Renewable technology Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Solar Water Heating (Thermal) Wind Turbine

Solar Photovoltaic's (PV) Up to three entries can now be input into software This is to account for the increased popularity of PV Where a property has PV on more than one part of the roof, the PV data may differ due to different orientation, tilt etc If the kWp cannot be ascertained, record the percentage of the total roof area occupied by PVs. Here total roof area includes main dwelling and all extensions where present

Solar Energy Photovoltaic panels

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS Photovoltaic systems convert energy from the sun into electricity through semi conductor cells. Systems consist of semi-conductor cells connected together and mounted into modules. Modules are connected to an inverter to turn their direct current (DC) output into alternating current (AC) electricity for use in buildings. Photovoltaic supply electricity to the building they are attached to or to any other load connected to the electricity grid. Excess electricity can be sold to the National Grid when the generated power exceeds the local need. PV systems require only daylight, not sunlight to generate electricity (although more electricity is produced with more sunlight), so energy can still be produced in overcast or cloudy conditions. Photovoltaic are generally blue/grey in colour and can be used successfully in all parts of the UK. Solar Energy Photovoltaic panels

Solar Energy Photovoltaic panels

Photovoltaic panels come in modular panels which can be fitted to the top of roofs (looking similar to a roof light) and in slates or shingles which are an integral part of the roof covering (looking similar to normal roof tiles). Photovoltaic cells can be incorporated into glass for atria walls and roofs or used as cladding or rain screen on a building wall. They can also be attached to individual items such as street lights, parking meters, motorway noise barriers or the sides of bridges. Photovoltaic systems can be discreet through being designed as an integral part of the roof. An invisible design using slates or shingles as opposed to an architectural statement is likely to be preferable if in a sensitive area.

SOLAR WATER HEATING

Solar water heating systems use the energy from the sun to heat water, most commonly in the UK for domestic hot water needs. The systems use a heat collector, generally mounted on the roof in which a fluid is heated by the sun. This fluid is used to heat up water that is stored in either a separate hot water cylinder or a twin coil hot water cylinder inside the building. The systems work very successfully in all parts of the UK, as they can work in diffuse light conditions.

Solar Panels There are two types of collectors used for solar water heating applications – flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors. The flat plate collector is the predominant type used in domestic systems as they tend to be cheaper and more robust.

Solar Panels Flat Plate Evacuated tube

Wind energy WIND TURBINE Wind energy is one of the most cost effective methods of renewable power generation. Wind turbines can produce electricity without carbon dioxide emissions ranging from watts to megawatt outputs. The most common design is for three blades mounted on a horizontal axis, which is free to rotate into the wind on a tall tower. The blades drive a generator either directly or via a gearbox (generally for larger machines) to produce electricity. The electricity can either be linked to the grid of charge batteries. An inverter is required to convert the electricity from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) for feeding into the grid.

Wind Energy

Modern quiet wind turbines are becoming viable in low density areas where ease of maintenance and immediate connection to the grid or directly for use of the electricity in a building, may make them cost effective, despite lower wind speeds than open areas. Wind turbines are generally less suited to dense urban areas as their output will be affected by potentially lower and more disrupted wind speeds, and their use of much more cost effective machines may be prohibited by their proximity to some building types. However small turbines can be used in inner city areas. Small turbines can be mounted on buildings. There are currently few practical installations of roof mounted wind turbines in the UK but it is anticipated that this will be a growing market and a number of companies are marketing shall roof mounted turbines.

Wind Energy Wind resource evaluation is a critical element in projecting turbine performance at a given site. The energy available in a wind stream is proportional to the cube of its speed, which means that doubling the wind speed increases the available energy by a factor of eight. Furthermore, the wind resource itself is seldom a steady, consistent flow. It varies with the time of day, season, height above ground, and type of terrain. Proper siting in windy locations, away from large obstructions, enhances a wind turbine's performance. In general, annual average wind speeds of 5 meters per second (11 miles per hour) are required for grid-connected applications. Annual average wind speeds of 3 to 4 m/s (7-9 mph) may be adequate for non-connected electrical and mechanical applications such as battery charging and water pumping.

BIOMASS & BIOFUEL BOILERS

Biomass can be burnt directly to provide heat in buildings. Wood from forests, urban tree pruning, farmed coppices or farm and factory waste, is the most common fuel and nowadays is used commercially in the form of wood chips or pellets, although traditional logs are also used. Biomass boilers can be designed to burn smokelessly to comply with the Clean Air Acts. Boilers can be fed automatically by screw drives from fuel hoppers. This typically involves daily addition of bagged fuel to the hopper. Electric firing and automatic de-ashing are also available. Biomass boilers replace conventional fossil fuel boilers and come with the automated features mentioned above. Fuels other than wood, such as straw can also be used.

Biomass is normally considered a carbon neutral fuel, as the carbon dioxide emitted on burning has been (relatively) recently absorbed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis and no fossil fuel is involved. The wood is seen as a by-product of other industries and the small quantity of energy for drying, sawing, pelleting and delivery are discounted. Biomass from coppicing is likely to have some external energy inputs, for fertiliser, cutting, drying etc. and these may need to be considered in the future. In this toolkit, all biomass fuels are considered to have zero net carbon emissions.

GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS

Geo-thermal energy is basically heat collected from the ground. Geo- thermal energy is mainly associated in the form of hot springs or geysers gushing out of the ground in Iceland. However heat obtained from the ground may also be considered it as a source of heating and cooling within the UK by the use of a Geo-thermal heat pump or ground source heat pumps. A ground source heat pump is a device for converting energy in the form of low level heat to heat at a usable temperature. The heat pump consists of five main parts; ground collector loop, or bores heat exchanger, compressor, condenser heat exchanger and expansion valve.

At about metres down below ground level the temperature is a constant 10 to 12ºC. The bores would need to be sunk to an effective depth of 80 – 120m and a ground feasibility report would be required to ascertain if this method of heat source was indeed viable. Typical costs for this are in the region of £20,000 with installation costs at £1200 /kW of energy produced. From the bores pre-insulated pipework is laid in the ground to the heat exchanger device. The system is filled with water and antifreeze. The cooled water is pumped around the loop / bore gathering energy as it goes. The water now heated to 10-12ºC is returned to the ground source heat exchanger where the energy is transferred to the refrigerant gas. The water in transferring its collected energy is cooled by the refrigerant to - 7ºC and returns to the ground bores to collect more energy.