Every family in the country could have an energy smart meter within the next decade, the government said today.
Some 26m electricity and 22m gas meters will be fitted at a cost of £7bn, which will be picked up by the energy giants.
Commentators said it was inevitable this cost would be passed on to consumers, however, with industry sources saying it was the equivalent of £15 per household per year between 2010 and 2020 – or £150 in total.
After the initial cost, a typical family could save up to 15 per cent a year, or £187 off their annual bill, according to figures from Uswitch.com, the comparison site.Smart meters monitor your household’s energy consumption and send the information back to your energy supplier, so it dispenses with the need for meter readings.
The meters also have a small screen allowing households to monitor their own usage, and cut back if their consumption is too high.
Tom Lyon, energy expert at Uswitch.com said: “Today’s announcement from the government to equip every home in the UK with a smart meter by 2020 marks a great news day for all energy users. It may seem like a long deadline, but this is a huge programme and it’s important that it’s completed as effectively as possible, with minimum disruption to consumers.
“At last, it will also mark the end of meter readings and estimated bills. Our research has shown that almost 11 million consumers have unexpectedly owed money to their supplier following a discrepancy between an estimated and actual meter reading.”
Uswitch said that, on average, customers owed £142 as a result of estimated readings, with a fifth owing between £101-£200.
full article
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Monday 11 May 2009
The rewards of solar panels
The initial cost is high, but don't let that put you off. Two key developments in recent months have made it worth considering solar PV panels.
One is that a government incentive for PV doubled on 1 April and the other is that interest rates on many savings accounts have dropped to about 0.1%, meaning it is time your money worked harder.
And don't be deterred by the idea Britain doesn't get enough sunshine. In fact, solar radiation here is remarkably consistent and only around one third less than southern Italy or Spain. I have just come to the end of my second year with a solar PV system on my roof and it has been a great success.
We have a 3kW peak system (about 4m by 3m) on the roof. It produced 2,703kW hours (kWh) in its second full year (to 5 April), only 1% lower than the 2,730 kWh it produced in the first year, and that in spite of a lousy 2008 summer.
That was about 80% of the 3,500 kWh we used, and our usage was up because we had builders do some underpinning, which meant lots of kettles and cement mixers on.
The previous year we – a family of four – used 3,000 kWh, so the solar system produced 92% of our needs, a figure we expect to return to in the coming 12 months.
The panels, made by Kyocera of Japan, come with a 25-year guarantee and should last a lot longer than that. What you effectively do when you buy a solar PV system is pre-buy decades of electricity at today's price, thus shielding you from price rises. One great thing about a PV system is that it is "fit and forget" with little or no maintenance or noise. And they don't have to go on a directly south-facing roof – ours points south-east and works very well.
So how do the figures work out? Well, buying 3,000 kWh of electricity normally would cost around £420, based on 14 pence/kWh with npower, our supplier. We end up saving almost £400 of that by producing nearly all our own.
On top of that, we were getting payments under the government's Renewable Obligation Certification (ROC) scheme of around £35 per megawatt/hour, rounded to the nearest whole one. So that is £105, putting us about £70 in the black for the year.
Since 1 April, that ROC payment has doubled to £210, putting us about £175 in the black. That compares with £420 in the red without the panels – a gain of almost £600 a year.
Indeed, the system means that, with a condensing boiler, we are now down to only about £30 a month to heat and light our property while our carbon emissions are very low. So what about the investment yield? The system cost £17,000, for which we got a 50% grant, making £8,500. With a return of £600, that's around 7%. It's not taxed, so is equivalent of about 9% for a basic-rate taxpayer and 11% for a higher-rate taxpayer. You'd struggle to do better buying junk bonds and this stuff is certainly not junk!
full article
One is that a government incentive for PV doubled on 1 April and the other is that interest rates on many savings accounts have dropped to about 0.1%, meaning it is time your money worked harder.
And don't be deterred by the idea Britain doesn't get enough sunshine. In fact, solar radiation here is remarkably consistent and only around one third less than southern Italy or Spain. I have just come to the end of my second year with a solar PV system on my roof and it has been a great success.
We have a 3kW peak system (about 4m by 3m) on the roof. It produced 2,703kW hours (kWh) in its second full year (to 5 April), only 1% lower than the 2,730 kWh it produced in the first year, and that in spite of a lousy 2008 summer.
That was about 80% of the 3,500 kWh we used, and our usage was up because we had builders do some underpinning, which meant lots of kettles and cement mixers on.
