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