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Scots make renewable energy easier
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 23rd February 2009 at 11:06 am
The Scottish Government has made it easier for people to get renewable energy for their home following a consultation on planning reform. The aim of the consultation was to increase renewable energy generation and cut carbon emissions. The result is that anyone living in Scotland will be able to ins…
Posted in: General, Biomass, Heat pumps, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Maldives to be powered by wind and solar
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th March 2009 at 10:35 am
The President of the Maldives has set an example for the world by announcing that his country will be carbon-neutral within a decade. Half a square kilometre of rooftop solar panels, 155 large wind turbines and a biomass plant burning coconut husks will generate the electricity the island country ne…
Posted in: General, Biomass, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Planning for solar panels
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 6th March 2009 at 11:59 am
Living in a listed building or conservation area doesn't mean that you can't have solar panels, as Anne Robbins' experience shows. You may, however, need determination and energy, and money for an appeal, if you want to leap over all the planning hurdles. Anne lives in a conservation area in Gre…
Posted in: General, Solar heat & hot water
BBC's Freefall points to solar sales danger
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th July 2009 at 12:37 pm
Dodgy salesmen, and the terrible impact they can have on their victim’s lives, was one aspect of last night’s powerful BBC drama Freefall (catch it here for a week). It took a look at the financial disaster we’re all in from three points of view: a City trader packaging up sub prime mor…
Posted in: General, Solar heat & hot water
Old homes can be energy efficient: visit a superhome and be inspired
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 27th July 2009 at 9:08 am
Old homes tend to be the worst offenders when it comes to leaking hot air out into the atmosphere. This means higher than average energy bills, and correspondingly high carbon emissions. Often labelled 'hard to treat', older homes can be more complicated when it comes to installing energy eff…
Posted in: Energy efficiency, Heat pumps, Rainwater harvesting, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Solar PV industry uncertainty as grants pot runs out
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 4th December 2009 at 9:23 am
The solar industry faces another phase of uncertainty as the grants money to support installation of photovoltaic panels in public sector buildings and charities has run out again. The Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 grant pot was topped up with £35m earlier this year, of which £13m was …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Renewable heat soon to join the energy revolution
Posted by Gabriel Wondrausch on 6th November 2009 at 9:13 am
Until a few months ago, solar thermal hot water heating has been the most cost effective way for people to generate their own renewable energy - for every pound invested it has usually delivered the highest units of energy. The reason for this is that solar thermal systems have always been the most…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
Does renewable energy affect your house insurance?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 25th January 2010 at 10:20 am
We've had solar hot water panels for a couple of years now, but it was only recently, when asked by a visitor to this site, that I wondered what, if any implication they had for my house insurance. Happily, a quick call to the insurance company (NFU Mutual) was all I needed to find that it makes …
Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Public wants ambitious support for microgeneration
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th January 2010 at 9:32 am
Renewable energy in homes, communities and businesses got a public vote of confidence this week, but needs ambitious goals and support from government to succeed. A new survey found that people are prepared to pay higher energy bills to support a stronger feed-in tariff. Two thirds of the pop…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Generating my own electricity
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 10th March 2010 at 9:05 pm
Our new photovoltaic solar panels started generating electricity a month ago today. It was dusk on a cold February day when the system was all ready to go, so I was suprised to see the light flashing on the generation meter and the inverter showing that, even in such poor light, it was making a lit…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Prices vary hugely between renewable energy installers
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 27th November 2009 at 11:17 am
Prices for renewable energy installations vary wildly, making buying decisions difficult for homeowners, according to Power from the People, a new study by researchers at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. In addition, there is little correlation between price and the generation …
Posted in: General, Biomass, Heat pumps, Rainwater harvesting, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines
Renewable heat incentive: important, but with dangers
Posted by Gabriel Wondrausch on 17th June 2010 at 1:03 pm
The uptake of renewable heat technologies has really dropped off with the renewable heat incentive (RHI) still looming, but no confirmation of the final tariffs or criteria, and the recent removal of the LCBP grants. No doubt things will pick up once the RHI details have been announced there.…
Posted in: Biomass, Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water
How to avoid bugs in your solar hot water
Posted by Paul Hutchens on 21st June 2010 at 9:07 am
The plumbing, heating and solar industry is paranoid about legionella and bacterial infections in hot water systems. This is right and proper as the consequences of legionella infection can be fatal in vulnerable people - but it is actually very rare and I am told there are no recorded cases linked …
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
Eco-renovation transforms Devon village hall
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 30th June 2010 at 9:02 am
With thick insulation, ground source heat pumps feeding underfloor heating, and solar panels on the roof to power the heat pump, Branscombe village hall in East Devon must be one of the most energy efficient in the country. However, managing an ambitious project like this wasn't an easy task. It …
Posted in: Energy efficiency, Heat pumps, Solar electricity
Feed-in tariffs boost growth of UK solar panels
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 23rd July 2010 at 9:15 am
The feed-in tariff is expected to boost growth of solar panels on British roofs fivefold this year, and 30 times over by 2015 according to a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers. By 2015, the researchers estimate that 1,000 MW of electricity will be generated by solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Ev…
Posted in: Solar electricity, Green Electricity
Are council planning departments making it difficult to install solar panels?
