WATER HEATING THERMAL STORAGE


FLOW OF INCENTIVES


Systems for producing hot water are becoming greener, with more manufacturers producing technologies that can use a variety of energy sources. Tim Dwyer looks at the issues around making storage as efficient as possible


Solar thermal panels with close coupled direct water storage can provide a renewable source of hot water for non- freezing climates


W


ith the planned rollout of Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments for single domestic premises just a


few months away, the interest in alternative renewable and low carbon methods of providing heat for domestic hot water is set to rise. While the RHI is unlikely to provide the rush of installations that accompanied the introduction of the feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for photovoltaic (PV) solar systems producing electricity, the RHI could focus the public’s attention on the potential of other sources to provide domestic hot water.


www.cibsejournal.com Technologies included in the RHI scheme


are those fuelled by biomass and biogas, heat pumps and solar thermal collectors. The RHI is already available to provide funding for metered non-domestic installations of up to 8.5p/kWh for solar thermal systems. However, at the time of writing, very few installations have been registered by the regulator, Ofgem, as being eligible for RHI payments. The complementary Renewable Heat Premium Payments (RHPP) that were available as one-off payments for domestic installations expired at the end of March this


Whatever the motivation for using a low carbon source for heating hot water, the utilisation of the systems will be dependent on being able to make the greatest use of the hot water


April 2012 CIBSE Journal 31


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