right of that is the ground source heat pump and to the right of that (behind those two people) is the air source heat pump (a better photo below).
geoTHERM air source heat pump
Now, being at Donington Park you may be thinking where are all the fast cars?? Well…. here you go!
All in all it was a good afternoon at the Vaillant product launch – however they may want to try to have it on a day when the track is not in use as it was hard to concentrate on what they were saying when you could hear that Ferrari screech round the track!
That’s all for now – have a good Monday!
The Integr8 Team
Matt Rudd’s 5 step plan to save the planet
Sunday Times writer, Matt Rudd has written an interesting article about how he took on his own “eco-crusade” to save money… which have you considered or actually done?
1) Insulation – a great idea for all homeowners who have not already done this – he spent £149 on insulating his home with and thinks this will cut heat loss through the roof from about 20% to 10% – a good start.. what next?
2) Electricity meter – called the “Owl” http://www.theowl.com/ this piece of kit shows you “how much money per hour is going to your profiteering energy supplier”. As a result he got some energy-saving light bulbs, replaced his “knackered, insatiable old freezer” and now doesn’t leave his TV on Standby – all good ideas to save money.
3) Test drove a Leaf – going to a new level now! The revolutionary Nissan car “has no internal combustion engine and runs on 192 lithium-ion batteries”. However, the test drive did not go that smoothly for Matt….
“It was a joy nipping about London, but when I set out to drive the 37 miles home, the display said I had a range of 62 miles. Yet after 4 miles of heavy traffic, the range dropped to 52 miles. I selected eco-mode, which enforces tamer driving, but the distance/range gap was still shrinking. Then the windscreen started to fog up, so I put the heater on. The range nose-dived so I switched it off again”. Who needs to see anyway – you’ve got to get home, right?
After pulling over to defog naturally, Matt got home with 6 miles to spare. “A leaf costs £26,000. That’s a lot of car for a 100-mile range that isn’t 100 miles if you want to defog your windscreen. I’ll wait for Leaf 2″.
So not the most successful outing in Matt’s quest to save the planet. Maybe the final 2 ideas will boost his spirits?
4) and 5) Windows and Walls – the walls (“a new, techie lining that will halve heat loss) and windows (I presume are double/triple glazed, but he doesn’t say) are a much more reliable eco-saving idea.
Apart from the Nissan Car (a bit on the expensive side, and not quite up to the mark you could argue), the rest of Matt’s ideas are quite simple but will save money each year and will help promote awareness of energy use as well (especially the Owl!)
Having an energy tight house should be considered if you are looking to have renewable energy such as Solar PV and heat pumps. If you are loosing energy out of your roof/windows/walls, your heat pump will have to work harder because of all of the lost energy. And reducing electricity usage by simply having energy saving light bulbs and not leaving the TV on standby will all contribute in the long term.
I will leave the final word to Matt – “when the oil runs out and we discover we haven’t built enough turbines because we were worried about a few eagles, I’ll be al right, thank you very much”. That’s the spirit Matt!
Integr8 @ Danfoss Heat Pump Product Launch
Integr8 we kindly invited by Danfoss Heat Pumps to the unveiling of their new air source heat pump, the AQ, at their HQ in Sheffield.
First we went to The Quadrant to see the heat pump on display with the 3 different control units, the mini, midi and maxi (see photos below)
- The mini controller for the AQ
The Midi and Maxi controller unit (with 180L hot water tank) for the AQ
The actual heat pump (below) was fully “on” at the time but only when you got up close could you actually hear anything – my freezer back home make more noise! Very impressive.
The AQ
We then went back to Danfoss AQ where they have another one working at the office. Our MD can be seen standing next to it (on the left).
Another working AQ system outside Danfoss HQ
A lot of current air collection units can be a bit unsightly, but we really like the design of this one. What do you think? It has a certain Scandinavian sleek look to it don’t you think?
Thanks for reading!
The Integr8 Team
Domestic Solar PV rules the roost for Feed-in-Tariff so far
The feed-in-tariff, or FIT, (introduced in the UK in April 2010) has led to an explosion in Solar PV installations at the domestic level. The main reason for this is the current generous tariff for domestic projects (43.3p/kWh for retrofits under 4kW).
The most popular technologies using FIT in the last year
The full Ofgem report of this can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/5rrcvml
With the amount of solar installers out there, it has become a very competitive market, which is good for the public as they can shop around for the best deal quite easily but the cheapest is not always the best.
You wouldn’t go into a car dealership and ask for a 2 litre car and take the cheapest option would you? It’s about knowing the options – you would know that you want a BMW or a Ford and you look accordingly. It’s a similar situation with Solar PV.
Integr8 can help you decides whether you want a middle range PV system (good value for money and a quality product) or a high-end PV system (one of the best performing on the market with the best efficiencies) Do you want a Ford Focus or an Audi R8?? Sorry for the car analogy but its a good way of explaining it!
At Integr8 we pride ourselves on offering a wide range of PV panels for our clients, and only stock quality products that meet the needs of our clients. Whatever your budget/roof space available we will work with you to find the best solution for you.
Have a great weekend - if this is something you have read about yourself and are keen to learn more just drop us an email at info@integr8x.co.uk
The Integr8 Team
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