Posted by Robert Palgrave on 18th August 2010 at 9:27 am
Installing solar PV panels should be easier for home-owners since a planning appeal confirmed what is allowed under permitted development. Planning departments at some councils in England seem to want to make it difficult for householders to install photovoltaic solar panels. But as a result …
Posted in: Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Solar hot water: It's the best thing I ever did
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 31st August 2010 at 9:53 am
Solar thermal panels are a no-brainer for John Wood of East Devon, as he explains in this video: …
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
Solar hot water panels: 7 things to check before you install
Posted by Gabriel Wondrausch on 1st October 2010 at 9:18 am
This video blog highlights 7 things to check before you install a solar hot water system. 1. The most important thing is to have a suitable roof for the collectors (panels). South-facing is idea, but anywhere between south east and south west is ok.&n…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
Schools lead the way on energy efficiency
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th October 2010 at 3:14 pm
Electricity consumption has halved at an award-winning Devon school thanks to the energy saving measures it has introduced. Okehampton College’s good practice and leadership role was recognised as it was a finalist at the 2010 Ashden Awards. The college has replaced 3,000 fluorescent lights wit…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines
Solar industry starts and ends year with uncertainty
Posted by Howard Johns on 23rd December 2010 at 8:39 am
It feels as if the solar industry has been on a real rollercoaster during 2010. This was the year where we were finally meant to have an end to the stop start funding of the various grant schemes that have supported the sector in the past and move into the 21st (solar) century with the launch of a f…
Posted in: Solar electricity
How much are your solar panels generating?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th February 2011 at 9:39 am
Watching the kWhs clock up as the sun shines is one of the great pleasures of solar PV panels. But which meter do you watch? I watch the total generating meter, and am ashamed to say that I haven't yet worked out what all the different buttons on the inverter do. But that's all about to change... …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Shading has more impact on solar PV than orientation or pitch
Posted by Paul Hutchens on 9th March 2011 at 9:15 am
Many of our clients ask about the orientation and pitch of solar panels - it appears that this has been well publicised. However, the effects of orientation and pitch are less than most people think. Moving the orientation from south to south-west, for example, reduces efficiency by less than 5% as …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Is your council blocking your solar PV installation?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th May 2011 at 11:05 am
A new campaign is calling for local councils to stop making it difficult for householders to install renewable energy. Government policy says that in most cases domestic renewable energy installations are permitted development. Yet this isn't stopping councils like Eden Valley in Cumbria from ma…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity
Council's planning policy stands in the way of solar progress
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 24th May 2011 at 9:06 am
West Lancashire Borough Council is the latest to be caught demanding that homeowners formally apply for permission to have solar panels installed – something the Government has said is not required. The council is writing to residents telling them "it is in your own interest to submit a formal …
Posted in: Solar electricity
10 tips for choosing a good solar PV installer
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 2nd June 2010 at 2:43 pm
Choosing an installer is always a tricky business, so I asked Stuart Houghton, of Abacus Renewable Energy, who installed our photovoltaic solar panels, what his top tips are. Watch the video, or read on, to find out: 1. Find out ho…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Planning permission and building regulations: the rules for solar installations explained
Posted by David Hunt on 14th June 2011 at 9:50 am
Councils asking for planning permission, or building regulations applications for solar panel installations has been much in the press of late. Indeed much of that press has been linked to the campaign by YouGen and ourselves. The campaign has been picked up and supported by shadow climate change…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity
Off-grid solar electricity: a case study of a field studies centre
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 1st August 2011 at 12:37 pm
