Energist - Part L Compliance Experts - Blog

This month, we have seen a new incentive introduced in the UK which makes the idea of producing your own electricity much more financially appealing.

The Feed-In Tariff (FIT) is available to anybody who has photovoltaic panels (or PV to you and me) installed on their homes at any point in the next two years. Unlike solar thermal panels, PV produces electricity from natural light and pumps the power straight into your home. Any surplus gets sent onto the National Grid.

But here’s the icing on the proverbial cake – for every kilowatt of electricity you produce that gets put into the grid, YOU get paid 41p… and this figure will rise with inflation! Although efficiencies can vary wildly, around six square metres of PV would be expected to produce a kilowatt hour of energy.

The idea of Feed-In Tariffs isn’t new, and has been used in other countries for several years. A case study in Germany has found that a 2kWh system would cost about ten thousand pounds to install, take about ten years to pay for itself in reduced energy bills, and then is expected to give the homeowner around a 9% annual return on the investment. How many banks can guarantee a money-maker like that?

Clearly the Powers That Be are very keen on this idea, otherwise they wouldn’t have set up such a generous tariff. On top of that, PV and solar panels no longer require additional planning approval in the majority of cases.

If you are building a new home, you can now incorporate PV arrays into the roof which look like shiny roof tiles. This will not only save the homeowner money on their electricity bills, but will also give you a better Energy Performance Certificate rating and a very impressive looking SAP assessment.

PV works best on a south facing roof with minimal overshadowing, but can be installed facing any orientation.

If you are considering using a renewable technology on a new build or extension, let the Energist assessment team tell you just how much of a difference you’ll be looking that.

Give us a call on 08458 386 387 to find out more.

Warning - Arithmetic required!

Since September, it has been illegal to manufacture or import light bulbs of 100W or greater – this is part of the Government phase out to reduce our carbon emissions through more efficient lighting by 2012.

I’m sure we’ve all seen various campaigns about how energy-saving bulbs save us money, but just how much? There’s a simple test to find out, but you’ll need a calculator,  a pen and some paper!

-          Write a list of the wattages of tungsten and halogen bulbs in your home (if you don’t know the wattage, let’s assume 60 for normal bulbs, 50 for downlighters)

-          Alongside this, write how many hours a day you are using each one on average (bearing in mind you’ll use them less in the summer)

-          Multiply each wattage by the hours used, and add the results together

-     Multiply that figure by 0.365 – this gives you the total wattage you use per year

-          Multiply this figure by 0.12 (or, if you know how much you pay per unit of electricity, use that figure instead – for example: if you pay 10p per kWh, multiply by 0.10 instead)

-          This tells you how much you are currently spending on lighting every year (in pounds)

-          Divide this figure by 5.5. This tells you how much your lighting would cost you every year if you converted to energy savers.

You can typically buy energy savers for less than £2 a piece, so is it worth changing them now?

 For all new homes in England and Wales, a number of internal light fittings (based on floor area and total light fittings) should not be able to take tungsten or halogen bulbs. In Scotland, this figure is 50% regardless.

Energist’s assessment team will calculate this figure for you as part of our Guaranteed Pass service on all new build SAPs – helping you to meet all aspects of Part L or Section 6.

Give us a call on 08458 386 387 to find out more.