[ Report: ECA Electrical Industry Conference 2012 ]
‘Should the UK take the lead in delivering electric renewable heating?’ That’s one of the questions posed by Martin Orrill, head of energy technology and innovation at British Gas Business Services, in his informative presentation, The Move to Electric Heating: A Strategy for the Future. Orrill delivered an interesting insight on the market and opportunities for electric heating with the deployment of energy efficiency, low carbon and renewable products. He gave an overview of the market for gas and put into context the necessity of developing other sources of energy to reduce carbon and to reduce dependency on imports of gas and other fossil fuels. Heating in the UK accounts for some 47 per cent of CO2
production, he told
delegates, and only one per cent of the UK’s heat comes from renewable sources. Increasing the amount of heat from renewable sources to help meet the UK’s CO2
a challenge and an opportunity for the industry. Orrill took delegates through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which he said would provide long-term financial support for renewable heat and should ‘revolutionise the
Electric heating boom? GREEN UPDATE n
DAY TWO
way heat is generated in homes and businesses in the UK. The RHI will take away the marginal cost of having a renewable heating system rather than a conventional system.’ He pointed to the big money being spent on a number of programmes and technologies and the money being put into renewable heating by energy suppliers. Orrill accepted that the number and complexity of schemes for funding could be daunting for customers. ‘But when you get it right, it can be amazing,’ he said. By 2020, the domestic renewable heat market alone is forecast to be worth more than £1 billion, with opportunities for installations of ground and air source heat pumps, low temperature heating, as well as solar thermal and solar PV.
reduction targets is both
He said British Gas was building capability to install electric renewable heating, but told delegates: ‘We are going to need some help, and there will be key partnership opportunities. We are going to need some big capacity – good electricians and good electrical capability.’ ‘If we get it right with the Renewable Heat Incentive, Orrill concluded, ‘we could get something that transforms the UK.’
the importance of third party certification and how businesses can take advantage of it, in his insightful presentation, Third Party certification – More Than a Badge. Third party certification can help substantiate claims and give businesses credibility with their customers. It provides independent evaluation of systems, products, processes and people – a measure of performance and compliance with appropriate standards and specification. It also provides an independent assessment declaring specified requirements have been met and maintained.
Beedel said that third party certification gives the specifier, customer,
Certification adds value n
ECA Certification Director Chris Beedel brought home to delegates
The ECA’s head of Business Policy and Practice, Paul Reeve, delivered another compelling conference presentation, updating delegates on key subjects
end user, or regulator a degree of confidence, giving them an informed choice when purchasing or selecting a product or service, which reduces risk for the customer. As well as proving credentials to clients, a lot of businesses now see third party certification as a business improvement tool. ‘It has value both internally and externally,’ Beedel said. Third party certification helps to level the playing field, Beedel said, drawing everyone up to minimum requirements. It acts as a differentiator when it comes to claims of compliance; it’s also an official seal of approval and provides reassurance to anyone looking at using your business. It gives customers confidence that you’re committed to delivering high standards of service, demonstrating that your company follows industry best practice and – importantly – has technical competence.
Beedel warned delegates to look behind the
certificates, though, and pointed to the issue of contractors making fraudulent claims of accreditation.
relating to the green agenda and energy efficiency. Reeve looked at the drivers for the energy solutions agenda, reviewed the microrenewables market, addressed the Green Deal and spoke about future opportunities. In addition, he highlighted what he called the ‘much bigger “green deal” for electrical and building services contactors’ – the energy solutions market. ‘The good news is there is a significant set of opportunities for us,’ Reeve said, ‘things that we can grasp, and so paddle as fast as we can against this tide of recession and economic difficulty.’ In the energy solutions market, saving money is still the key driver for customers – good news for electrical contractors who have the expertise to deliver those solutions. ‘The price of energy will continue to rise,’ Reeve said. ‘So, without doing anything, every month or year, the thing that we can offer customers – energy solutions – becomes that much more valuable.’ Reeve looked at energy security and supply, warning of a projected gap between capacity and demand. Again, this will ultimately benefit the electrical contractor as an energy solutions provider – and identified energy efficiency as a key way to bridge that energy gap. Commenting on the government’s green
policy, he said: ‘We should not, as an industry, rely on this; we should use it where we can, but we shouldn’t rely on it’. The RHI was a fantastic opportunity, he said, but it hadn’t yet taken off because it appeared that DECC was worried that having too much of an incentive could make it as successful as FITs were for solar PV. Looking at commercial energy saving opportunities, Reeve said: ‘There are so many areas where we are the deliverers of these solutions. The payback arguments for these can be, and often are, very compelling.’ On the Green Deal, Reeve said: ‘We should not assume that there are any particularly great opportunities for us in the domestic sector under the Green Deal. But we are making contingency plans in case they start to look real. Commercially, though, there could be some opportunities.’ ‘The future though, I believe, is on our side. We’re a technology-based industry, and technology will continue to arrive,’ Reeve concluded. ‘We are going to be there in an exciting industry putting these things forward as providers of energy solutions.’
July 2012 ECA Today 53
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