Half of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the energy that produces heat and 95% of heat in the UK is currently produced using fossil fuels.  Fossils fuels took over 500m years to create and recent estimates are that they may only meet our energy demands for another 50-70 years. So in an effort to find alternative forms of energy, the world has turned to renewable energy sources as the solution.

There are many renewable energy sources that have one common advantage – they are renewable and cannot be depleted. They are a clean energy, as they don’t pollute the air, and they don’t contribute to global warming or greenhouse effects. Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced and they also require less maintenance on their plants.

These renewable energies can include, solar thermal, solar PV, wind turbine , biomass and hydro.

Solar energy makes use of the sun’s energy. It is advantageous because the systems can fit into existing buildings and it does not affect land use.

Wind energy uses the power of the wind to produce electricity.

Biomass electricity is produced through the energies from wood, agricultural and municipal waste and helps save on landfill waste.

The Technology

Solar thermal systems use the heat and irradiance from the sun to produce hot water. The sun can be used to directly heat the water or heat transfer liquid which is then used to heat water via a heat exchanger.

Air source heat pumps use an evaporator coil fitted to an outside wall which absorbs heat from the outside wall and compresses it to generate the desired temperature. 

Photovoltaic (PV) Panels convert sunlight into electricity. PV panels with a battery, inverter and controller can generate electricity for domestic and commercial units.

Biomass boilers burn a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels called biomass (wood chip, wood pellet or cereals). Producing heat for central heating systems and hot water.

Wind turbines use a grid-connected system which links the wind turbine to the existing mains electricity supply so that wind energy is utilised when it is available and exported when there is a surplus.

Rain water harvesting can be generated from a simple, above ground water butt or low  ground storage tanks with automatic recycling systems. Giving consumers the ability to freely collect water to reuse on their plants and lawns, for washing their cars, in their washing machines.

It makes financial as well as environmental sense

With recent energy suppliers revealing an intended 19% increase in the price of gas and a 10% rise in the price of electricity from August this year¹, the average monthly fuel bill could increase to £ 115.4 -£ 138.48 by Summer 2011.  Ofgem warned to expect 20% electricity price hikes by 2020, and advised that future supplies were in jeopardy, giving investors in solar panels the added benefit of being a net provider of electricity, and largely insulated from future price hikes that could see household bills top £2,000 a year by 2020.

The Government has pledged to invest £ 860m to increase green capital investment by

£ 4.5 billion by 2020, stimulating a new market in renewable heat. It hopes that this investment will increase the number of industrial, commercial and public sector installations by 7 times by 2020.

There are two main strands of funding from the government to help support this drive in renewable energies - the Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

The FiTs scheme was introduced in April 2010 to encourage take up of Photovoltaic (PV) solar technology. Early adopters of the scheme will get higher feed-in tariff rates than those embracing the technology at a later date.

The scheme will financially reward companies and households who reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and support emerging technologies which provide alternative sources for heating.

Domestic RHI 

As of July 2011, up to 25,000 installations will be supported by a new ‘RHI Premium Payment’ to help people cover the purchase price of green heating systems. The RHI Premium Payment will cover technologies across all of Great Britain. The amount for solar thermal for example is £300/unit.

Those taking up the premium will be eligible for a RHI tariff from October 2012, as will anyone else who has had eligible equipment installed from July 15, 2009.

Commercial RHI

The RHI will be introduced separately for commercial and domestic properties:

•      Commercial RHI commences in July 2011 for solar thermal, biomass and Ground Source Heat Pumps. Energy to be metered and tariff lasts for 20 years.

•      Rates are 8.5p for solar thermal up to 200kW and ground source is 4.3p up to 100kW and 3p above 100kW. Air source is not supported for commercial initially – but may be supported from 2012

Market Trends & Opportunities

When Commercial RHI is introduced  in July 2011 all  energy has to be metered.  Rates will be 8.5p for solar thermal up to 200kW and ground source will be 4.3p up to 100kW and 3p above 100kW.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for domestic solar thermal customers will start in full in October 2012. At this time, people who have renewable heat installations, such as ground source heat pumps, and solar thermal panels for their hot water, may be eligible for a payment for every kWh that is generated in this way. The payments per kWh will be consulted on later this year.

In the interim, the Government has offered a one-off payment, called an RHI 'premium' payment of £300 for all installations from July  2011 of this year.

When RHI goes live in October 2012, all of the installations that qualify for the premium payment will AUTOMATICALLY qualify for full RHI, and installations going back to July 2009 may also qualify for inclusion.

Alan Aldridge, Ecotube’s Managing Director, comments, “Householders and those in the industry are waking up to the fact that fossil fuels are not an option for the long term. A recent Committee on Climate Change estimates that renewables could account for 30-45% of the UK energy market by 2030. Savvy consumers and business owners are considering alternative energy solutions with the financial and long term benefits of technologies such as PV panels, solar thermal and ground source pumps. 

Renewable energy will be the future without a doubt and we would welcome the opportunity in working with the trade that needs to work with companies like Ecotube to ensure that they are giving the best advice to the end user, providing the best solution for the project in hand and ultimately installing the most efficient energy source possible.”

¹  http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/feb/06/solar-power-bright-investment

² Source for other statistics -  www.decc.gov.uk, www.fwi.co.uk