Saturday 2 July 2022

League Table of UK Feed in tariff PV

 

Smart Export Guarantee

League Table.

The Smart Export Guarantee is the new way to get paid for your power. If you have a solar PV system, and generate more power than you need, the surplus will be put onto the grid. Under the Smart Export Guarantee, electricity suppliers offer payment for each unit of power you export to the grid. 

Our league table reveals which suppliers are offering the best rates. Note that the best rate may not always mean the best energy package. Solar Energy UK recommends shopping around for the best deal. 

https://solarenergyuk.org/resource/smart-export-guarantee/

Monday 27 June 2022

Plan to cut energy bills

 Households could get discounts on electricity bills if they use less energy at peak times.

National Grid hopes to roll out a scheme where people can save cash if they avoid high-power activities, such as cooking or charging electric cars, when demand is high.

The move follows a trial where Octopus Energy offered incentives for 100,000 customers who reduced consumption.

Reducing your energy bill a little by switching on appliances at a "cheaper" time of day is not, as Octopus boss Greg Jackson says, life changing. Nor is it a new idea.

But any way to keep costs down will be looked at with interest by consumers who are only seeing their bill go one way at the moment - and that's up.

It has long been the selling point of smart meters, that this kind of thing is made easier is monitor and reward when suppliers have a minute-by-record of your energy use.

But there will be some safety concerns. For example, a fire caused by a faulty washing machine or tumble dryer is more of a risk to life if it occurs in the middle of the night, when everyone at home is upstairs asleep, than it would during the day.


Tuesday 12 July 2016

The Smart Home

A smart home is one in which the various electric and electronic appliances are wired up to a central computer control system so they can either be switched on and off at certain times (for example, heating can be set to come on automatically at 6:00AM on winter mornings) or if certain events happen (lights can be set to come on only when a photoelectric sensor detects that it's dark).
 These devices communicate with each other on your home network or via Bluetooth, doing things like sharing information, transferring files and digital media and providing remote access and control for domestic appliances.
Many connected home devices such as heating, lighting and security systems can be controlled remotely by a smartphone, tablet or computer, typically via an app.
 The most common connected devices are computers, games consoles and Smart TVs, but over the last few years the number and type of connected devices has expanded to include connected heating systems, lights, kettles, vacuum cleaners, scales and security cameras.
Accessories that can connect to the internet such as locks, door sensors and even babies’ dummies can be smartphone-controlled and typically use Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone.
Collectively, these devices are part of the Internet of Things.
 Many connected home devices can also be controlled remotely. Connected heating systems such as Nest’s Protect or British Gas’s Hive allow you to turn your heating on and off remotely using a phone, so if you get back home late one night you don’t waste money heating your house while you are away.
Connected home devices can also work together. Nest’s system includes a thermostat and the Nest Protect smoke/carbon monoxide detector, and if the latter detects a carbon monoxide leak, it will communicate with the thermostat to turn the heating off.
America is slightly ahead of the UK in terms of connected-home technology, Amazon Echo, an internet-connected hub that works with Alexa, a cloud-based voice system that can respond to voice commands.
Echo and Alexa work with smart home gadgets made by other companies. Using their voice, Ford owners can lock/unlock their car doors, Philips Hue users can dim their home lights or Nest owners can adjust the thermostat temperature.
If you're elderly or disabled, home automation systems like this can make all the difference to your quality of life, but they bring important benefits for the rest of us as well. Most obviously, they improve home security, comfort, and convenience. More importantly, if they incorporate energy monitors, such as thermostats, or sensors that cut the lights to unoccupied rooms, they can help you reduce household energy bills; automated systems such as Bye Bye Standby, which cut the power to appliances when they're not being used, can dramatically reduce the energy wasted by appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, and TVs when they're not actually being used.

Friday 4 September 2015

Slashing household solar subsides will kill off industry

The government wants to slash by 87% subsidies for householders who install solar panels on their rooftops, in a move that renewable energy experts warn could kill off a promising industry.
The potential reductions in the level of feed-in tariff (FIT), contained in a long-awaited consultation document released by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (Decc), and are far larger than expected.
The assault on solar power comes after ministerial decisions to remove financial aid from new onshore wind farms and slash home energy efficiency measures. There is even speculation that Decc could be wound up as a standalone department.
From 1 January, ministers are proposing reducing the feed-in tariff for smaller scale solar installations from 12.47p per kilowatt hour to 1.63p with large standalone units eligible for subsidies of 1.03p per kWh, compared with 4.28p today.
The government has blamed concerns that the £7.6bn budget for renewables will be drastically overspent, and argues that solar and onshore wind should be able to largely support themselves.