FEATURE BIO ENERGY/FUEL/MASS


RENEWABLE HEAT - the cheaper, greener alternative


wood chip boiler. Both solutions used wood chip created from the estate’s timber. Through switching to biomass, 175 tonnes of CO2 and approximately £25,000 was saved annually, and the return on investment was 35%. Installing renewable heating in a


Silvio Spiess, CEO of Innasol, a UK based renewable heating company and distributor of renewable heating solutions nationwide, explores how by installing renewable heating in a commercial or domestic environment can reap considerable benefits


C


urrently, heating represents 55% of the average annual commercial


energy consumption and 78% of the average domestic energy consumption– a huge percentage. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has predicted a 20 percent increase in gas prices before the end of the decade, which means annual increases of 2.5 percent. Environmentally, heating contributes a whopping 38 percent to the UK’s total CO2 emissions, making it the main culprit of this country’s greenhouse gas emissions; Emissions that the UK must cut drastically in order to meet the EU’s 2020 energy targets. Bearing these forecast duel fuel bill


increases in mind, renewable heating solutions are looking more and more attractive to estate managers as they are cheaper to run and operate than existing fossil fuel solutions. Biomass boilers and heat pumps have the potential to save bill payers more than 45% on heating bills. That is simply through switching from fossil fuel solutions such as oil gas or electricity, to a renewable heating solution such as a biomass boiler or an air source or ground source heat pump. Biomass boilers and heat pumps do


require space, so are suitable for a number of businesses including offices, farms, hospitals, manor houses, schools and housing developments. With regards to domestic installations, renewable heating solutions are a suitable option for shared buildings with space for a boiler or heat pump. Those that are ripe for switching are those that are currently off the grid, using oil or electricity for their heating source. The Government’s Renewable Heat


Incentive (RHI) was launched in 2011 to switch homeowners, communities and businesses away from fossil fuels through the provision of financial incentives. The non-domestic scheme was launched in 2011 and covers industrial, commercial, public and not- for-profit sectors. The domestic scheme is due to launch this spring. Both schemes provide financial incentives for renewable heat installation which lasts 20 years and seven years respectively. One notable case study is Brynkinalt


Hall and Business Centre, located in North Wales. In 2012, the 33,000sqf Grade II listed building changed over to a 199kW ETA HACK wood chip boiler and the Business Centre moved onto a HACK


/ ENERGYMANAGEMENT


Brynkinalt Hall and Business Centre


domestic environment can also reap considerable benefits, similarly to the commercial sector. For example, a four bedroom family home in Norwich which previously was off-grid and heated through an oil-based system. The fuel cost of the oil system was £2,145. The annual household power usage is 33,000kWh and the cost of switching to a biomass boiler system was £18,000. Through switching, the family saved £561 annually on their fuel bill and received £3,660 annually in RHI payments. The full payback period was only 4.3 years and the long-term benefit was a saving of over a quarter (26.2%) of the original heating bill. All management of these renewable


heating solutions can be done online. The technology enables customers to reduce energy usage costs without requiring major compromises in comfort or energy usage behaviour. Innasol products include proprietary smart grid software, smart home software and hardware such as power routers and “smart-boxes” that enables customers’ access to smart grid compatibility and connection. In the upcoming roll out of smart grid


technology this remote management will be a key tool to control the available energy in a very efficient and intelligent way. We are at the beginning of a massive transformation in the way energy is produced, distributed and provided. Our recent study of the renewable heat sector, where findings were published in The Renewable Heat Report shows that the principal obstruction to renewable heating uptake is the widespread lack of awareness of the costs involved in switching to renewable heating solutions, despite massive savings on energy bills and the government incentives. It is time for the UK to get more switched on to renewable heat.


Innasol www.innasol.com 01621892613


Enter 208 ENERGY MANAGEMENT | SPRING 2014 23


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