Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

mac2008 wrote: »

Great stuff, thanks for taking the time.

My EPC (done in June 2012) put our house at a D. I've done the simple things (heating controls, LEDs, loft insulation etc.) plus the PV so am assuming a high C/borderline B now but I can't see how to get it to an A without a new boiler (ours c. 15 years old combi but still going strong).

Also just noticed that my EPC quoted 1£1-20k indicative cost for 2.5kWp PV - oh how times have changed!

Mac.

Hiya Mac, why not try the EPC home energy check, that's what I did (at least I think that's what I did):

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Insulation/Home-Energy-Check

my results were very similar to the official EPC. If I'm remembering correctly, it takes a few days for the results to come through, otherwise I'd have done it again without mentioning the PV, just to see what it scores.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Ofgem confirms 3.5% FiT regression

0-4kWp = 14.38p/kWh

>4-10kWp = 13.03p/kWh

Export tariff 4.77p/kWh (deemed 50% of generation)

Mart.

zeupater

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Hiya Mac, why not try the EPC home energy check, that's what I did (at least I think that's what I did):

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Insulation/Home-Energy-Check

my results were very similar to the official EPC. If I'm remembering correctly, it takes a few days for the results to come through, otherwise I'd have done it again without mentioning the PV, just to see what it scores.

Mart.

Hi

Just ran our home through that and got a C78, potential C79 .... which proves that a set of basic assumptions are a waste of time for anything other than a 'standard'/'average' property built within a particular period.

Running the house through the full RdSAP process gives a current EER of B84 & EI of B82, with no potential improvements which would change this (although I know there are plenty).

As an aside, conducting the calculations correctly by taking all of the construction & insulation materials into account, the EST model calculated annual energy usage is ~60% higher than it should be ..... which all goes to prove the point that for anything which was originally built to a higher energy efficiency standard than 'the norm', EPCs are a complete waste of time ....

HTH
Z

ps ... also had a laugh at the estimated current fuel bill, which is ~70% higher than we actually pay (DD + logs) which tends to support the accuracy of the 'whole house' materials calculation .... my opinion - it's jobs for the boys, what a load of rubbish!

Martyn1981

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

Just ran our home through that and got a C78, potential C79 .... which proves that a set of basic assumptions are a waste of time for anything other than a 'standard'/'average' property built within a particular period.

HTH
Z

ps ... also had a laugh at the estimated current fuel bill, which is ~70% higher than we actually pay (DD + logs) which tends to support the accuracy of the 'whole house' materials calculation .... my opinion - it's jobs for the boys, what a load of rubbish!

Hi Z, found the EST DIY EPC I did, results were June 2012. No specific numbers, but suggested a B with A potential. At that point I'd entered PV on 50% of rooves (more like 90% now).

Using the info Cypher has posted, I'd guess my house (without PV) would lose around 12 points, taking it to a high C / low B, which sounds far more reasonable.

Estimated bills (for me) were also quite high. Suggesting £1,016 (at the time). Not sure if that figure is reduced to take account of PV leccy savings or not, but regardless, our total annual bill at the moment is ~£740 pa. Still too high.

Silly question, but when you chat with friends/neighbours, do they lecture you as to how little energy savings will save you? I always get that, till I tell them my bills! And I really don't think our bills are that good, just not too bad.

Best one was neighbour across the road telling me that his daughter (about 30) had recommended they go on a water meter as she is now on one. He told me she was wrong "because" her figures were "ridiculous" - saying that they could save about £300pa, and that simply wasn't possible.

I asked what they now pay (as I went on a meter a long time ago) and he said £550pa, I told them our DD was £20pm, and left him to do the ridiculous maths.

Mart.

Cardew

zeupater wrote: »

. my opinion - it's jobs for the boys, what a load of rubbish!

That's sexist;)

I wrote this a couple of years ago:

We get lots of self proclaimed 'energy experts' on MSE who having done a 2 day course feel qualified to give advice - often poor advice.


Domestic Energy Assessor
2 days course • Level 3 diploma
Limited time
special offer £995 + VAT

In my case it was merely a polite enquiry to see if the OP was in that category - or if not, what qualifications were required to be an 'energy expert'.

Incidentally my daughter did the 5 day course(she didn't pay) after graduating and before moving on to another degree course. Immediately she finished the course she became an instructor at the same establishment.

