Shocking savings in a box

10 Downing Street do it. DECC do it. Norman Environmental do it.  What are we talking about? Voltage optimisation of course!


In order to cope with the surges and pulses of electrical demand in the UK, our energy suppliers provide us with 'too much' electricity.  Better too much than too little, right? Well no actually.

A V-Phase is about the size of a shoebox and saves customers 10% on electricity

Legally, power can be supplied in the UK at anywhere between 207 and 253 volts.  For those of you that don't know a volt can be defined simply as the measurement of electrical force, or speed.  That is to say that higher volts may deliver the same amount of power (amps) but will do so more quickly, causing appliances to consume power more quickly.  In most cases power is delivered at around 245 volts.


Too much electricity means higher bills and lower lifespans for our electrical appliances. Too much electricity helps the energy suppliers sleep at night because it mitigates against stations that 'drop off the grid', reduces the impact of surges in demand and because it increases their income.


For years now commercial and industrial property owners and managers have employed the trick of voltage optimisation to reduce their costs and look after their appliances, plant and equipment.  Until recently this technology was not safely and economically provided to the the domestic market.


This has been turned on it's head by companies such as V-Phase and Marshall Tuflex who provide their own voltage reduction units for the domestic market.  The technology is designed to reduce the incoming power to 220 volts, an optimum level for most household items.  This helps to save about 10% of annual electricity bills.


Below is a list from the V-Phase website, showing what kind of savings you can look forward too with one of their units.  They also have a handy savings calculator on their site, why not see how much you could save?

Appliances with motors and pumps

• 'A' rated freezer = 17% energy saving
• 'A' rated refrigerator = 16% energy saving
• 3 speed central heating pump = 15% to 18% energy saving

Lighting     

• CFL lighting = 11% energy saving
• Incandescent bulb = 15% energy saving
• Low voltage halogen spot lights = 15% energy saving

Consumer electronics                                                                                          

Results for consumer electronics vary widely, examples are given below:                                                               

• DAB radio = 5% energy saving                                                                                                                                                        
• DECT cordless phone base station = 30% energy saving                                                                                                             
• ADSL modem and wireless router = 5% energy saving                                                                                                    
• Personal Computer = 4% energy saving
• Hi-Fi = 13% energy saving    

Do you have V-Phase unit or equivalent? Or are you considering purchasing one? Perhaps you know of an ongoing project that could benefit from one or more of these clever little boxes?  Whatever the reason, please share your story below.

Don't let your boiler freeze over

As we approach December thermometers across the land are going only one way, and it ain't up!  This means that many homes and properties across the country will be relying on their gas condensing boilers to keep their occupants comfortable in the wintry months.  Sadly, this is when they are most likely to fail.


Last year was the year of the frozen condensate pipes, and whilst things don't look so perilous this winter and installers have been careful to try and protect their customers from suffering the same fate, some installations may still do so.


A condensate pipe carries condensation from your boiler to the the outside drain.  More often than not the condensation barely registers as a trickle, but it can freeze layer upon layer over-time in prolonged frozen conditions, eventually backing up into the boiler and preventing it from operating.


So if your boiler cuts out unexpectedly in very cold weather, before you call a plumber or heating engineer make sure you check the condensate pipe.  The video below shows how you can perform a DIY fix.  Don't worry, it's not dangerous and could save you a pretty penny as well as giving you the heat and hot water you deserve this winter.

Landlords can make the most of the Feed-in-Tariff

Whilst Norman Environmental would argue that anyone with a roof is a candidate for Solar PV in the UK (ok, not everyone, but close enough), certain people are especially good candidates for many different reasons, some technical some circumstantial.  

It was our pleasure and honour this week to present to the Cardiff Landlords' Association about the benefits of solar PV and the feed in tariff. Whilst most people who happen across this blog will be aware that a 2kW solar PV system can bring 12% yearly yields increasing over a 25 year period - not all will know that the generation tariff price falls for systems of 4kW and above, and falls again for systems above 10kW.  They fall further still for systems of 50kW and above. All as depicted by the bar chart below.

This was put to the Cardiff Landlords Association so that they may understand the basis of the feed in tariff and how it pertains to solar PV in the UK.  Building on this information however, we had an ace up our sleeve; landlords with multiple properties can take advantage of the sliding scales of payment by maximising their FiT returns at each of their eligible properties.

The above graph shows, in red, how multiple property installations can each take advantage of the 43.3p tariff to maximise their returns, the grey line shows how large scale installations can suffer from diminishing returns.  Over the course of 25 years therefore, 25 landlords installations of 2kW each could expect to receive £250k more in FiT income than a single 50kW installation

This means that multi-property landlords can invest for their own benefit across their portfolio, or even offer their roofs to pension funds and other investors that are looking to make long term gains from a secure, government backed opportunity.


if you are a landlord looking to make the most of the feed-in-tariff then click here to see a PDF of the full presentation or here to submit your details and we'll get in touch to assist you.  Also, you can visit the Cardiff Landlords Association website, sponsored by Lobster Web Design, by clicking here.