News

Dates for your diary

PVTech and TechTalk webinars on solar installations
Panasonic air source heat pump

News

Panasonic’s cashback scheme for installers and homeowners continues

Jose Alves, UK country manager for Panasonic commented: ‘Panasonic had welcomed the UK Government’s scheme to help the sector and to help reach its net zero targets. We therefore have no hesitation in continuing with both our Green Cashback schemes to help both installers and homeowners to make the switch to renewable air source heat pumps, in a bid to help homeowners to decarbonise their homes and become more energy efficient.’
Green Homes Grant

News

Green Homes Grant Scheme scrapped

Once the centrepiece of Boris Johnson’s promise to ‘build back greener’, the £1.5bn programme, offering households grants of up to £10,000 to install insulation or low-carbon heating, leaves the UK without a plan for tackling one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and leaves the government falling short on its promise to create tens of thousands of green jobs.

News

Panasonic Heat Pumps installed in new rural housing development

With sustainability and good quality high on the agenda for this new development, making the right specification choices was very important to the developer. Andy Denton, director of Marshgate Properties commented: ‘Selecting sustainable energy options is high on our list of important aspects for the homes we build. We had already installed Panasonic Aquarea Heat Pumps on a previous project a year earlier and have been impressed with the units and their performance. This, together with UK Alternative Energy’s professional approach and proficient installation team, has proven successful for the heating and hot water provision for this latest project.’With the new development’s rural location, mains gas was not an option as an energy source. Marshgate Properties has chosen to continue specifying the Panasonic Aquarea range of renewable air source heat pumps, making the move away from fossil fuels, and to help reduce the carbon footprint of each property, as well as providing on-going efficiencies for residents.

More

Opinion

How to navigate the journey to smart home energy

Smart metres have the power to coordinate and hold to account the many other smart products that are starting to infiltrate our homes, such as PV, EV charging and smart heating systems. The arrival of so-called ‘agile electricity tariffs’, whose price varies half-hourly in relation to the wholesale price of electricity, are just one manifestation.
Giles Newman of Navex

News

ESG metrics: UK Leading the Charge

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, also commonly referred to as sustainability. In a business context, sustainability is about the company’s business model. Hence, how its products and services contribute to sustainable development, and how operations are managed to minimise any negative impact.
10 Downing street sign

News

Government funding to decarbonise homes and generate jobs

Three hundred local authorities across England and Scotland will share the £562m package to fund upgrades to some of the nation’s least energy efficient and fuel-poor homes. The funding will enable investments in low-income households and those living in social houses to solutions such as insulation and replacing gas boilers with low-carbon alternatives, such as heat pumps. As well as benefiting 50,000 households, the Government claims it will also support more than 8,000 energy sector jobs, such as plumbers or builders.
Chris Higgs

Feature

The time for heat pumps is definitely now

In January 2013, almost 8 years ago, I wrote an article for this very magazine about my belief that 2013 was the ‘Year of the Heat Pump’. As I’m sure many would agree, it turned out that 2013 however, wasn’t to be that year. Whilst it was indeed a very good year for heat pump installations (approx 17,000 installations covering ground and air source), it certainly wasn’t the magic year I believed it would become. Looking back, it’s been really interesting to see the changes in the landscape since the article all those years ago.

Opinion

The Smart Grid & the role we play

Over the coming months I would like to discuss some interesting topics including the growing mix of technologies, methods and ideas, all contributing towards our ‘Zero-Carbon’ aspirations, and not least, the important role renewable energy installers, play in achieving these goals.

