Knowledge: RHI update
Is marketing getting it
RHI-ght?
Jason Hobson, managing director at Gledhill, discusses the latest RHI application
and accreditation figures and their implications for the renewables sector
W
hat a difference a year makes! Just 12 months after the
renewables sector finally welcomed the much anticipated
domestic RHI scheme, we’re now in a position to take
stock and see just how much impact it’s had.
Target demographic
The latest government figures reveal that South West England and
Scotland have seen the largest numbers of accreditations (18 per cent
and 16 per cent respectively).
We can surmise that this is due to homes in rural locations being
less likely to be on the gas grid, prompting more homeowners in these
areas to embrace renewables as an affordable, price-stable alternative
to oil or LPG.
The appeal of renewables for off-gas properties reveals a lucrative
potential market for installers. However, it’s important that the sector
still takes a customer-focused, benefits-led approach to marketing
renewable technologies to these customers, ensuring that energy
sources are installed as a complete solution with an appropriate
cylinder that will help to maximise carbon reduction and running cost
savings.
Thermal stores
Thermal store technology will play a critical role in the efficiency of
renewables installations as it contributes to both the domestic hot
water and heating system in the property.
Products like Gledhill’s Torrent GreenHeat range enable
households to capture energy when it’s available and store it for use
Cashing in: Jason
Hobson, Gledhill,
expects dRHI
applications to
start picking up
speed once third
party finance
regulations come
into force in the
near future
when needed. The water held in the cylinder is then used to deliver the
heating to the property, whilst the mains pressure domestic hot water
is heated via a plate heat exchanger.
Thermal stores can be specified for use with individual renewable
technologies or with a combination of solar, heat pump or biomass
installations. Specifiers should ensure that they select a thermal store
that has been specifically designed for use with the energy source or
sources installed.
Unvented cylinders
For hot water-only installations, an unvented cylinder is often the most
appropriate choice to maximise the energy from a renewable source.
It’s essential to select a model that has been specifically designed
for use with the particular type of energy source installed. For
example, the StainlessLite range from Gledhill includes a solar model
incorporating a high performance solar coil, a heat pump model with
a specially designed coil to increase that flow rate and maximise the
lower temperatures generated by heat pump installations. The solar HP
model has both a solar coil and heat pump coil to combine both energy
sources within one cylinder.
Biomass growth
The latest RHI data also provides some interesting statistics on the
most popular renewable technologies, and biomass systems accounted
for 56 per cent of applications and 53 per cent of accreditations for
installations during the April-December 2014.
However, it is possible that recent changes in the Feed-in Tariff
may affect the popularity of biomass going forward after the domestic
biomass tariff was reduced by 20 per cent from April 01 2015.
Looking ahead
Just a year in, the RHI initiative is already being developed and refined.
Changes introduced in February include the removal of social landlords’
obligation to have a Green Deal Assessment (GDA) to be eligible for RHI
and the inclusion of high temperature heat pumps in the scheme.
To help homeowners with their initial investment in renewable
technology, the RHI launched a six-week call for evidence on 28
January 2015 to seek information and evidence, which will inform
the development of policy to amend regulations allowing additional
financing options into the domestic RHI.
It will be interesting to see how the market continues to develop
going forward but, tentatively a year in, RHI appears to be gathering
pace.
www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk | 27