Solar 67
This September, the Renewables Roadshow, powered by Plumb Center kicks off in Bolton. A series of events is lined up across the country throughout that month.
Visitors to the event will have the opportunity to interact with dozens of exhibiting manufacturers, merchants and professional bodies and there will be four theatres designed to simplify technologies and training.
While this technology introduces new and different hazards for fire fighters, they are able to handle it with proper training and understanding. The risk of a roof or home catching fire because of a solar photovoltaic power installation is very unlikely. Having said that the proliferation of solar panels as a renewable energy tool is gaining significant momentum and market penetration. Firefighters must understand the particular hazards they face when fighting a fire in a PV-equipped structure, which are primarily from tripping on conduits and electrical shocks, as even with very little exposure to light PV modules are still electrified and this includes bright moonlight or street lighting. From a fire service and rescue perspective, as with any structural fire attack, it’s best for the fire fighters to be aware that a solar power system exists on the building.
As part of Krannich Solar’s aim to become established as UK brand leader, the company are developing a range of practical initiatives to support installers as they, in turn, seek to grown their own businesses. The first of these initiatives is a three-tiered support plan for installers competing for tenders from either local government or organisations such as housing associations, schools etc.
Tier One
Krannich Solar UK has commissioned Carolyn Roberson Consulting (CRC) to produce an on-line brochure with practical advice to help anyone tendering for contracts understand any jargon, get to know what organisations are seeking – what turns them on – and gain a “competitive advantage” over any competitors.
Kingspan Renewables has scooped the Renewable Supplier of the Year award at the Plumb Center and Parts Center National Supplier Conference; an annual event recognising loyalty and excellence in service amongst their market-leading suppliers.
The award was presented by the conference’s guest speaker, England rugby star Austin Healey, and was collected by Kingspan Renewables managing director, Cameron Holroyd who commented: “We are very proud to have been recognised as a lead supplier in what is such an important growth sector. This further marks our commitment to delivering top-of-the-range renewable heating and hot water solutions that are custom-designed to suit each application and deliver the best results for distributors, installers and end-users alike.”
Lancashire solar energy company Solarlec got the thumbs up from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme in its annual review this week.
ELECSA carried out a full assessment at Solarlec’s premises on behalf of the MCS and confirmed the company’s status as an official provider of solar PV panel systems for another 12 months.
According to Our Solar Britain, its energy calculator highlights homeowners’ savings and Feed-in Tariff revenues from solar installation.
The average homeowner in the United Kingdom could save £32,000 – over £1,200 per year – through the installation of solar panels according to a new savings calculator provided by the Our Solar Britain initiative. Located at oursolarbritain.co.uk, the consumer campaign’s energy calculator combines estimated savings on energy bills with potential financial gains from the government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) to give users an idea of the money they can make through adopting renewable energy over a 25 year period. An average home in the UK will generate 2850kW per year, some of which can also be sold back to the National Grid through the FiT incentives.
GE Capital has agreed a £20m financing deal with free solar panel installer, A Shade Greener , helping the Yorkshire-based start-up company install 3.3kWp Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems on an additional 2,000 homes, as it continues to expand its operations across the local regions.
A Spalding farmer is generating renewable energy following Lark Energy’s installation of a 63 kWp PV solar power system.
Working to very tight timescales to ensure completion before changes to the Feed-In Tariff (FiT) for solar PV installations over 50kW were implemented; Eaton’s Electrical Sector has designed, manufactured and supplied comprehensive turnkey BoS (Balance of System) solutions for major solar energy parks at Howbery Park in Oxfordshire, Wheal Jane in Cornwall and at a farm site in Cambridgeshire. These sites were developed by Lightsource Renewable Energy and funded by Octopus Investments and between them, these new solar parks have a total generating capacity of 7.2MWp.
EOS Energy, part of the Alumet Group, had a double celebration at the inaugural Renewable Awards in front of 800 industry professionals at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.
Colexon Energy, a solar power engineering and distribution company has announced orders for 5,000 First Solar thin-film panels from installers in Cornwall and Oxford.
The black, frameless modules manufactured by First Solar are becoming very popular with customers, thanks to their excellent energy output characteristics, low production costs, end-of-life recycling programme and aesthetic appeal. The panels using a thin layer of cadmium telluride on glass have a superior energy output at high temperatures and under low light conditions.
