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Consumers and small businesses will be encouraged to borrow from the private sector – or from the Green Investment Bank


ii) Occupancy/daylight controls to optimise the energy use of lighting and heating systems; and iii) Other control measures where integrating data and power systems delivers energy savings – viable when ‘smart meters’ are operating. Increasingly, the application of wireless control and


monitoring will reduce the installation costs of many ‘active’ measures. Current indications are that the case for active measures


is being well received, and the ECA will be running a stakeholder forum in July 2011 to further support progress in this area.


Loan me the money Under the Green Deal, consumers and small businesses will be encouraged to borrow from the private sector – or from the fledgling Green Investment Bank – to pay for measures that will lower their energy bills. A Green Deal loan will then be paid back slowly through a fixed extra charge on the energy bill. DECC says its golden rule ‘is not a guarantee but a guideline… actual cash savings cannot be guaranteed... since no one except individuals themselves can control how much energy they use’. DECC expects a typical Green Deal package to be around £6,000 (and up to £10,000), with an expected period of around 20 years, but this has yet to be confirmed. If customers move before the extra charge is paid off – which is quite possible – the next occupant will


continue to pay the charge on their own energy bill.


Will the Green Deal take off? No one knows for sure if the Green Deal will take off. The government needs to embark on a huge publicity effort between now and autumn 2012 if it is to boost public understanding, on the way to achieving ‘buy in’. The government hopes that lending money up-front will overcome customer indifference to costly but ultimately money-saving home improvements. However, there is no guarantee that domestic customers will borrow big sums to make savings over the long term. Customer doubt, including what the loans will mean for home owners down the line, could reduce demand. However, three factors in the Green Deal’s favour will be: 1) Rising energy prices – these are expected to boost energy saving awareness and modify customer behaviour;


2) The roll-out of ‘smart metering’ – which will further raise the profile of, and scope for, saving energy; and


3) Demand from small businesses – which are more likely to see the benefits of a good return on investment. Of course, customers will not have to take up the Green


Deal straight away. It could be that many will access loans for energy saving measures down the line – perhaps when making alterations or when the old gas boiler gives up and forces an energy re-think. Yet even with all these factors in play,


The Green Deal: two examples of energy saving scenarios


Note: the following are general approximations. The actual figures can vary, altering payback and other calculations.


1 – DOMESTIC Occupancy control in a kitchen


This scenario assumes a kitchen with 6 x 50W halogen downlighters. These could be on for five or more hours per day, 1,825 hours per year. The tariff for electricity estimated at 12p per unit, would work out at £65.70 per year. i) Installing a movement sensor, with manual ‘switch on’ that switches off lighting after a short time if the room is not occupied, should save at least one hour per day, totalling 365 hours in a year, saving £13.14 per year.


ii) The simple cost of installing a sensor: if an electrician is already in the premises carrying out work, is estimated at £25 equipment plus £15 labour, total £40. This scenario can deliver a three-year payback. Payback is likely to be much shorter, owing to rising energy costs and the savings from a longer lamp life.


2 – COMMERCIAL The example below is based on the costs of lighting ballast units and the estimated cost for installing the associated control equipment for the complete system, rather than individual units.


Upgrade of a ballast unit to include dimming Assume commercial lighting has already been designed with high frequency ballasts. Further efficiencies can be obtained by using dimming control:


i) Dimming installation to maintenance level and keeping illumination at this level; and


ii) Using dimming to control lighting via daylight and occupancy sensors.


1. Assume the extra cost of dimming ballasts is £15. Assume costs for controlling 200 luminaires is extra £1,000 (sensors and installation). Total extra cost: £4,000. Assume occupancy 11 hours per day, 5 days per week. Total is 2,860 hours per year.


2. Base costs Luminaire 4 x 14W unit with HF ballast. Circuit wattage: 67W.


Cost of power: 10p per unit. Total kWh per year 2,860 x 67 x 200 = 38,324 kWh Cost of operation: £3,832.40 per year


75 per cent dimming – to approximately the level before the tube would be replaced..


Same fitting, 75 per cent dimming, circuit wattage: 49W. Total kWh: 2,860 x 49 x 200 = 28,028 kWh. Cost @ 10p per kWh = £2,803 per year. Saving over base = £1,029. Payback = 3.9 years. 50 per cent dimming, payback = 2.1 years.


The above illustrates that selected ‘active’ energy saving measures can offer attractive returns on investment. The life expectancy of the equipment, all of which has a proven track record, is expected to be 10 years or more.


20


ECA Today July 2011


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