Electric Water Heating
A sunny outlook for solar thermal products
With just five years until the EU 2020 carbon target needs to be met, adding a solar thermal direct electric water heater is a valuable route to cutting carbon while fulfilling hot water demands. Electrical wholesalers will need to ensure they are stocking a range of options if installers are to have access to everything the market has to offer. Jon Cockburn, head of marketing at Heatrae Sadia, discusses the options.
20 target – looms ever closer. However, with EU leaders having pledged to cut carbon by 40 per cent by 2030, and with a global deal on reducing emissions beyond 2020 expected at a United Nations meeting later this year, the targets won’t stop there. Meanwhile, demand for hot water can only
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grow. A KPMG Construction Pipeline report published earlier this year concludes that ‘increases in activity in the new non-residential building sectors should strengthen significantly this year, as demand for new office, leisure, distribution and logistics facilities in particular benefit from robust economic growth’. Growth is good news for the whole industry, but more building means we can expect an increase in hot water systems to match. As a result, building engineers will face increased pressure to fulfil the surge in demand while being mindful of the need to cut carbon emissions.
he European Union (EU) target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 – part of the EU 20-20-
One of the most appropriate options is to employ solar thermal technology. This is more than a seasonal solution – although there will be more solar gain on hot, sunny days, solar collectors are designed to harness the energy from the sun even when it’s cloudy. And because solar thermal systems work in tandem with traditional sources of fuel, there is no risk to supply even when there is little solar energy available. What’s more, as solar thermal is a renewable technology, it’s eligible for the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), available for both domestic and non-domestic applications. Designed to encourage property owners to
invest in renewable energy solutions, the RHI provides long-term financial support in the form of a quarterly payment, calculated in line with the amount of renewable heat their system has produced. Payments are made for up to seven years, with the current tariff for solar thermal being 19.2 pence per kWh generated. To be eligible for the RHI, products must have
Launched just over a year ago, the domestic RHI has received nearly 1,000 applications for solar thermal installations.
However, with the budget for the scheme only allocated until April 2016, the window for new
applications could soon be closing – making now the perfect time for electrical wholesalers to discuss solar thermal with their customers, in turn equipping installers with the information they need to sell the technology to their customers.
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www.ewnews.co.uk May 2015 electrical wholesaler | 21
been Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified and fitted by an MCS certified installer. MCS is designed to reassure customers that the product and installation will meet the minimum standards and performance. The MCS certified installer will need to provide both the
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