Renewable energy
As environmental concerns and carbon emissions are becoming key issues, renewable energy technologies are becoming more available, efficient and affordable. As well as the benefit of reducing carbon emissions, they can also reduce your fuel bills.
Plumb-Line
is accredited by MCS, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, which is linked
to financial incentives, so some government grant funding is only available
when using MCS-accredited installers and manufacturers.
MCS
accreditation demonstrates that we can install various renewable energy
technologies to the highest standard every time. It also shows that we have the
right quality management systems in place to deliver a high quality and
consistent service.
Plumb-Line supplies and installs various types of renewable heating systems:
Biomass
Biomass central heating systems use a boiler which generally runs on wood pellets (or wood chip for larger installations). Pellets are usually the most convenient option as they can be delivered in bulk and stored in a hopper that permits automatic fuelling of the boiler. Wood chips, or more traditional biomass such as logs, tend to need manual refuelling, but can be very good value.
Modern biomass boilers work in much the same way as a gas central heating boiler so they automatically meet your heating requirements.
Biomass has the advantage that, when sourced from well-managed sources, it is almost carbon neutral, with new plantings offsetting the CO2 from the fuel used. Modern biomass boilers need very little maintenance, especially when compared with solid fuel or older biomass systems.
A biomass boiler is ideally coupled with a solar hot water system to reduce your hot water heating costs and carbon emissions, automatically kicking in when required.
Plumb-Line installs biomass boilers from manufacturers including:
Windhager,
Baxi and
Viessmann Air and ground source heat pumps Heat pumps extract stored heat from the land or air surrounding a property, and pass this through a heat exchanger to warm up the water in a central heating system.
Air source heat pumps are fitted onto the outside of a building, rather like an air-conditioning unit working in reverse. They can be retro-fitted onto many properties.
Ground source heat pumps work by extracting heat stored in the ground (which is replenished by the sun) and passing it through a heat exchanger to raise the temperature of water sufficiently to heat a home. They generally require external collector loops to be laid in the ground next to the property in trenches or boreholes.
Ground source and air source heat pumps work most efficiently when raising water to a temperature of around 40C, and so are best matched to a wet
under-floor heating system. As it is not normally possible to fit a wet under-floor heating system into an existing property, they are most commonly installed into new properties.
As the heat source is the sun, the only energy used in a ground source heat pump system is in the pumps and compressors needed to run it. In addition, the air source system has a fan. Typically these use only a quarter as much energy as is released into the building in the form of heat, which means that a ground source or air source heat pump system can be 300-400% efficient.
Plumb-Line installs ground and air source heat pumps from the following manufacturers:
Solar water heating Solar water heating systems operate by converting energy radiated by the sun into heat. They can help to reduce fuel bills by providing almost all of a household's hot water during the summer months, and around 50-60% across the whole year.
Solar water heating systems for homes consist of:
- Solar panels usually fitted to the roof to convert heat from the sun into hot water
- A hot water cylinder to store the hot water collected during the day and keep it for later use
- A plumbing system made up of piping, a pump station and controls
Types of systemThere are generally two types of solar panels that are used in the UK:
- Flat plate panels
- Evacuated tube panels, which take up less room and are more efficient, but are more expensive than flat plate systems
Is my property suitable for solar water heating?Preferably you will need:
- 2-5m2 of south-east to south-west facing roof space with very little shading during the main part of the day
- Space to locate an extra water cylinder if required, or replace the current cylinder with a larger twin coil cylinder
- Space for appropriate pumps and system controls
Can solar work with my current water system?All solar water heating systems can work with combi boilers but are best suited for both vented and unvented hot water systems. With the continual increase in fuel prices and greater competition in the solar energy market, solar water heating is becoming more viable and increasingly popular.
Solar photovoltaic energy Solar photovoltaic or solar PV systems convert sunlight into electricity for use in the home. Any surplus energy that is generated can be fed into the national grid, enabling you to receive credits on your electricity bill via the Government’s feed in tariff system. Plumb-Line installs Solar PV panels for electricity generation. Contact us for more details.
Wind power A wind turbine converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy, which is then converted to electricity.
Advantages- Wind is free, so they need no costly fuel
- Produces no waste or greenhouse gases
- The land beneath can usually still be used
- A good method of supplying energy to remote areas
Disadvantages- The wind is not always predictable - some days have no wind
Not all areas are suitable areas for wind turbines