REI Mar-Apr 2012 - Renewable Energy Installer

Accommodating change
Knowledge: Solar thermal
Homeless citizens in Plymouth are the latest to benefit from renewable energy
following the city’s Battery Street Hostel’s decision to embrace green
technology
CTV, security and
C
panic alarms, cat
6 cabling, heat
pumps, underfloor
heating and local cooling units
were all fitted along with Grant
solar thermal and PV systems
as part of a council supported
£3.5m investment scheme
designed to reduce the building’s
carbon footprint and energy
consumption.
The renewable systems
comprised 16 Grant Sahara
collectors in a bronze finish
combined with two 750ltr Grant
DuoWave cylinders for water
heating which were installed
by Plymouth-based contractor
Electrical Contracting Services
(ECS). The solar thermal collectors
have a performance efficiency of
81 per cent which, together with
their robustness, made Plymouth
City Council opt for Grant solar
thermal systems. Additionally,
ECS fitted 22 Grant solar PV 180W
monocrystaline modules totaling
a 3.96kW system for electricity
generation, which can be used to
run any appliance in the building
that is powered by the mains.
Installed facing due south, this
system can generate around
3300kW of electricity every year.
Solar software companion
As both the products and
installer are MCS approved, the
hostel is able to claim under the
government’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT)
scheme for power generation
over the next 25 years, and
take advantage of the proposed
Renewable Heat Incentive
Double whammy: Battery Street Hostel
opts for a solar thermal and PV mix
(RHI) tariffs for solar thermal.
These incentives will result in
a reduction of capital payback
time for the equipment, whilst
guaranteeing a future income
to help home some of those
destitute and living within the
Plymouth area.
GeoT*SOL basic from the Solar Design Company is a professional program for
planning and evaluating heat pumps. GeoT*SOL is the companion program to
existing software T*SOL and PV*SOL for solar thermal and PV
he Solar Design Company is offering free demonstration programs of GeoT*SOL basic which can be
T
downloaded from its website. Users can also view a new video which demonstrates how to get started
using the software.
Designed by Valentin Software in Germany, GeoT*SOL basic aims to help users to decide on the
optimum depth, diameter and number of boreholes for a particular location. It compares borehole- and air-source heat
pump systems, and creates reports for customers with useful energy data, SPF, CoP and graphics.
By calculating heat price against anticipated service life, customers can be provided with economic efficiency
predictions says the Solar Design Company.
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