Does the RHI increase signal the end of the gas boiler?? Renewable Heat Incentive Breaking News

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has just announced some significant changes to the RHI. The full consultation response was published yesterday but the highlights are as follows:

• The Air Source Heat Pump RHI will increase from 7.51p to 10.02p, an increase of 33% 
• Biomass RHI will increase from 4.21p to 6.44p, an increase of over 50% 
• Solar thermal remains eligible for Domestic RHI but no change to the rate of 19.74p/kWh, although only until 1st April.
• AND IMPORANTLY - Although the new rates don't take effect until 1st April 2017, any install between now and then will automatically move on to the higher rates in April. 

There is a cap on the total heat claim for biomass of 25,000 kWh and 20,000kWh for heat pumps. The caps only apply to installs registered after April, so properties with heat losses higher than the caps would be advised to have an installation completed ASAP.

We think these changes prove that the Government is committed to helping properties move away from carbon intensive heating systems such as mains gas. In particular the improvement to the RHI for air source heat pumps is very significant and will help to bring the technology into the mainstream.

While an Air Source Heat Pump is only marginally cheaper to run than a mains gas boiler there are other important benefits, such as:

• Our calculations indicate that an average 3/4 bedroom property should expect the RHI to pay for the full cost of installation over 7 years with some money left over to put towards heating costs.
• Houses with Solar PV can expect the solar to contribute towards a proportion of the heating costs in Summer, Spring and Autumn. A reasonable contribution from a 4kW PV system would be between 7-10%.
• Heat pumps are a time served reliable technology which are arguably safer than gas boilers due to no production of carbon monoxide or risk of explosive gas leaks.
• Houses with electric cooking facilities can disconnect the supply and stop paying gas daily standing charges.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Kind Regards

Matthew Baxter 

Lower "Feed in Tariff" rates begin on the 1st October 2016

Just a quick notice for anybody considering installing a Solar PV system or who have interested friends and family interested in the technology. As of the 1st October the new lower FIT rate of 4.18p per kWh will be put into place for all systems smaller than 10kWp. This lower rate is in line with new government imposed digression model.

CTS Renewables Ltd has installation dates available for customers wanting to install before the deadline and don't forget our Refer a Friend Scheme, which pays £100 if you refer a friend or family who goes on to purchase a Solar PV, Biomass or Heat Pump.system. T&C's apply.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Kind Regards


Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Director

Tesla Powerwall - Options, Price Increases, Long Term Battery Pricing, Tesla Rumors Debunked!

1: Tesla Powerwall Options

Working is Partnership with SolarEdge and SMA, Tesla have been able to configure the Powerwall to enable compatibility with ALL INVERTER MANUFACTURERS. Upon its release, Tesla Powerwall's were only compatible with PV Systems using SolarEdge Inverters.

Of particular interest to SMA owners is the AC Coupled solution, the "SUNNY BOY STORAGE 2.5", the battery inverter can be installed or expanded in any location, at any time. The Sunny Boy Storage is a true jack-of-all-trades, one that uses high-voltage technology to make it cost-efficient and light weight. It also uses just a few components, because the most important functions for intelligent battery management are already integrated. It can be combined with numerous types of energy: PV, wind energy, combined heat and power plants.

SolarEdge have their standard DC coupled system which is compatible with most existing pre-installed SolarEdge inverters. In addition, SolarEdge have created an AC coupled solution as part of its "StorEdge" product interface by re-configuring their tried and tested, SE-3500 inverter as a dedicated battery inverter.

Both AC Solutions are compatible with almost any other existing inverter, and any battery storage system will work with FEED IN TARIFF AND EXPORT PAYMENTS.

2: Revised Typical Installed Prices:
In the short term, to generate interest CTS Renewables Ltd were able to offer the Tesla packages at prices significantly lower than the industry average for early adopters, however due to changes in exchange rates for both Dollars and Euro's alongside the slower than expected battery price reductions, As of 20/08/16, we can no longer offer the rates provided in previous emails and correspondence.

£4,499 - Tesla Powerwall to connect into existing compatible SolarEdge Inverter.

£4,799 - Tesla Powerwall to connect into any other inverter using the SMA or SolarEdge AC Coupling Solution

3: Long Term Battery Pricing
There has been a great deal of discussion on forums, message boards and within the industry about significant reductions in battery pricing in the near future. At a recent event attended by the BBC's technology reporter, Dave Lee, at the new Tesla Battery "Gigafactory" which is due to fully open in 2020, Elon Musk discussed potential battery cell savings of up to 30%. Which is a significant saving but it needs to be put into perspective.

