Latest News
Homeowners offered grants to install renewable energy sources
August 11, 2011
A new scheme from the government means that homeowners can apply for grants of up to £1,250 to install renewable energy equipment in their homes. From 1 August, householders can apply for renewable energy grants from the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme. The scheme, being run by the Energy Saving Trust, allows homeowners to apply to receive funding to help with the cost of installing renewable energy sources. The funding is mainly being offered to more rural properties that don’t have mains gas heating; however homeowners can receive up to £300 to install solar thermal hot water panels regardless of the type of heating their home has. Installing a ground source heat pump will make homeowners eligible for up to £1,250 whereas homeowners who plan on installing biomass boilers, such as wood pellet boilers, are offered £950 and those who install an air source heat pump could be entitled to receive £850. The scheme aims to support up to 25,000 installations and money is available on a first come, first served basis. Other forms of energy saving equipment are available which could help homeowners in more urban areas use renewable energy, including solar PV panels and wood pellet stoves. Enerfina can help you make an informed decision about the type of equipment most suited to your home.
Biggest solar energy farm in the UK opens in Oxfordshire
July 11, 2011
A business park in Oxfordshire is now home to the UK’s largest solar energy farm which will generate nearly a quarter of the site’s power. Howbery Business Park in Wallingford has 3,000 solar panels which have just been connected to the Grid. The panels will save 350 tonnes of CO2 emissions and generate enough energy to power 200 homes. Thanks to Government renewable heat incentives such as the Feed in Tariffs scheme, installing solar panels can be very affordable, and a value for money way of generating power for both businesses and homes. Homeowners can install photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of their property to generate electricity, so you can save significant amounts of money on your energy costs. Solar panels work even in cloudy conditions so you can be sure that all your energy requirements can be met, and the Government’s Feed in Tariffs scheme allows you to sell extra energy back to the Grid, giving you an extra income. Enerfina are an impartial renewable energy advisor who can assist you in finding the right form of renewable energy equipment for your requirements and put you in touch with a qualified local fitter so you can get your new equipment installed and start saving money on your energy costs.
A Clever Combination - the New Pellet Boiler OCTO PLUS by SOLARFOCUS
November 16, 2010
The dual system Pellet Boiler OCTO PLUS – Austrian manufacturer SOLARFOCUS’ latest innovation – fully integrates the Buffer and Solar Thermal energy supply within one unit, a very compact combination resulting in the minimum of Pellet consumption. The new Boiler combines a compact downdraught combustion Pellet Boiler unit with a clever Buffer solution and latest Solar engineering into one compact unit. When the energy required for heating and domestic hot water preparation cannot be supplied by the sun, the integrated Pellet Boiler tops up the necessary energy. This integrated concept of Solar heat and Pellet technology achieves a complete system efficiency of 94% for Pellets due to the direct delivery of heat from the Boiler’s heat exchangers, into the centre of the Buffer Tank. Due to the compact design, the Pellet Boiler OCTO PLUS requires just under 1 M² of floor space. Installation of the OCTO PLUS is easy and straightforward as it is composed of compact modules. The Touchscreen display allows for easy, intuitive and complete Building Heat Management, including Solar Thermal, integrating everything into one central control. The attractive design completes the advantages of compactness, energy savings, innovative function and easy handling of the OCTO PLUS. The OCTO PLUS is available in two sizes: 2.9-10 kW or 2.9-15 kW, with a 500 L Buffer Tank with standard stratification of the heating return and Solar Heat Exchanger.
Local authorities to sell renewable electricity
August 18, 2010
Councils across Britain will from next week be allowed to sell renewable electricity to the grid and should assume their rightful place leading a local power revolution. At present only 0.01% of electricity in England is generated by local authority-owned renewables, despite the scope that exists to install projects on their land and buildings. In Germany the equivalent figure is 100 times higher. In one of the first energy policy actions of the coalition government, a ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity will end on 18 August. This will open new sources of income including the full benefit of the feed in tariff which incentivises renewable electricity. It could mean up to £100 million a year in income for local authorities across England and Wales.
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in the UK
July 27, 2010
To meet the 2020 Renewable Energy target of 15%, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) needs to develop new ways of generating renewable energy in all sectors, including heating. Heat generated from renewable sources currently accounts for approximately 1% of Total Heat demand . this may need to rise to 12% to hit the UK's binding EU targets. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) offers financial assistance to enable more people to afford Renewable Heating and, by expanding the market, will help bring costs down more quickly. Eligible Renewable Heating technologies include: Air and Ground Source Heat Pumps, Biomass Boilers, Solar Thermal Water Heaters and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plants which use renewable fuels. The Renewable Heat Incentive supports heating at all levels / scales, including households, businesses, offices, public sector buildings and industrial processes in large factories. Tariff levels have been calculated to bridge the financial gap between the cost of conventional and renewable heat systems at all scales, with additional compensation for certain technologies for an element of the non-financial cost and a rate of return of 12% on the additional cost of renewables, with 6% for solar thermal. While the DECC is aiming to launch the RHI Scheme in April 2011, renewable heating installations carried out as of July 15th 2009 are also eligible for RHI. To find out more, or to view the Table of Tariffs for the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme, please click on the Grants Tab off the Home Page.
UK Government Energy Bill 2010
June 26, 2010
The UK Government's Energy Bill was announced during the Queen's Speech on May 25th 2010. It plans to introduce legislation to improve energy efficiency in British homes and businesses, to promote low carbon energy production, and to secure national energy supplies. The key elements of the Bill are as follows: (i) Implementation of a Green Deal to deliver energy efficiency to homes and business . delivering a framework including potential incentives to energy suppliers and households that will transform the provision of energy efficiency in the UK by enabling a Pay as you Save approach. The Energy Bill may also contain measures to: (ii) Regulate the carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations. (iii) Reform energy markets to deliver security of supply and ensure fair competition. (iv) Put in place a framework to guide the development of a smart grid that will revolutionise the management of supply and demand for electricity. (v) Require energy companies to provide more information on energy bills in order to empower consumers and to ensure fair access to energy supplies. (vi) Ensure that North Sea infrastructure is available to all companies to ease the exploitation of smaller and more difficult oil and gas fields. (vii) Create a Green Investment Bank to support investment in low carbon projects to transform the economy. Source: Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK
