23rd July 2008

Hot weather, rising domestic energy bills and concerns over climate change have conspired to make life easy for companies selling solar energy systems to householders. However, according to Cambridge UK based analysts, CarbonFree, some parts of the domestic renewable energy market are, themselves, starting to overheat with the benefits systems being oversold to householders.

Already a few renewable energy technology installers have made front page news in local newspapers for all the wrong reasons as customers discover that either promised benefits do not materialise or in some cases the systems do not work. According to CarbonFree the number of dissatisfied customers could increase this coming winter when the performance of solar energy systems fall. In addition, it believes that if the price of oil falls some householders, who were persuaded to buy at the peak of the market, may question the cost effectiveness of their new heating systems.

According to CarbonFree the problem of over selling is particularly acute with hot water solar installations, as the entry point into the market for small and relatively inexperienced installation companies is very low in terms of equipment and staffing costs. However, a report based on research CarbonFree carried out into microgeneration identified well-designed and professionally installed solar hot water heating as a relatively cost effective solution with a realistic payback period.

The report, “Householders as Energy Providers” catalogues a range of technologies that are deployed within microgeneration projects and describes government schemes vendors can use to increase take up of renewable energy equipment.

CarbonFree has identified energy storage as an important component in both microgeneration and large scale renewable energy installations. In its report “Watts In Store – Storing Renewable Energy”, CarbonFree predicts a growth in demand for equipment that can both even out short term peaks and troughs in solar and wind energy availability and also store energy during the summer for use in winter months. The report highlights “road energy” as an important technology in the energy storage market. In road energy systems, heat energy is taken from highways and airport runways during summer months and stored in aquifers to boost the performance of ground source heat pumps during the winter.

The reports “Householders As Energy Providers” and “Watts In Store – Storing Renewable Energy” are available from the CarbonFree website.

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