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packages’ with all the necessary components in easy-to to-purchase kits.


‘While most electrical contractors are not that involved in traditional water based installations, this could change as solar thermal water heating and heat pumps become more popular,’ comments Alister Maclachlan of Vokèra. ‘Contractors could fi nd it is relatively simple to add another string to their bows.’


Support structure The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Heat Strategy of March 2012 outlines the switch to electric heating, using an increasingly decarbonised grid, as a major step towards meeting the UK’s carbon emission reduction targets.


Although renewable technologies are grabbing the headlines, Jon Cockburn of Heatrae Sadia, claims: ‘While legislation has certainly had a huge impact on the development of renewable technologies, traditional products still make up the bulk of the market. There is some uncertainty about how far forthcoming legislation will go, so renewable products aren’t selling in massive quantities.’


Established types of electric heating have become


more energy efficient. Chris Stammers, marketing director for trade and independents at Dimplex, says: ‘Transparency on performance is leading people away from poorly performing products and towards products such as our Quantum ultra-effi cient electric heater. It can make running cost savings of up to 20 per cent over the old equipment, providing a fast return on investment.’ However, there’s still a lot more to do. Bjorn Sejr Nielsen, marketing director at Danfoss, says: ‘While a


What’s happening with the RHI?


In March 2011, the government announced the details of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). With a stated objective of revolutionising the way heat is generated, its aim is to grow the market by 700 per cent by 2020, with an estimated 110,000 commercial installations being supported in that time.


The £860m non-domestic RHI was launched in November 2011 to make it


more fi nancially attractive to install a low carbon heating system, and up to 25,000 installations will be supported by a Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) to help people cover the purchase price of green heating systems. Those taking up the Premium will then be eligible for an RHI tariff when the Green Deal begins, as will anyone else who has had eligible equipment installed from July 2009. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) also announced that the budget would be limited to £70m this fi nancial year. It will suspend the subsidy for the rest of the fi nancial year if it forecasts that the budget will be exceeded. This decision will be triggered if 97 per cent of the budget is used up. Non-domestic RHI schemes over 45kW do not require a Microgeneration


Certifi cation Scheme (MCS) member to carry out the installation, but systems need to be pre-approved by OFGEM, which is responsible for the administration of the scheme.


The plan to introduce a domestic RHI to align with the Green Deal in October 2012 will not be realised and will not happen until the latter part of 2013 at the earliest. The details of this scheme are still under review – consultations are still being undertaken with DECC and OFGEM into how the scheme will operate.


About the author


Rob Shepherd Rob Shepherd is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to ECA Today. He has worked in the electrical contracting industry for more than 12 years.


Initiatives such as the RHI and the Green Deal represent massive revenue- enhancing


opportunities for contractors


lot of homeowners are aware that using energy saving light bulbs will reduce their energy bills, people simply don’t know that modern, high effi ciency heating controls can make a big difference to their energy consumption.’


Air apparent Retaining heat makes sense not just from an environmental point of view, but also from an economic one. It is, therefore, no surprise that there has been a steep rise in the amount of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems being installed. One of the key technologies used to comply with Part F of the Building Regulations, it is estimated that there are more than 30,000 MVHR installations a year in the UK – growing at 20 per cent per annum. There have been massive improvements in the technology itself, with low specifi c fan powers and high heat exchange performance now available. Vent-Axia’s Kinetic Plus E is a good example of this new breed of MVHR’s, and the company’s product marketing manager, Ian Mitchell, comments: ‘It offers housebuilders an affordable, effi cient solution to meeting code levels and reducing Dwelling Emission Rates (DERs). Delivering the best performance on SAP, the system offers a combination of 94 per cent heat recovery with an extremely low specifi c fan power.’


A system must be sized to manage the airflow requirements for the dwelling in order to comply with the Building Regulations. Polypipe Ventilation’s technical manager, Jon Hill, explains: ‘The system must be capable of achieving the airfl ow rates in the installed condition, taking into account the number of rooms and the resistance to airfl ow of the associated ductwork.’


Skilling up Most electrical contractors will be familiar with the technology and installation practices needed to comply with the RHI and the Green Deal. However, there are a number of ways that any knowledge gaps can be fi lled. At the beginning of the year, the Green Deal Skills Alliance was launched – a partnership of SummitSkills, Asset Skills and ConstructionSkills – which has secured £1.4m to help employers take advantage of commercial opportunities around the low carbon agenda. Keith Marshall, chief executive of SummitSkills, comments: ‘The investment will provide fi nancial support for two years, creating qualifi cations frameworks and providing on-the-ground support for fi rms looking to top up the skills of their workforce and diversify their businesses during the downturn.’ Perhaps the one technology that contractors may not be familiar with for RHI based installations is heat metering. B&ES recently published a new best practice guide: Heat Metering for the RHI at the request of OFGEM. This helps installers understand the heat metering requirements for compliance. For those interested in installing domestic ventilation systems, Lee Nurse, marketing director at Vent-Axia, recommends taking a BPEC domestic ventilation course. He says: ‘Not only will the course help to ensure you can install ventilation systems competently, but it will also help


34 ECA Today September 2012


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