Firstly its four years away and will no doubt be phased over that period. Secondly, these are expected savings for the battery cells, and not the other components which form the battery and its installation. Other costs which are not likely to change significantly include, the housing, US shipping, import taxes, UK delivery, wholesaler margins, other components such as cabling, SMA/SolarEdge battery inverters, and CTS Renewables installation cost. With all the other aspects considered I would expect that a 30% reduction in cell cost could only result in a 10-15% reduction in overall install cost. Finally, Non of this takes into account any additional price increases expected by the poor exchange rates with the Dollar and Euro.

This is vastly different from expectations of up to 50% reductions in the coming few months, as discussed in forums. I was expecting more significant changes and sooner, but it would appear that they will be much more conservative. I do however stand to be corrected!

4: Tesla Rumors Debunked
There have been a few articles recently in Tech Magazines and blogs regarding a Powerwall 2 which will be more powerful than the current Powerwall. According to my discussions directly with Tesla the rumors are groundless.

The only revision to the Powerwall is its newly released compatibility with the SMA Sunny Storage 2.5, any discussions regarding extra capacity is confusing its original advertised capacity, which was revised down to allow an advertised Depth of Discharge of 100%, or their 10kw backup version which has a different configuration.

Inside the Powerwall is a single self contained battery pack which you will find in the Tesla cars (which also have more packs). To upgrade the Powerwall would mean a change across the entire product range. Any near future revisions will be aesthetic to the housing or to the wiring centre to ease installation of the equipment.

CTS Renewables Ltd are able to offer alternative storage solutions from LG, Samsung and we are one of the few installers accredited to install the Tesla Powerwall. Follow this LINK to read more detailed information on battery storage systems from our latest information flyer.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newscast, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.


Kind Regards

Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Director

June News Flash - Batteries and FITS - Servicing - CTS Tree Services

June News Flash

Batteries do not affect FIT's and Exports, Servicing Renewable Technologies, Coming Soon - CTS Tree Services

Welcome to the June 2016 News Release from CTS Renewables. This month we clear up some confusion over solar battery systems, review the benefits of servicing and maintenance and give details of our latest development.

1 - Batteries Do Not affect FIT and Export payments, I have been receiving several calls regarding how a battery system will affect payments. The battery is a temporary store of the electricity only, all solar generation goes through the solar meter sooner or later.

With DC coupled systems such as SolarEdge/Tesla, Growatt or Solax/LG the solar electricity is effectively diverted directly from the panels to be temporarily stored in the battery, when that stored electricity is required in periods of low generation it goes through the inverter, converted to AC and passes through the generation meter. What you will find is the generation meter starting to flash at night as the battery is being drawn upon.

With AC coupled systems such as the new SMA/Tesla combination, the solar electricity is immediately converted to AC by the inverter as normal and then converted back to DC for temporary storage. The battery can be fitted before or after the generation meter, and will therefore be counted either after or before usage. Either way its always accounted for!

With regards to Export payments, any systems below 30kw are are declared to be deemed export payments only, which means they are based on an assumption of 50% of the FIT generated rather than actual calculated export. Some of our customers with systems below 30kw have requested export meters to be fitted, because they know that they export more than they use, they have been refused a meter on every occasion. There is no appetite with the suppliers to bother with the effort of metering FIT payments below 30k, equally there is no requirement to notify them of storage systems such as batteries and iboosts. Export is payed as normal.

2 - Servicing Renewable Technologies - CTS Renewables customers whom have had Heat Pump, Biomass Boilers and Solar Thermal Systems fitted, will already know that we are able to provide servicing on our installed products. But, there are other newsletter subscribers which may not be aware that we can provide Servicing, maintenance and health checks for the following products and technologies whether we installed them or not. With the highlighted brands, we are manufacturer approved technicians:

Air Source Heat Pumps - (Dimplex, Samsung and Panasonic only)
Biomass Boilers - (Windhager, Okofen, Grant, MCZ only)
Solar Thermal - All sealed systems

It is essential to keep your service schedule up-to-date in order to maintain manufacturer warranties, optimise the efficiency of the units and to identify possible faults in their early stages, before the repair costs increase.

Solar PV - This service is a great option for customers who are looking to ensure that their system is achieving optimum performance for the best Feed in Tariff income.

Additionally we are aware that there has been several Solar PV companies who are no longer trading, leaving customers without equipment support or possibly poorly performing installations. As part of the health check we can identify faults and provide solutions.