Clever girl as she might be, she didn't have, and still doesn't, any idea of the most rudimentary electrical theory, or insulation etc. However the reports she wrote were highly impressive - but meaningless, all the buzzwords and jargon were on the template!!

spgsc531

Cardew wrote: »

We get lots of self proclaimed 'energy experts' on MSE who feel qualified to give advice - often poor advice.

Sounds just like you cardew :rotfl:

zeupater

And, if you've missed it ....

Ofgem publishes 2014/15 FiT & Deemed export tables to include 2.7%RPI adjustment ....

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/85846/010214rpiadjustedtariffspv1.pdf

HTH
Z

zeupater

Cardew wrote: »

That's sexist;) ....

Hi


In my defence .... I was working on the basis that the 'fairer sex' likely wouldn't want to participate in such a 'scam'.

Is 'scam' too harsh a word to use ? ... well taking the definition as being 'to deprive of by deceit', let's consider what's being done ... A poorly trained assessor can utilise a poorly conceived 'dumbed-down' set of averaged assumptions which have been included in pretty basic 'approved' software packages (which are chargeable to the assessors) to provide a document (EPC) which is mandatory in certain circumstances (eg house sale) and is chargeable at somewhere around £100. There certificates (EPC) are claimed to provide detailed information regarding the energy efficiency and environmental impact for the property, which, of course, is both claimed to be, and assumed by the reader, to be accurate .... the problem is, unless the property conforms to a pretty rigid set of 'standard' rules which have been derived from assumptions and averaging, the process results in a chargeable certificate which is completely wrong, but assured to be correct.

As previously stated, our property easily meets one of the major requirements for passivhause classification and isn't a million miles away from the other, but it's simply not economically sensible to spend the capital required for such a minor return.

RdSAP is a BRE 'thing' and BRE are so blinkered to current practices that they simply discount anything else. For example, take loft insulation ... they set the standard to just under 300mm, therefore the RdSAP calculations discount anything more for the EPC calculations .... we have ~200sqm of loft space which is insulated by 500mm+ (more over high heat areas), which effectively makes a joke of the EPC calculation for our property on it's own ....

EPC - accurate as claimed, and worth the cost -or- possibly not accurate, and therefore depriving householders of the cost by deceit ..... ??

HTH
Z

spgsc531

"Government figures show that those paying by cash or cheque typically pay £114 a year more than those who make an automatic payment."

"But Robert Halfon, a backbench Conservative MP, said they amount to a tax on some of the poorest in society. "Energy companies have been ripping the consumer off - have been fleecing the consumer- particularly the poor and pensioners, with their stealth tax for some time," he told BBC Radio's Five Live."


Shame the constant whiner(s) against FiT payments and how they "steal" from the poor don't whine more about things like this instead.

Martyn1981

The government is hoping to promote the mid/large scale demand side PV market (the one I think has the most potential):

Greg Barker promises to ‘mobilise the mid-scale solar market’ in 2014

“We had 1.6GW installed at small-scale – mostly domestic installations. We had close to 0.7GW of ground-mounted, but in the crucial medium-scale for industrial and commercial rooftops, we only had about 800MW and that’s not nearly good enough. Especially when you consider that it has been estimated that just 16% of industrial and commercial rooftops could realise my ambition of driving to 20GW.

Trina Solar looks to be of similar mind:

Trina eyes UK commercial sector with expanded distribution network

“The commercial installation sector is ripe for growth. More and more companies are realising the potential savings to be made through self-consumption,” said Richard Rushin, UK sales manager, Trina Solar.

“The PV market in the UK has matured to the point where concerns about subsidy cuts and economic viability are not really relevant to commercial projects. Organisations with sufficient roof space will be able to meet their own energy needs with PV,” he added.

And for an example, that will hopefully 'tickle' the old-hands, let's look at potatoes (:D):

Potato producer peels back energy costs with 681kWp rooftop plant

Advantages for the potato producer in adding generation capacity from the rooftop PV plant include the ability to better factor energy supply costs into profit and loss forecasts.

E Park & Sons’ supply deals include supermarkets and public sector customers, many of which are now looking to source stock from suppliers which are lowering their carbon footprint. The new plant therefore gives the company an extra competitive edge.

Mart.