Solar generated electricity is the perfect answer for the Stafford Marsh field studies building on the Axe Estuary wetlands in East Devon. Off-grid, and a hard place to get electricity to, it was a "no brainer" according to nature reserve officer, Fraser Rush. This is the first off-grid installat…
Posted in: Solar electricity
How the feed-in tariff rules work for an additional installation
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th August 2011 at 9:30 am
Q: What happens if I have additional solar PV panels fitted - would the whole of my system qualify for the new feed-in tariff? A: The answer to this question varies, depending on when the first installation was. If you add to an existing installation of the same technology within 12 months it w…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Auto control enables use of solar PV for immersion heater
Posted by Chris Rudge on 16th September 2011 at 10:38 am
Chris's previous article on how to use excess solar generated electricity in the home generated so much interest that he has written a follow up that goes into more detail about about the control he has built to use solar-generated electricity to heat water. One of the side issues of the Feed…
Posted in: Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
How to know if your roof is sound enough for solar panels
Posted by Chris Rudge on 19th September 2011 at 3:29 am
Q: I've built a few houses and know how important it is to have calculations for roof trusses, considering the weight and "sail" potential of PV (I'm considering a 3.99kw 21 panel Schuco system in excess of £10k). Who takes responsibility if this lot blows off or you get some structural damage? The…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Can solar panels improve the efficiency of your ground source heat pump?
Posted by John Barker-Brown on 3rd October 2011 at 5:05 am
There is a growing interest in using solar panels to deposit heat within the ground during the summer periods and then using a ground source heat pump to extract this deposited heat during the winter. These systems are commonly called inter-seasonal storage systems and can usually be classed as:- …
Posted in: Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water
REAL's top tips to avoid being ripped off by solar cowboys
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 5th October 2011 at 8:36 am
The REAL Assurance Scheme* has received a surge of complaints about solar PV installers, leading it to assert that rogue traders are taking advantage of the expanding solar panel market to make a killing before the Government adjusts the Feed-In Tariff in the spring. While they haven't yet specifi…
Posted in: Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Is my solar thermal system safe while I'm away on holiday?
Posted by Gabriel Wondrausch on 10th October 2011 at 9:37 am
Q: I’m going away for two months. Is there anything I should do to my solar thermal system while the house is empty? A: It’s always important to look at the relevant part in your solar thermal user manual, but the most important advice is to leave your system turned on. It has been des…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
How to protect yourself against feed-in tariff cuts
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 26th October 2011 at 4:55 am
It's generally accepted that the rates of return on the feed-in tariff are much more generous than was planned and that a cut is due (although there's much debate about how big that cut should be). Until recently, the reduction was expected to take place from 1 April 2012. Suddenly the rumour-mil…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Do I need to clean my solar panels to maintain efficiency?
Posted by Chris Rudge on 17th November 2011 at 7:33 am
Q: Research seems to suggest that solar PV panels are not especially durable and suffer from failure. Even if they lasted 25 years of time (and I have not seen one company offering the domestic user anything like that length of guarantee), I have read that they deteriorate in efficiency and nee…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Just another day in the Commons - where we merrily destroy the PV sector with spin
Posted by Howard Johns on 29th November 2011 at 9:31 am
Anyone working in the solar industry will have been appalled, dismayed and almost certainly angered to watch the debate on their future and the feed in tariff that took place in the House of Commons. I was sat in the viewing gallery watching and despite the best efforts of Caroline Flint and m…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity
Solar PV: where we stand as consumers in all the chaos
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 17th January 2012 at 9:43 am
The rate of return on solar panels is currently in a state of flux, since the High Court found that proposed changes to the feed-in tariff were 'unlawful'. Now the government is appealing the decision, the uncertainty has been extended. So what does that mean for someone who wants to buy solar pa…
Posted in: Solar electricity
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