3 - CTS Tree Services - For several years now my business partner, Ben Moss has been undertaking tree work as a "fun" distraction from his normal day to day work!. As often happens with side projects, the amount of interest in the service generated purely by word of mouth and recommendation, is such that we have decided to build a business around it. CTS Tree Services, is a new project which will soon be fully operational, and we intend to provide the same quality experience to our Tree Service customers as we provide to our Renewables customers. If you have any projects you wish to discuss please contact Ben in the office on 01623 422254 or visit our soon to be launched website www.ctstreeservices.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Kind Regards


Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Director

Solar Battery Storage Information Sheet Released

Growatt Battery Storage Offer.

Working with Growatt, one of the worlds largest inverter manufacturers, we have been able to put together a fantastic entry level battery storage package.

Utilising the SP2000 Battery controller and the GBLI 5001 Lithium Battery, we can deliver a package which offers the following features.

• Compatible with most inverter manufacturers.
• Up to 5kWh of Lithium Ion battery storage, which is enough for most households.
• 2000W of Charge/Discharge capacity.
• DC charging directly from the solar panels, more efficient than AC method.
• Wifi connectivity and in depth consumption monitoring.
• 10 Year lifespan, with 5 year product warranty.
• Compact Design.

This is a great entry level system for households with low to medium energy usage, and is a perfect solution for people looking to significantly reduce their reliance on electricity from the grid, by utilising the FREE electricity from their Solar Panels.

This system can be yours for only £3,350, supplied and installed. Subject to survey.

***BANK HOLIDAY OFFER***

FIRST FIVE CUSTOMERS TO BUY WILL RECEIVE A 5% DISCOUNT 

CTS Renewables Ltd are able to offer alternative storage solutions from LG, Samsung and we are one of the few installers accredited to install the Tesla Powerwall.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newscast, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Tesla Powerwall In Action!

Having previously discussed battery storage systems in the April 2016 News Release I thought it might be interesting to provide a brief view on how a Tesla Powerwall looks in situ, and also a typical weeks consumption with the battery in place.

This particular installation was a retrofit to an existing 4Kw Solar system on a South East facing roof in Leicester. The Powerwall was installed onto a garage wall close to the existing SolarEdge inverter which was on the wall opposite.

The picture below displays the Tesla Powerwall, Inverter along with the SolarEdge StorEdge Interface. As the name suggests, the interface is the communications and wiring link between the battery and inverter.

This system has been up and running for several days now, below is a screenshot of a typical weeks usage broken down into solar production (Green), consumption (Red) and self consumption (Blue). Self consumption is the combined consumption of electricity from the battery and solar panels, consumption is when electricity is being imported from the grid.

Electricity is only imported when the home uses more than the 3500 watts of supply available from the battery, if the battery has been fully discharged or for a brief moment when the battery if changing from charging to discharging.

It is startling to see how little electricity is being imported, 93% of the home's electricity is being supplied by the panels and supplemented by battery storage in evenings and poor generation periods. This equates to the customer spending less than 90p on electricity for a week.

Obviously this is only a snapshot of one week for one customer's usage but the results are compelling.

CTS Renewables Ltd are one of the few installers accredited to install the Tesla Powerwall, which is now compatable with SMA inverters alongside Solaredge. We also supply and install similar battery storage systems manufactured by LG and Samsung.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Kind Regards


Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Directo

April News Flash - Battery Storage Special

Welcome to the April 2016 News Release from CTS Renewables Ltd. This Month we concentrate on the latest developments in Battery Storage Solutions, if you would like any additional information please ring the office on 01623 422254.

A solar PV system converts sunlight into electricity which is automatically used to charge a battery storage system and directly power a property with any excess being routed back to the grid. Any shortfall of power, such as peak use times or at night, is supplied by the battery at first then topped up by your energy supplier if the battery becomes depleted or overloaded by demand.

Solar PV operates on light intensity, not heat, so even if the day seems cold, if there is light, the system will be generating electricity, PV systems will therefore generate electricity all year round. typical usage of the energy generated is 50%, but with battery storage, usage can become 80%. We have calculated that with a typical system size of 4kw and a battery storage solution of around 6kWh, customers should be mainly off grid for spring, summer and autumn, and pretty much using all the winter generation.

Please be aware that this is not a battery backup system, but a storage system enabling more effective usage of energy generated. Battery backup systems are not compliant with UK grid systems (G83/2) and as such require additional measures to manually switch the system off the grid and also separate high usage circuits within the property.

All the solutions CTS Renewables Ltd are providing use Lithium Ion batteries rather than Lead Acid. This is because Lithium batteries are the most energy dense (power/space taken), have improved discharge cycles (usage lifespan) and have a depth of discharge of around 90% rather than 50% for lead acid (DOD is the usable proportion of the battery capacity, a 10kWh lead acid battery only provides 5kWh of usable energy!)