Further Reading

myenergi logo

Feature

Green technology mindset: Open goal opportunity for electric installers

Electric car charging points haven’t been an element architects, developers and electricians alike, have had to factor into their designs and drawings, until now. Charge points have suddenly become less an optional extra and more a key feature which has to be considered, as much in the 1st and 2nd fix stages than the latter. For a while now, Electric Charge Points ‘AKA EV chargers’ sat in the same domain as ancillary optionals such as Alarm systems, CCTV systems, and security tech. An area an electrical installer might delve into from time to time, though not the main source of their workload. The bulk of such work instead shared and distributed with specialist security technicians with advanced network installation skills.   However, unlike security technicians whereby a basic skill set in electronics and technology might get you by, EV Installers require their 18th Edition and relevant electrical qualifications to proceed. Where there is still is a niche opportunity for electrical companies to focus the bulk of their attention over to ‘EV installations’, general electrical companies right across the board can benefit from this new work stream, with the added confidence that ‘DIY and self-installation’ is off the table for the foreseeable.  The EV industry is swiftly moving past the stages of early adoption, with the mass market consumers waiting in the wings. This was helped by Boris Jonson’s announcement in late 2020 for the ban on the sale of fossil fuel cars from 2030. This gives electrical installers an open goal opportunity to positively shift some of their focus over to these new green technologies and innovations in preparation for the great wave.  Companies such as myenergi, a dynamic powerhouse in green tech solutions, are putting emphasis on consumers achieving energy independence and less reliance upon the national grid system. Their flagship product the zappi electric vehicle charger, the market frontrunner, Eco Friendly EV charger in the world compatible with PV, Solar and renewable systems, inspiring other manufacturers not only focus on ‘the charge itself’ but actually how the electricity is generated in the first place. The zappi works as a stand-alone plug and play charger connected to the grid but teamed up with their solar diverter (the eddi), consumers are able to utilise the zappi’s green ECO modes and charge their vehicles using 100% self-generated green energy.  It’s this mindset and drive towards genuine tangible change away from pollutants amongst businesses and consumers alike, which is pulling together green smart technology, renewable energy and progressing technologies such as electric vehicles. Award winning companies such as myenergi have been key players in pulling these sub technologies together and adopting new tech terms such as Eco-Smart and Green Tech.  Network smart technology was also forced together as a requirement by OLEV and OZEV whereby electric vehicle chargers have to be future-proofed and connected to the internet. A move towards the ‘internet of things’ which is gradually coming to fruition. The zappi charger leads the way in its ability to adapt and update with automatic firmware updates, whereby all myenergi devices are connected over the smart hub device wirelessly. The addition of the wireless harvi sensor makes the zappi one of the easiest devices on the market to install with less need for fishing long CT cables. zappi also offers PEN protection and doesn’t require earth rods which means no digging up driveways, better aesthetics and quicker installations all round. 

Case Study

Refurbishments and retrofitting renewables

Matthew Thompson took the helm of his family business, Thompson Heating & Plumbing Ltd over 7 years ago. With the company being a big advocate of renewables, it is no wonder that when Matt started refurbishing a new family home in Duns Tew village, he chose to move away from fossil fuels.
Vital Energi employee Giles Barker

Opinion

Solar, a glowing example of green energy

Giles came into the solar business by accident. Working for a social housing developer, paired with a lifelong passion for saving energy and doing things more efficiently, Giles homed in on the idea of people being more sustainable and self-sufficient. ‘I grew up in a rural area, so efficiency has been instilled into me from a young age’, he explained.

News

myenergi expands into Ireland as EV sales soar

The new subsidiary, located in Ballycastle, will be spearheaded by Pearse McHenry, a longstanding business partner of myenergi. The move will bring the brand’s product range to the masses, helping residents benefit from a more sustainable lifestyle, as well supporting the government’s commitment to cleaner living.
Keith O Connor

News

Fleetsolve partners with MAN Rollo in next wave of UK expansion

Under the partnership Fleetsolve will represent the MAN industrial brand as service partner and distributor of MAN parts in the UK via Fleetsolve’s Wirral based office and its five regional service centres around the UK, as well as the UK customer services centre.

News

Webinar exploring how smart data can help pave the way to net zero

The webinar will be chaired by Nicholas Doyle, Co-Founder of Chirpy Heat. Nicholas has worked in housing for nearly 30 years and has been responsible for award-winning housing, energy, and environmental initiatives nationally and internationally. In 2018 he was a Co-Founder of Chirpy Heat, the leading provider of services to housing providers on heat networks.

News

Researchers caution over retrofitting and radon

Ireland’s residential retrofitting programme should ensure ventilation is carefully considered to avoid an increase in levels of radon gas in homes, researchers at NUI Galway have found.
Grant Heat Pumps YouTube page

News

Heat pump ‘how to’ from Grant UK

Comprising 18 videos divided into three playlists, the videos have been developed to assist both heating engineers and end-users.
The path to PV: how and why to become a solar installer – we caught up with GoodWe’s marketing manager, Eugene Lucarelli, to discuss opportunities for new and established installers in the industry.

Opinion

Diversity for installers

We live in changing times, led by a reassessment of how we treat our planet and each other, increasing digitisation and the roll-back of globalisation towards national priorities. These ‘megatrends’, which have been accentuated and accelerated by the response to the pandemic, are incredibly relevant to the roles women take in the workplace and wider society.

News

REA calls for UK storage market mechanism

The report ‘Longer-Duration Energy Storage: The missing piece to a Net Zero, reliable and low-cost energy future’ estimates that the UK will need at least 30GW of longer-duration energy storage by 2050. However, the report concludes that this target is currently undeliverable based on the present market and regulatory framework.
solar farm in field

News

UK’s solar projects heat up

Two 50MW solar projects have secured planning permissions this week. The first, being EDF Renewables’ Sutton Bridge solar photovoltaic project, granted permission by South Holland District Council and the second being Pegasus Group’s solar and battery storage scheme near Telford. 
Solar installer

Opinion

Take a moment to sit back, relax and think how far we have come

It’s easy when working in a fast paced and demanding job to forget about why you are actually doing the work you are doing. What’s the point, why are you so stressed out? I think it’s important for me and all of my colleagues to, every once in a while, take a moment to remind ourselves of the importance of working in the low carbon sector. We cannot get caught up in the negative press and must remind ourselves of just how much progress we’ve made in recent years.