Azur Solar has launched an online shop for installers that makes selecting and ordering components and kits significantly easier, quicker and also cheaper, particularly as an introductory offer means that MCS installers visiting www.azur-solar-shop.co.uk and registering will receive a £100 discount on their first order over £2,000.
Ardenham Energy has announce expansion plans following a £2m investment by Bridges Ventures.
Renewable energy installation is a multi-faceted operation and the role of installer has ramped up. Not only is there training to undertake, legislation to adhere to and technology to keep abreast of, but there is the added responsibility of acting as advisor to the customer.
Amid the day-to-day running of a renewables business, it can be easy to overlook the needs of the consumer and assume they come to you fully armed with a battery of energy expertise. However, they may not know which technology best suits their needs, FiTs may be getting them in a flap and they may feel confused cutting through the cowboys to find a company they can trust. This is where the you come in – it’s important to know the answers to your customer’s questions, allaying any queries they may have about investing in renewable technology.
In order to meet the demands of the Climate Change Act, installers need to gain the knowledge, skills and certification to work with renewable technologies. Simon Allan, director of renewables, explains what this means for the industry and how materials suppliers such as Plumb Center are perfectly placed to be a key reference, information and training source.
The carbon targets set by the Climate Change Act will make some extraordinary demands on the construction industry, not only to deliver very low impact new buildings but to substantially refurbish the vast majority our 26 million dwellings and the 2.5 million non-domestic buildings.
There won’t be many readers of REI that haven’t cast their eyes over the recent Which? report which highlighted certain aspects of the way solar PV is sold. But how did the industry view the magazine’s findings? By Lu Rahman
As part of a major £61m investment, including a new 18,000 sq m educational building for its students, East Surrey College has installed 1050 Kingspan Renewables Thermomax solar thermal vacuum tubes to service its annual hot water needs, which significantly cut carbon emissions and lower energy costs.
A model of sustainability, the new landmark building in Redhill has been awarded a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good,’ with the large-scale solar thermal installation complemented by rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, a wood chip fuelled biomass boiler and translucent cladding panels for thermal insulation and high levels of natural daylight.
Enecsys has teamed with Ember to bring wireless ZigBee communications to roof-top solar PV systems so that households and businesses can better monitor and optimize their systems’ performance.
Enecsys has integrated Ember’s ZigBee system-on-chip (SoC) and ZigBee PRO software into its SMI series of micro inverters, which convert the DC output of solar panels into AC for connection to the electricity grid. Unlike traditional centralized string inverters, Enecsys’ micro inverters connect to each module of a solar PV system, or each pair of modules in the case of the “Duo” product. They deliver better energy harvest, higher reliability, longer life expectancy, and greater solar PV design flexibility.
According to Siliken, using the SLK72M6L or the SLK72P6L means installing 20 per cent fewer modules to obtain the same power
The company claims to have carried out another step forward in terms of research and development with these 280Wp modules. Efficiency is up to 15.7 per cent for the polycrystallines and up to 16 per cent for the monocrystallines. This high quality and reliability of the modules guarantees a quick return on the investment in any photovoltaic installation, either residential, industrial or on a solar farm, says the company.
According to Schueco UK, the Schueco PowerHouse is a complete PV solar energy system in a box.
PTS has launched a comprehensive Renewables Brochure to help installers make the right choices when it comes to specifying energy efficient products.
Carlo Gavazzi has extended its solar energy portfolio with new surge protection devices that provide backup protection without internal fuses. The innovative DSF surge arrestors embody a special internal backup that ensures they remain safe at the end of varistor life, ensuring safe transient overvoltage protection for combiner boxes in photovoltaic systems.
Enecsys is offering a cost-saving 480W duo micro inverter for solar PV modules
The duo concept connects two solar PV modules with power point tracking for maximised energy harvest at no cost premium over string inverters.
Dimplex is extending choices in solar thermal water heating, with the launch of the SOLC201 flat plate collector, which it says provides a cost-effective way to start enjoying low cost, low carbon hot water.
The SOLC201 is solar keymark approved, meaning that it will be eligible for the financial incentives available under the Renewable Heat Incentive.