Green Energy
How consumers are following suit Small-scale renewable energy generation technologies empower homeowners to take control of their consumption. By harnessing the power of the sun, wind, or even heat from the ground and air, consumers can significantly reduce their reliance on grid-supplied electricity and fossil fuels.
By investing in renewable energy, homeowners can reduce their energy bills over the long term and become less dependent on fluctuating energy prices. Surplus energy can even be exported back to the grid, providing an additional source of income and contributing to the overall capacity to the grid. According to research from the Microgeneration Scheme (MSC), 2023 was a record-breaking year for domestic renewable energy and heating installations across the UK. In total, more than 225,500 systems were fitted, including 189,000 solar PV arrays, as well as small- scale wind, hydro, heat pumps and home energy storage.
This uptake is a testament to just how accessible home renewables have become. The technology is advancing, prices are falling, and public sentiment towards microgeneration is steadily moving away from it being seen as just a gimmick, and towards being an essential part of the home energy ecosystem.
It’s also positive news to see that transitioning towards renewable generation is a move encouraged by energy suppliers, with a number of companies also offering tariffs which support off-peak energy use and help users take advantage of optimum feed-in rates. For those without any home generation installed, there are a huge variety of 100% renewable energy tariffs available.
“By investing in renewable energy, homeowners can reduce their energy bills over the long term and become less dependent on fluctuating energy prices.”
Can we reach net zero energy by 2050? If we are to hit national decarbonisation targets and reach net zero by 2050, it will take a two- pronged strategy: a top-down approach coming from the government and heavy industries (which incentivise low-carbon energy at an industrial scale), alongside a bottom-up approach whereby consumers literally take power into their own
hands.
It is great to see the progress we have made in cleaning up the grid, and even more impressive to see how consumers have so quickly followed suit. These gargantuan efforts have seen coal almost eliminated from our energy mix, and record lows of natural gas.
However, the job’s certainly not done yet. In fact, we are only really scratching the surface of what is possible. We need to further accelerate renewable energy adoption by giving consumers more of a reason to make the change and incentivising ways to do so. Education in this space is critical, as is accelerating the availability of cost- effective solutions that allow consumers to adopt renewable energy without breaking the bank. At myenergi, we are committed to leading the charge with our eco-smart products. Our zappi EV charger, for example, offers users the ability to charge their electric vehicles with 100% self-generated renewable energy, while our eddi power diverter diverts renewable energy to domestic heating systems. Our modular home energy storage system, libbi, on the other hand, makes intelligent decisions about when it provides and stores electricity based on how much energy is being used, how much is generated from renewables and the customer’s electricity tariff.
Eco-smart home generation technologies like these further help to incentivise consumers to increase energy efficiency in the home and make the switch to zero-carbon energy. With great strides made in the green transition since the start of the millennium, the future is only looking brighter – if we can keep up momentum, reaching a zero-carbon energy mix by 2050 can become a reality.
ewnews.co.uk
June 2024 electrical wholesaler | 23
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