The post How Can You Produce Renewable Energy At Home? appeared first on Home Improvement Price Quotes Across The UK.
]]>One of the most popular options for homeowners is to install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on their homes. Solar panels generate electricity from sunlight and can be positioned on most homes, making them an ideal choice for individual households. Once installed, these panels can not only generate energy that you can use in your property, but any excess energy can be fed back into the national grid, providing clean energy to others.
PV panels are the most popular option for generating renewable energy at home due to their accessibility and ease of installation. Once installed, these panels can generate electricity from sunlight, which can be used to power your home, and any excess energy can be fed back into the grid. Not only do they help to reduce carbon emissions, but they can also significantly lower your energy bills. With the UK aiming to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, it’s becoming increasingly important to explore sustainable energy solutions like PV panels.
Solar PV panels not only help to reduce carbon emissions but also lower energy bills. Once you have a solar panel system installed, you won’t need to pay for electricity from a traditional energy supplier. The initial installation cost of solar panels may be relatively high, ranging from £5,000 to £8,000 on average, depending on the size of the system. However, these costs can often be offset by the long-term savings in energy bills.
Aside from generating electricity, solar energy can also be used to provide hot water in your home. By installing a solar hot water system, you can harness the power of the sun to heat your water, reducing your reliance on traditional energy sources. These systems typically require around four-square meters of solar panels to provide enough hot water for a family of four. While the initial installation cost may be higher compared to traditional hot water systems, solar hot water systems can save you money in the long run as you’ll no longer need to pay for the energy to heat your water. Plus, by using solar energy, you’ll be doing your part in reducing carbon emissions and contributing to a more sustainable future.
In addition to solar panels, another way to produce renewable energy at home is through the use of rainwater harvesting systems. Installing a water butt is a simple and cost-effective way to collect and store rainwater for use in the garden. Water butts can be connected to the guttering of a property, allowing them to collect rainwater that would otherwise be lost to drainage. The water collected can then be used to water plants, wash cars, and clean outdoor surfaces.
Not only does rainwater harvesting save money on water bills, but it also helps to reduce the demand for water from mains sources. This can be especially beneficial during times of drought or when water restrictions are in place. The water that collects in a water butt comes from rainfall, which is a natural, renewable source of water. By collecting and using rainwater in your garden instead of relying on tap water, you can reduce your water bill and reduce your carbon footprint.
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has recently called for swift action from the government to implement new standards focused on reducing carbon emissions within the building sector. In doing so, the CCC has highlighted the importance of clearly stating within the standards that on-site renewables like solar PV and wind power cannot be utilized to offset ongoing fossil fuel use. Furthermore, the CCC has emphasised the need for the government to address fundamental issues related to compliance and performance to ensure the effectiveness of the standards and achieve a substantial reduction in carbon emissions.
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]]>The post Heat pumps: How they work and where to get one? appeared first on Home Improvement Price Quotes Across The UK.
]]>The UK government is now offering £5,000 to people in England and Wales to encourage them to replace their old gas boilers with new modern heat pumps.
In his Spring Statement from March 2022, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has also announced that VAT will be scrapped on heat pumps for five years.
The brand new boiler upgrade scheme was announed in March 2022 by the British goverment to help twowards the cost so there is for more enviromentally friendly ways for people to heat there homes from traditional gas boilers.
There will be grants available for existing homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.
They can be used for the following four systems up to 45kW in size (the average home in the UK requires a 4kW system):
The property must have an eligible Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) issued in the last 10 years, and the certificate must have no outstanding recommendations to install loft or cavity wall insulation.
If it does, you’ll need to insulate your home first, or as part of the application process.
The scheme will not be available if you live in social housing or a new-build property. Private rented accommodation is also eligible but the decision has to be taken by the landlord.
The government is providing £5,000 for households to install air source heat pumps (ASHPs) – which would cover between 75% and 50% of the cost.
It will provide £6,000 for the less commonly used ground source heat pump (GSHP) or water-source heat pump (WSHP). This would cover between 50% and 30% of the cost of the unit, although the cost of installation (digging a hole, for instance) could be significantly higher.
The government has set aside £450m for this scheme, which will cover a maximum of 90,000 boilers.
You can still apply if you’ve received separate funding for energy efficiency upgrades such as insulation, doors or windows.
Funding will not be available for the replacement of existing low carbon heating systems. Only properties which are fully replacing existing fossil fuel systems (such as oil, gas or direct electric) are eligible for support.
The first thing you need to do is getin contact with some some MSC-certified installers, of which there are 773 in the UK. You can search for a local installer by using this tool. We would always suggest getting in contact with multiple companies which we can help you with also for heat pumps.
Once you have been provided with some quotes, the installer or company that you dedide to use can then go and apply for a voucher on your behalf from the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), who are currently managing this scheme.
If Ofgem approves the voucher, ofgem will contact you to make sure the installer is working on your behalf, they will send a direct payment to your chosen installer once all the work is completed. Then you will then have to pay any remaining balance that there could possibly be.
The installation will be completed within three months of the voucher being approved by ofgem for an air source heat pump, or six months for a ground source heat pump.
The scheme is expected to run for three years until 31 March 2025, and it is operating on a first-come, first-served basis.
Running costs, despite the efficiency figures, aren’t as clear as you might expect. Yes, you do get a lot more heat per the electricity used by going for a heat pump. However, electricity is more expensive than gas and oil. At time of publishing the price of electricity stands at 16.36 pence per kilowatt. Natural gas is nearly four times cheaper at 3.8 pence per kWh paid.