Due to the size and weight of the battery it stands on the ground and is secured against a wall. This means it is most suited for installation into an attached garage or similar type location.

1 - Tesla Powerwall 6.4
CTS Renewables Ltd are please to announce that we are one of the few Certified installers of the Tesla Powerwall storage solution. We feel that this is a great reflection on our commitment to quality installations as Solaredge and Tesla hand picked a limited number of companies to install this fantastic product.

Each Powerwall has a 6.4 kWh energy storage capacity, sufficient to power most homes during the evening using electricity generated by solar panels during the day. Multiple batteries may be installed together for homes with greater energy needs. Powerwall stores electricity generated by solar panels during the day and makes it available to your home in the evening. This bridges the gap between peak solar and peak demand, allowing you to use your photons when you need them, potentially becoming "net zero". A net zero energy rating means that your home produces as much energy as it consumes, but is still connected to the utility grid for periods of high demand.

Specs - 6.4kWh of storage at 100% depth of discharge, up to 3.3kw discharge power, rated for internal and external mounting, 1302 mm x 862 mm x 183 mm / 97kg. 10 year product warranty. https://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/powerwall

Currently the Tesla Powerwall is only compatible with recent model SolarEdge Inverters. Other Battery Systems are available or it is possible to upgrade your existing system to Solaredge for an additional charge.

To add a Tesla Powerwall onto an existing SolarEdge system would be from £4,499,
To install a new system with 4kw Canadian Solar Panels, Solaredge and Tesla would be from £9,599

2 - SolaX SK-SU3700e Solar Battery Inverter with LG Chem Resu 6.4EX Lithium 5.76kWh Battery Module
For customers without Solaredge Inverters already installed we have put together an alternative but equally attractive battery storage solution. In this package the existing inverter is replaced as it is more cost effective and efficient to replace with a Hybrid inverter such as the SolaX as it is to add a dedicated battery inverter onto an existing system. We have paired it with a quality Battery module made by LG Chem.

The ground-breaking SolaX X-Hybrid is much more than just an inverter. It is an intelligent, integrated system that manages the energy you generate effectively and efficiently. Specs - Manage remotely via built-in CT and WiFi monitoring. Dual MPPT, Maximum DC 5000W, Maximum DC 550V. AC Nominal Power 4600W. Euro Efficiency 97%. Discharge Power 2500W. Dimensions mm - W490 / H595 / D167. 10 Year manufacturer warranty.

The LG Chem RESU 6.4 EX is a high quality Lithium Ion battery system that allows the storage of 6.4kWh energy. It is manufactured by LG Chem a leader in Li-ion technology and a trusted brand around the world. 5.8kWh Usable Storage (90% DOD), 3.2 kWh Expansion Pack Available, >6000 charge cycles >10 year lifespan. Dimensions mm - W406 / H664 / D165, weight 60kg. http://www.solaxuk.co.uk/x-hybrid-battery-storage/

To add a SolaX/LG storage system onto an existing PV system would be from £4,499.
To install a new system with 4kw Canadian Solar Panels, SolaX X Hybrid and LG Chem Resu 6.4EX would be from £8,449.

3 - Samsung ESS SDI Solar Battery Storage System
For Customers without Solaredge or those looking for a neat and compact "All in One" product the Samsung ESS SDI is a perfect solution which combines the PV inverter with Lithium-Ion battery storage capabilities. It optimises power yield and has an intuitive remote monitoring system which can detect errors in advance.

System Specs:
Inverter - Dual MPPT, Maximum DC 6600W (3300 x2), Maximum DC 550V. AC Nominal Power 3680/4600W. Euro Efficiency 95%. Discharge Power 2000W. Dimensions mm - W1000 / H680 / D267.
Battery - 3.6kWh Lithium Ion Battery, 90% Depth of Discharge - 3.24kWh of usable storage, 6000 charge cycle warranty, 5 year manufacturer product warranty, 10 year performance warranty. https://myess.samsungsdi.com/prod/prod.do#0

To add a Samsung ESS SDI system onto an existing PV system would be from £4,499.
To install a new system with 4kw Canadian Solar Panels and Samsung ESS SDI would be from £8,999.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can found on our website www.ctsrenewables.co.uk or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Kind Regards



Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Director

New FIT Rates now apply - 4kW PV for £3,999, Tesla Battery Backup on the way

Welcome to the January 2016 News Release from CTS Renewables. Please find below a selection of current news stories and offers, if you would like any additional information please ring the office on 01623 422254.

