Installing solar panels on British churches and other religious buildings could raise £34 million per year through Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payments and electricity bill savings, according to figures released by British Gas.
According to data based on the company's Green Streets programme, published this week (July 12), the renewable technology could generate more than £29 million-a-year for places of worship through FiTs and save nearly £5 million a year by not having to buy electricity.
The Feed-in Tariff scheme was launched in April this year and provides fixed, technology-dependent payments to individuals, organisations and businesses who install renewable electricity generators for every unit of electricity they produce (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story). Under the scheme, solar photovoltaic (PV) tariffs peak at 41.3p/kWh - the highest available tariff.
The British Gas Green Streets programme - which provides £2 million to fund microgeneration and energy efficiency measures to help 14 communities around the UK save and generate energy - has both a church and a mosque involved in the project and the figures revealed here are based on real life examples of the potential savings of these buildings. These were then extrapolated to take account of the number of churches and mosques in the UK and their average congregation.
British Gas notes that the savings and money-making potential identified will be "a welcome revelation" to religious buildings which have been hit by the recession, claiming a recent report found that a quarter of all Church of England dioceses are currently facing budget deficits.
The figures also show that the CO2 savings of installing solar panels could also be significant, with savings of up to 42,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
full article
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Air Source Heat Pump Slashes Heating Bills
The Pearce family, of Enstone, near Chipping Norton, took a £950 holiday paid for with savings made on their energy bills after having a new energy-saving air pump system installed.
The environmentally-friendly device uses naturally occuring heat from the air to warm the home and provide hot water.
The equipment, called an air source heat pump, has dramatically lowered the cost of heating the family’s three-bedroom home and meant Mark and Hayley Pearce could repay their outstanding electricity bills.
Two years ago, the Cottsway Housing Association tenants had accumulated a £1,000 bill with Southern Electric.
The couple then had the new heating system installed by Cottsway to replace the old electric storage heaters and solid fuel open fire in the lounge.
Before the new heating system, they spent £1,137 a year on electricity bills and solid fuel.
The house is not on the gas network and the storage heaters and coal fire gave it a carbon footprint of nine tonnes of CO2 a year.
Costs are now down to £384 for the heating and the carbon footprint has dropped to 3.2 tonnes.
The housing association has installed air source heat pumps to replace storage and convector heaters and solid fuel fires in some of its houses.
Cottsway spokesman Gary Salter said: “We knew we would see a cut in fuel bills for our tenants but this has even surprised us.”
The ‘Ecodan’ air source heat pump operates on a small amount of electricity. It works effectively in temperatures below -15C.
Thousands of homes in Scandinavia have similar technology and it is being promoted and bought by UK energy suppliers.
Mr Salter added: “It’s very simple to install and operate, and will work with conventional radiators like those in most homes heated by gas central heating.
“We are delighted with the results from all of the Ecodan systems we have installed to date.”
full article
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Worcester Energy Homes
With everyone looking closely at fuel bills and doing their bit for the environment, this Worcester energy homes website from Worcester is here to help you see how real life Worcester installations are saving money and energy. See what the homeowners have to say about their installations and find out what other energy saving solutions are available to you.
The Worcester Energy Homes are real life examples of how condensing boilers, solar panels and heat pumps can reduce fuel bills and help the environment.
The website shows interviews with families who’ve improved their homes’ energy efficiency with Worcester products and easy to read summaries showing those savings.
The Energy Homes website also includes:
* Customer video testimonials
* Energy summaries for each home
* Videos of product installations
* A virtual tour of our flagship Energy Home
* Tips on saving energy in your home
full article
The Worcester Energy Homes are real life examples of how condensing boilers, solar panels and heat pumps can reduce fuel bills and help the environment.
The website shows interviews with families who’ve improved their homes’ energy efficiency with Worcester products and easy to read summaries showing those savings.
The Energy Homes website also includes:
* Customer video testimonials
* Energy summaries for each home
* Videos of product installations
* A virtual tour of our flagship Energy Home
* Tips on saving energy in your home
full article
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Grants for Solar Panels
Grants for Solar Panels
The UK government has committed itself to reducing household C02 emissions and improving the energy efficiency of homes throughout the UK. Currently there are two schemes specifically targeted at getting more domestic use of solar panels, one for solar photovoltaic panels and the other for solar hot water systems.
