01 Apr 2010
This is of course great news, and an important step in moving away from centrally produced high carbon power generation. It is also a complex issue and one that needs a level of understanding before jumping in. On the Lowcarboneconomy website there is a growing group of consultants, installers, manufacturers and specifyers that should be consulted before any investment is made. This new market must not be allowed to go the way of double-glazing - everything needs to be factual, transparent, honest and realistic and if anyone is then post messages, queries and questions in this community before parting with any cash!
01 Apr 2010
I totally agree with the comment about having an ethical structure in the industry. concerns about the double glazing type of companies should be taken seriously. We must protect the genuine companies who want to help consumers install solar panels on their house.The industry though through its microgeneration scheme, should prevent the cowboys from coming in. The MCS scheme is an awarded body that audits firms on their whole practice from initial customer enquiry through to installation. It is a robust scheme that manufacturers support and the general public. We totally support the customer being looked after and getting the right advice.
http://www.biggreencompany.co.uk
01 Apr 2010
Honesty and transparency - A good starting-point !
Just how honest and transparernt is this lot.
"Feed-in tariffs will allow households to generate their own electricity and sell it back to the National ..."
Nice to be "allowed" to use energy from a solar panel that I bought. Can't I do it without a "feed-in tariff" ?
"Sell it BACK... " it never came from "the grid" !!
And how come a "2.5 kW system will provide savings of ..." and "allow me to earn..."
Nice to be "allowed to earn" money, these days. But only if I have a 2.5kW solar installation ?
Where does this 900 quid come from for me to spend on gas ? Ans. It comes from Gas oil and nuclear energy-based economy. Am I going to be investing it in Solar energy systems ? - probably not. But this is not the concern of government ministers. There concern is Votes. And 900 quid gets mine !
Sell it "back" to the grid ? But it didn't come from "the grid" !!
01 Apr 2010
We have launched a new web application this week to give estimates of the returns available for solar pv or wind turbine installations of different sizes and in different locations. We have tried to make our calculations as transparent as possible by publishing our methodology and data sources.
It will be interesting to see whether people will make the effort to use our service or whether the market will go the way of the hard sell.
You can try the application at for free and without registering.
We also offer a quote comparison service with over 20 MCS certified installers giving quotes.
02 Apr 2010
RenSmart
That is an excellent application..Very usefull
Thanks
03 Apr 2010
This is nothing but a cruel joke on householders. Householders must use 'approved equipment from a very short list' AND use 'approved and expensive contractors to install the equipment' to qualify for money.
If you install anything 'innovative' that is not on the list you do not get a bean for your creativity.
03 Apr 2010
RenSmart
Your application has some good points but your wind to electricity calculations are seriously flawed.
If you have a 2kW wind turbine it can only generate electricity up to a maximum of around 1.8kW because the 'rating' refers to the mechanical shaft power at its operating wind velocity of say 10m/s.
If the wind was blowing at 15m/s the available shaft power increases by a factor of 8 but the turbine can only generate electricity at 1.8kW(e)
06 Apr 2010
A stupid question, I'm sure but,
Does the feed in tariff mean that you get paid for the energy that you produce and use as well as the surplus energy you sell to the national grid?
08 Apr 2010
Thank you for taking the time to look at our site.
The RenSMART wind speed model takes peak turbine output into account with generation capped at the peak turbine output. We also model cut in and cut out speeds. It is a model, however and calculates within a tolerance factor.
If you would like to discuss this further I would be happy to do so - probably best to contact me through the site.
08 Apr 2010
PahUK, with the feed-in tariff you get paid for each kWh of energy that you generate, whether you use it yourself or export it.
As part of the Clean Energy Cashback scheme you will receive a minimum of 3p per kWh exported, whereas, on a standard tariff, you pay about 10-13p for each kWh you import from the grid. On top of this you get the feed-in tariff (Starting at 41.3p per kWh generated for a Solar PV installation on an existing house).
So the value (including savings on your electricity bill) to a scheme member can vary from 44.3p to 54.3p depending on whether the electricity is used by you or exported. This means that matching the amount of electricity you generate to the electricity you use can make quite a difference to the pay back time of your generators cost be it Solar PV, Wind Turbine or another technology included in the scheme.
This is the estimate we provide using our Site Planner tool that we announced earlier in this thread. ( end of blatant plug :-) )
12 Apr 2010
Hi RenSmart,
Excellent tool, thank you. I have a question regarding the (8) Financial Projection. Is the FIT not index linked with inflation, so will increase over time?
06 Aug 2010
I've been reading a bit about this because I am looking at some of the free solar cells that take advantage of this FIT I am confused about one thing, apparently the energy companies pay for FIT but can past the cost back to the consumer - does that mean that by using FIT (or at least getting the free panels) I will be forced onto a more expensive tarriff ?