1 - January FIT Rates Now Apply – After a long and drawn out consultation process the government has released its plans for the future of the Feed in Tariff. The consultation, which ran from 27 August to 23 October, originally set out to cut the feed-in tariff rates by as much as 87%, enact quarterly installation capacity caps and ultimately withdraw subsidy support on 1 January 2019.

It received more than 55,000 responses and was widely condemned by the industry, the general public and politicians alike.

The announced rates are not as severe as expected, here at CTS Renewables we are confident that Solar PV can still be an attractive proposition to electricity consumers.

The new rates are as follows:

0-10kW - 4.39p
10-50kW - 4.59p
50-250kW - 2.70p
250kW-1000kW - 2.27p
>1MW - 0.87p
Stand alone - 0.87p

The full consultation response also sets out how the new rates - based upon offering a return of 4.8% - are to be introduced.

Due to the Christmas recess the changes do not come into effect until 8 February 2016. In order to protect the new budget allocation of £100 million, DECC has elected to enact a four-week pause on new feed-in tariff installations which will run from 15 January to 8 February 2016.

Any installation made between those dates will not be eligible for the previous rates and will receive the new 4.39p rate from 8 February onward. The first rate will run from 8 February to 31 March, after which digressions will begin to occur.

Also included in the response are details of deployment caps. The government states that it considered these to be the “most robust” method of cost control and that a total spend of £100 million per year from April 2019 to be an “appropriate” allocation. As a result, the below caps on deployment will be put into place on a quarterly basis.

A queuing system is to be introduced, meaning that if a particular cap is reached then all new installations will be placed in a queue for when the next cap opens. There is no guarantee that these installations will received FiT payments until they are registered under the following cap, nor is there a guarantee on which the rate they will receive.

There is however a “rollover” clause which means that any unused capacity from a particular deployment cap will be added on top of the next quarter. Clause 1.42 of the response also includes mention of a “budget reconciliation” which could open the door for a possible revisit of the rates on offer should deployment nose dive and it appear that the £100 million budget would not be utilized in full.

2 – 4kw PV System from £3,999 -  CTS Renewables has been able to secure package deals with the UK’s largest PV wholesaler and are able to offer a 16 panel 4kw system onto a single aspect for as little as £3,999. For a house in Derby with a south facing roof using 50% of the electricity generated, it could mean a break even point of just over 6 years based on the new FIT rates. Also available is 4kW system using the all black Canadian Solar 265 panels for a fantastic price of £4,499.

These systems include a 10 year insurance backed warranty, VAT, scaffolding all fully fitted by our own installation teams. Smaller system sizes are available. Please contact the office for further details.

5 – Battery Backup – The battery backup market is moving apace, new products are being released all the time. Customer interest is at an all time high, people want to take full advantage of the Solar Electricity that is being generated and be "Off Grid" as much as possible.

CTS Renewables are particularly excited about the new Tesla Powerwall system which works alongside solaredge inverters. The Powerwall has all the hallmarks of a great product with great storage capacity, pricing and longevity. We expect this solution to become available in the next few weeks.

In addition solutions from Samsung, LG and SMA are beginning to become available. Over the next few weeks CTS Renewables staff are undertaking a range of manufacturer training programs to allow us to offer comprehensive and informed range of battery back-up solutions for our customers.

4 – Solar Thermal Deals – With much of the limelight over the years on Solar PV, Solar Thermal systems have seen a marked reduction in their popularity. That however, appears to be changing. In the last six months CTS Renewables has installed as many solar thermal systems than we have done in the previous four years. We attribute this partially to significant reductions in installation costs, partially to the introduction of the  domestic RHI scheme, but mainly we find that our sales come from our satisfied Solar PV, Biomass and Heat Pump Customers who are looking to add to their energy saving portfolio of products.

Solar Thermal Panels are a great addition to any property with a non-combi boiler based heating system as they can reliably provide domestic hot water over the summer months, enabling customers to reduce running times for their boilers over these months and also supplement hot water generation in the colder months. For those customers already accessing the domestic RHI for their Biomass or Heat Pump systems, you are still able to access the RHI for solar thermal in addition to your current RHI payments. The same can be said for Feed in Tariff payments.

In addition a significant proportion of our installations are fitted to properties with Solar PV and Immersun/Iboost systems. These technologies can complement each other as the solar thermal preheats the incoming cold water before it reaches the immersion heater element. The combination of the two technologies mean that you are able to greatly extend the days of the year for which the sun can heat your hot water. The average amount of roof space required for solar thermal is 1m² per person and a solar thermal compatible hot water cylinder will need to be in place or installed by our plumbers.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can be found at www.ctsrenewables.co.uk, or you can call our office on 01623 422254.

Kind Regards


Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Director