Other Government Grants Available
As part of a government backed initiative to make houses more energy efficient you can get up to £3500 towards the cost of solar panels. The level of grant available to you depends on your circumstances as well as any previous grants awarded on the property. To be eligible for these grants an accredited installer must be used and they will help guide you through what you are entitled to.
Solar Photovoltaic Panels
Direct grants for the installation of Solar Photovoltaic Panels are no longer available but there are still grants available for improving a homes energy efficiency that can be used towards the cost of solar panels (See Below).
The direct grants have been replaced since April 2010 by the new government backed feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme with which you have the ability to earn back money by feeding unused electricity generated back into the national grid as well as earn money for the power that you actually use. Ofgem are administering this scheme and the electricity suppliers themselves are responsible for paying the reward back to the customers.
It is possible for a well sited solar PV installation to earn a tax free income of £700 as well as saving around £140 a year on the household electricity bill meaning that the system could pay for itself in less than half of its expected lifetime leaving you to reap the financial rewards as this scheme has been guaranteed by the UK Government for 25 years. Currently if your solar photovoltaic panels were installed by an accredited installer you can earn up to 44.3p p/kWh for the power you export to the national grid and up to 41.3p p/kWh for the electricity that you use.
Solar Hot Water Systems
A second scheme is currently in place for those looking to purchase a Solar Hot Water System where the government will give a grant of a maximum of £400 or 30% of the total vat-exclusive installed cost, whichever is the smaller cost. In reality the cost of a solar hot water system means that most will receive the £400 grant.
Is is planned that the current grant scheme to stop towards the end of 2010 (Once the allocated money has run out) and to be replaced with the new renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme which works on a similar basis to the FITs scheme. While the final figures are not currently available it is thought that a payment of around 18p p/kWh for the heat generated will be paid meaning that on top of the average saving in heating bills of £75 you will earn back around £350 per year. This gives a similar 'payback period' as you get with Solar photovoltaic systems.
full article
The UK government has committed itself to reducing household C02 emissions and improving the energy efficiency of homes throughout the UK. Currently there are two schemes specifically targeted at getting more domestic use of solar panels, one for solar photovoltaic panels and the other for solar hot water systems.
Other Government Grants Available
As part of a government backed initiative to make houses more energy efficient you can get up to £3500 towards the cost of solar panels. The level of grant available to you depends on your circumstances as well as any previous grants awarded on the property. To be eligible for these grants an accredited installer must be used and they will help guide you through what you are entitled to.
Solar Photovoltaic Panels
Direct grants for the installation of Solar Photovoltaic Panels are no longer available but there are still grants available for improving a homes energy efficiency that can be used towards the cost of solar panels (See Below).
The direct grants have been replaced since April 2010 by the new government backed feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme with which you have the ability to earn back money by feeding unused electricity generated back into the national grid as well as earn money for the power that you actually use. Ofgem are administering this scheme and the electricity suppliers themselves are responsible for paying the reward back to the customers.
It is possible for a well sited solar PV installation to earn a tax free income of £700 as well as saving around £140 a year on the household electricity bill meaning that the system could pay for itself in less than half of its expected lifetime leaving you to reap the financial rewards as this scheme has been guaranteed by the UK Government for 25 years. Currently if your solar photovoltaic panels were installed by an accredited installer you can earn up to 44.3p p/kWh for the power you export to the national grid and up to 41.3p p/kWh for the electricity that you use.
Solar Hot Water Systems
A second scheme is currently in place for those looking to purchase a Solar Hot Water System where the government will give a grant of a maximum of £400 or 30% of the total vat-exclusive installed cost, whichever is the smaller cost. In reality the cost of a solar hot water system means that most will receive the £400 grant.
Is is planned that the current grant scheme to stop towards the end of 2010 (Once the allocated money has run out) and to be replaced with the new renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme which works on a similar basis to the FITs scheme. While the final figures are not currently available it is thought that a payment of around 18p p/kWh for the heat generated will be paid meaning that on top of the average saving in heating bills of £75 you will earn back around £350 per year. This gives a similar 'payback period' as you get with Solar photovoltaic systems.
full article
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