To give all those numbers a bit of context. The average UK home is using around 12,000 kWh each year to heat the place. For a 4kW heat pump that works out at £654.40 per year. The UK average gas bill, using the same 12,000 kWh, currently sits at around £572 per year.
While it looks like gas is cheaper, The Clean Heat Grant from April 2022 which helps with the upfront costs. You could also save money using solar power or wind to get free electricity to help heat your home. But of course you need that kit installed too.
A heat pump is an electrically powered device that absorbs heat from the air, ground or water around a building.
For example, air-source pumps absorbs heat from the outside air into a liquid refrigerant at a low temperature. Using electricity, the pump compresses the liquid to increase its temperature. It then condenses back into a liquid to release its stored heat. Heat is sent to your radiators or underfloor heating
A box of about 1m x 1m needs to stand outside – close to, or attached to the property – to draw in air.
It should be at least 1m from your neighbour’s property so they will not be able to hear it. Although it won’t be much louder than a fridge.
You will also need space inside for a heat pump unit and hot water cylinder. The unit will be about the size of a gas boiler. While the cylinder depends on the size of the home.
A ground source heat pump needs much more space outside. Either a bore hole as deep as 100m, or a horizontal system dug into the ground over a large area.
If you would like more information about heat pumps or to quotes for them then you can quite simply go to our tool.
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]]>The post How Electric Vehicle Owners Discover More Savings Through Solar appeared first on Home Improvement Price Quotes Across The UK.
]]>Solar is a form of clean and green energy that more and more people, not only in Britain, but globally, are trying to count on. The reason? It is cheap – almost free!All you need to do is incorporate a few initial design elements when constructing your home/office, and you are all set for a lifetime of free charges to your vehicle. Know that even if the cold and chilled out weather, UK is a good place install solar panels because of its strategic placement where it gets almost 60% of the solar radiation found in the equator! Almost close to Germany, France or Spain!
Solar PV’s in the UK, use light to generate electricity. Once you have the solar-powered charging station in place, you entitle yourself to a lifetime of free electricity. You can use it run electric vehicles, to use it in your home to run appliances and LED’s or any such thing for that matter, or you can sale it to eat a few extra bucks. Let us concentrate on how to use a solar-powered charging station to charge your electric vehicle and make some savings.
You need to choose an EV, and dependent upon that, you must incorporate a battery system into your PV system, so that it can suffice your charging needs. The average miles that you drive per week must also be factored in when choose your PV system. So, this is a one-time cost, buying an EV and then installing a PV.
The maintenance is very low cost, just needs an occasional brushing of the solar panels that is quick and immaculate. For an average Brit, a 5 hour direct daily sunlight is enough on a vehicle that needs about 26 kWh for every 100 miles to drive about 20 miles per day.If we compare a Hyundai IONIQ Electro Trend versus a Hyundai i30 1.4 T-GDI Trend DCT, the purchase price does not have a very huge gap.
So as to build your own electric vehicle charging station in the house, you must consult industry experts who carry experience in this field. This would bring down long term costs and avoid unwanted mishaps. Also you can tap on possible subsidies and tax incentives with the help of professional consultation. On the whole solar can save you a lot on your travelling expenses, at the same time making you guiltfree by bringing down your carbon footprint!
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]]>Thanks to technological advances in solar energy technology, the cost of solar panels in the UK has plummeted dramatically in recent years. That does not mean they are cheap, though. But are solar panels worth it?
The average cost of solar panels in the UK ranges between £5,000 and £10,000 (£350 and £500 per panel) in 2021. This vast difference in the average costs is due to many factors, the most important of which are the size and occupancy of your house. You will use more electricity if you have more people or amenities, so the solar panel costs will naturally go up. However, regardless of the size and occupancy of your house, you should expect to pay at least £5,000 for your solar installation.
The answer is yes and it all has to do with how much you can save with solar power.
Solar power can lead to significant savings in two ways. First, it reduces the amount of electricity you will need to draw from the national grid, thus saving you money on your energy bills. A solar system could save you between £100 and £270 each year by lowering your energy usage. Second, you can earn money back through solar panel incentives in the UK, such as the Smart Export Guarantee or SEG (more on this later.)
How and when you use solar energy to power your home also has a bearing on how much money you can save. If you use your appliances during the day, you will get the most out of your investment; however, if you only use them after the sun has set, you will have to buy from the grid.
Since there are several variables at play, the answer can vary depending on your specific circumstances—most notably, whether or not you make use of the SEG payments.
If you do not make use of the SEG payments, your solar panel savings would only come from your reduced dependency on the national grid. As previously mentioned, these savings can range from £100 and £270. With an average solar installation cost of about £5,000, you may have to wait 18 to 50 years to break even.
You can significantly reduce these payback times if you make use of the SEG payments. When you combine the £100 in annual SEG payments with the average energy savings, it would only take you 13 to 25 years to break even.
As an increasing number of people in the UK are becoming environmentally conscious, investing in renewable energy could also make your house more appealing to potential buyers. However, bear in mind that the value of your home would not increase parallel to the amount you spent on solar installation. You cannot expect a £5,000 system to increase the value of your home by £5,000, but there will be an increase.
Going solar in the UK is absolutely worth it. Aside from the monetary benefits, it is vital for environmental protection and lowering your carbon footprint. To find out more contact us below.
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