Case study of a 22.2kW Solar PV installation

Better Planet has completed a 22.2kW solar PV installation for the University of Hertfordshire.

The project started by Better Planet carrying out a feasibility study for the University determining the optimal location of the panels, taking shading patterns into account. In the tender that followed, Better Planet provided the most competitive price among eight bidders.

The installation was done on the flat roof of the University’s main administration building using 120 modules manufactured by Amerisolar.

As roof penetration had to be avoided, we specified a ballast solution using plastic trays. All the materials were craned to the roof on a Saturday to avoid disruption.

The system is expected to produce over 18,000kWh of electricity and offset more than 7.8 tons of CO₂ per year.

Introduction

A scheme for upfront payment for installing solar thermal, heat pumps and biomass – The Renewable Heat Premium is now running – see details below. This is expected to be followed by a more ambitious scheme based on tariff payments similar to the Feed in Tariffs for solar PV – the Renewable Heat Incentive.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a UK Government scheme set up to encourage uptake of renewable heat technologies among householders, communities and businesses through the provision of financial incentives. The UK Government expects the RHI to make a significant contribution towards their 2020 ambition of having 12 per cent of heating coming from renewable sources. The Renewable Heat Incentive is the first of its kind in the world.

There are two phases to the introduction of the RHI:

• Phase 1: introduction of the Renewable Heat Premium Payments (RHPP) scheme to households and also the introduction of the RHI for non-domestic installations in the industrial, business and public sectors. Both of these have been introduced
• Phase 2: the domestic element of the RHI, is expected to annonunced in the summer of 2013 with tariffs paid out from springtime 2014 – more details in the article at the bottom of this page.

This is a UK Government scheme designed to help you afford renewable technologies for your home, such as:

• solar thermal panels
• heat pumps ( air to water, ground source or water source but excluding air to air and exhaust air heat pumps), and
• biomass boilers.

The amount received as part of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme depends on which technology you are applying for:

The Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme – Phase 2 will run from 1st May 2012 to 31st March 2013, subject to available funding.

If you live in England, Scotland or Wales and your installation did not receive funding under RHPP Phase 1 you are eligible to apply for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment. Your installation must also not have been commissioned for the first time, as detailed on your MCS certificate, before 21st July 2011.

If you live in Northern Ireland, find out more about the Renewable Heat Premium Payment at the DETI website.  

How you currently heat your home will depend on which technologies you are able to apply for:

• if you have recently removed a mains gas heating system or currently heat your home with mains gas, you are only eligible to apply for solar thermal
• if you currently rely on oil, liquid gas, solid fuel or electricity then you could also apply for air-to-water heat pumps, ground-source or water-source heat pumps and biomass boilers. 

If you have any further questions about whether you can apply, call us on 0845 643 12 80.

It is important to understand the full eligibility criteria before applying.

• The property must be owned by you and continue to be owned by you for the duration of the metering and survey requirements or if you are a tenant you must be purchasing the system yourself and have permission from the owner of the property;
• If the property is a new build, then you must retain ownership of the property either as the occupier or as the Private Landlord. Please note applications from installers, builder/developers or householders in relation to “off-plan” developments, are not eligible for support under this scheme;
• The property must have loft insulation to 250mm and cavity wall insulation (where practical);
• You should have all necessary planning and environmental permissions in place;
• The product and installer you go with must be certified under the  Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or Solar Keymark (or equivalent).

Installations of biomass boilers and solar thermal panels are not affected by this change.

In order to help increase the rate of meter installation relative to Phase 1, a small change will be made to the voucher payment process. For heat pump installations, all householders will receive 80% of their voucher value when a valid claim is submitted, together with a signed checklist from the installer confirming whether or not the installation can be fitted with a meter. Householders will receive the final 20% following a visit from the metering team to check that the installation is really ‘meter ready’ and install a set of equipment. If a householder has indicated that they are not meter ready, they will receive the final 20% of the grant at the end of the scheme.

As the applicant it is your responsibility to ensure that all information supplied at application and claim stage is accurate and complete. Any information that you provided to the Energy Saving Trust that is subsequently found to be untrue, inaccurate or incomplete may affect your ability to claim your rebate. Accordingly, applications should not be submitted by your installer.

The metering equipment provides live data to the Department of Energy and Climate Change to enable them to evaluate the performance of heat pumps. This is ground-breaking research. The results will be used to inform heat pump technology developments and future government policy. The Energy Saving Trust has commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to coordinate the monitoring programme. In addition to this, as a mandatory requirement for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment, you will be asked to submit information about how the technology you have installed is performing in its environment via online surveys. This is to support the monitoring programme and allow the Government to learn as much as possible about renewable technologies.

It is a condition of the grant that you participate fully with the survey and metering programmes. Refusal to do so will result in your grant being withdrawn or reclaimed.

• Check the technology is suitable for your home.
• Ensure you have all the basic energy efficiency measures installed in your home (cavity and loft insulation).
• Check planning permission (particularly for air source heat pumps).

• No vouchers will be valid beyond 31st March 2013 but the expiry date on your voucher may be earlier than this.
• Please note, the offer is cash limiting: once the budget for the scheme is reached we will no longer be able to accept applications.

You apply on the Energy Savings Trust’s website. Better Planet will assists its clients with advice on how to fill in the application – 0845 643 12 80.