The previous year we – a family of four – used 3,000 kWh, so the solar system produced 92% of our needs, a figure we expect to return to in the coming 12 months.
The panels, made by Kyocera of Japan, come with a 25-year guarantee and should last a lot longer than that. What you effectively do when you buy a solar PV system is pre-buy decades of electricity at today's price, thus shielding you from price rises. One great thing about a PV system is that it is "fit and forget" with little or no maintenance or noise. And they don't have to go on a directly south-facing roof – ours points south-east and works very well.
So how do the figures work out? Well, buying 3,000 kWh of electricity normally would cost around £420, based on 14 pence/kWh with npower, our supplier. We end up saving almost £400 of that by producing nearly all our own.
On top of that, we were getting payments under the government's Renewable Obligation Certification (ROC) scheme of around £35 per megawatt/hour, rounded to the nearest whole one. So that is £105, putting us about £70 in the black for the year.
Since 1 April, that ROC payment has doubled to £210, putting us about £175 in the black. That compares with £420 in the red without the panels – a gain of almost £600 a year.
Indeed, the system means that, with a condensing boiler, we are now down to only about £30 a month to heat and light our property while our carbon emissions are very low. So what about the investment yield? The system cost £17,000, for which we got a 50% grant, making £8,500. With a return of £600, that's around 7%. It's not taxed, so is equivalent of about 9% for a basic-rate taxpayer and 11% for a higher-rate taxpayer. You'd struggle to do better buying junk bonds and this stuff is certainly not junk!
full article
New smart meter
The government has unveiled plans for every home in Britain to be equipped with smart meters by the end of 2020.
Smart meters allow suppliers to remotely record customers' gas and electricity use, and let consumers see how much energy they are using.
Some 26 million electricity and 22 million gas meters will need to be fitted at a cost of £7bn.
Smart meters end the need to dispatch meter readers, meaning huge savings for energy firms who hope bills will fall.
It is also hoped that smart meters will mean an end to estimated bills and call centre staff who deal with related complaints.
British Gas said the move would reduce the UK's energy use, cut carbon emissions and save customers money.
Cost savings
Energy providers will have the responsibility to fit the meters in what amounts to the biggest programme of work since British Gas converted appliances in 17 million homes to natural gas back in the 1970s.
Industry sources say that the £7bn cost amounts to around £15 per household per year between 2010 and 2020.
full article
Sunday 10 May 2009
4,000 energy tariffs
Which? said seven in 10 people admitted that their sheer scale was confusing and called on energy suppliers to cut them.
Its report said confusing bills and an array of complex tariffs made it very difficult for consumers to understand what gas and electricity schemes they were using and reduce their energy consumption and costs."This is unacceptable at a time when prices are high, there are increasing numbers of people in fuel poverty, we are faced with the potential of future energy shortages and drastic action is needed to combat climate change," said the report.
Which? urged the Government and Ofgem, the regulator, to apply pressure on companies to simplify bills and tariffs.
Fiona Cochrane, an adviser at Which?, said: "With 4,000 energy tariffs available, how is anyone meant to understand which tariff is best? It's time for suppliers, Ofgem and the Government to make bills and tariffs more transparent.
"Helping consumers cut their energy usage will contribute to more affordable bills and lower carbon emissions."
The report added: "Gas and electricity bills are the single most important communication between a consumer and energy suppliers.
"They should provide customers with the facts they need to understand their energy use and costs and make an informed choice about their future consumption and supplier.
"Instead, most energy suppliers provide bills that their customers find complicated and confusing."
full article
Its report said confusing bills and an array of complex tariffs made it very difficult for consumers to understand what gas and electricity schemes they were using and reduce their energy consumption and costs."This is unacceptable at a time when prices are high, there are increasing numbers of people in fuel poverty, we are faced with the potential of future energy shortages and drastic action is needed to combat climate change," said the report.
Which? urged the Government and Ofgem, the regulator, to apply pressure on companies to simplify bills and tariffs.
Fiona Cochrane, an adviser at Which?, said: "With 4,000 energy tariffs available, how is anyone meant to understand which tariff is best? It's time for suppliers, Ofgem and the Government to make bills and tariffs more transparent.
"Helping consumers cut their energy usage will contribute to more affordable bills and lower carbon emissions."
The report added: "Gas and electricity bills are the single most important communication between a consumer and energy suppliers.
"They should provide customers with the facts they need to understand their energy use and costs and make an informed choice about their future consumption and supplier.
"Instead, most energy suppliers provide bills that their customers find complicated and confusing."
full article
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