We are specialists in the design, manufacture and installation of highly insulated, exceptional quality, timber frame bespoke garden buildings suitable for any number of uses. Whatever purpose you need extra space for we have the knowledge and skills to provide you with a suitable design to fulfil your needs at a competitive price. We design and construct our buildings based on 4 key pillars: Sustainability, Durability, Aesthetics and Value for Money.  Enjoy browsing our web site and you will find examples of Garden Studios, Garden Rooms, Garden Offices and Granny Annexes.You can choose from a large selection of options including cloakroom and kitchen facilities, solid oak flooring or under-floor heating for your bespoke garden buildings etc…The style choices have been categorised into 3 distinct designs or why not work with our architect to produce your very own bespoke garden buildings.  Whether you choose the Arc, Vista, Quad or Bespoke option you will be provided with a fully insulated, heated and double glazed unique outdoor room.

Click here to view our website ]]> http://www.r3magazine.co.uk/2012/02/your-room-your-choice/feed/ 1 http://www.r3magazine.co.uk/2012/01/1668/ http://www.r3magazine.co.uk/2012/01/1668/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:38:07 +0000 Mitch Finlay http://www.r3magazine.co.uk/?p=1668 Recycling is trendy these days, and this is great news for those who are particularly environmentally conscious. More and more people are paying attention to recycling their used products rather than simply throwing them away. However, unfortunately, there is also a steep education curve that needs to occur before environmental efforts can truly realize their potential. Many people want to recycle and do their part, but simply don’t understand the full extent to which they can help. For example, did you know that most of your electronic goods – even your used cell phones – can be recycled and put to great use? Some cell phone companies, including major providers such as O2, provide information on how and why to recycle their products, and this sort of information can indeed help you to do a better job doing your part for the environmental movement. Here are a few reasons to consider recycling your cell phones.

- To begin with, cell phones, in their physical construction, contain a number of precious metals and other materials. These materials can include gold, silver, copper, palladium, and numerous plastics, all of which can be very useful and need to be preserved. Tossing your cell phone into a trash heap prevents this preservation, whereas recycling cell phones allows the materials to be put to use in new ways in the future.

- Cell phones can also include harmful materials, such as mercury, lead and arsenic, that can be toxic and dangerous to the environment if not properly disposed of. This is yet another reason to recycle the phones, as it helps to contain these materials and put them to use, rather than allowing them to be destructive or harmful.

- Many used cell phones are still perfectly functional, and could therefore be fixed up and used by other people. Just because you move on to a new phone doesn’t mean your old one is beyond repair or use. One example to support this is that many used cell phones are sent to third world countries, etc. to be used simply and cheaply by others. This also cuts down on production of new phones, which of course helps the environment.

All of these and other reasons are worth considering when you dispose of your next cell phone. It is important to realize that the environmental movement is not all about paper and plastic bottles. Electronic equipment is well worth preserving, both for its utility and its material. All it takes is tossing your used equipment into the recycling bin, instead of the trash.

MMD Shipping are one of the largest importers of fresh fruit in the UK and 60% of all banana imports are handled by the company. They operate a complex comprising of 11 warehouses in Portsmouth and are owned by Portsmouth City Council.

In spring 2011 MMD Shipping started looking into energy efficient lighting for their new 3,750m² chill store building. They wanted to carry out an appraisal of the different low energy lighting products available to determine which one was going to provide the best solution.

One of the products they were interested in was the Dialight Durosite LED high bay and they contacted Elite Renewables, who are authorised distributors of the Dialight products, for some information.  MMD Shipping were given a high bay and a low bay to trial alongside lighting from other manufacturers. The key stakeholders in the business, including employees and customers, were asked to give feedback on each product.

THE FACTS

• Number of lights in chill store – 150
• Lights can be combined with occupancy sensors due to the instant on/off
• Low heat output
• Savings of 157.6MW per year *
• 86 tonnes of carbon saved per year*
• Payback will be achieved within 2 year
• Dialight 5 year warranty*Compared to traditional lighting sources

After the lights were trialled for four weeks it emerged that the Dialight LED products had won out over the other low energy products trialled. The LED high bay provided the best performance, with lumen maintenance of 80% at 60,000 hours, the light quality was of a high standard and the products are manufactured in the UK. Dialight also offer a 5 years warranty as standard on all products.

MMD Shipping were so pleased with the results they achieved from the Dialight LED products that they have also       decided to upgrade the lighting in their existing warehouses. With over 500 lights this is one of the largest installations of LED lighting in this sector in the UK.

Our comprehensive knowledge and involvement in the production process means that we understand exactly how LED lighting works and how it can be meet your lighting needs, both now and in the future.

Email: sales@exled.co.uk
Websites: www.exled.co.uk
www.led-lightbulbs.co.uk

We only supply high quality LED products from responsible manufacturers
Not all LEDs are the same. High quality, energy-efficient industrial and commercial lighting demands that only the best raw materials are used in our products, precision- engineered, then rigorously tested. We will only use manufacturers who meet our high quality standards and apply the same ethical standards as we do.
All our LED products have been designed to provide a high quality light source using a fraction of the energy consumed by conventional lighting. Long life, low maintenance, minimal wastage, low wattage and safe disposal options are standard features of all our products. Our future-proof AEON light is the first of its kind, enabling component parts to be replaced or upgraded, rather than a complete unit – it’s environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
Our sales advisors aren’t just sales people
Our sales advisors and account mangers have an in-depth understanding of the products they sell. They’ll find out what you need and offer advice on the most cost-effective options. They’ll answer any technical, design or installation queries.
An account manager is assigned to each customer and site visits can be arranged to provide a detailed project assessment with specific advice on which LED solutions will benefit you the most. Our in-house technical team can produce CAD drawings and light plots to support your commercial projects.

Our wide range of LED products
We supply for many applications so we have a wide range of LED solutions to solve our customer’s requirements, a sample of our products below:

•  LED Panel – the Nova 600×600 LED ceiling panel is our most popular product; streamline, lightweight, clean area approved, versatile in its application, and easy to install. With independently controlled panels of light that have a high lumen output and provide instant illumination. Available in two colour temperatures and with a three hour emergency back up pack option, ensures that the Nova is the perfect product for commercial lighting environments.

•  LED Tube – replacement tubes for fluorescent fittings that are easy to retrofit. Our Elite tubes provide excellent lumen per Watt and are available in a T8 format, standard lengths and with an emergency lighting option too.

• LED Floodlights – IP65 rated external range of floodlights include the Comet in a 60Watt or 10Watt option, providing powerful illumination for building facades, car parks, garages, gardens and security lighting.

•  LED Wall and Ceiling lights – our range of bulkheads and motion detection sensor fittings vary greatly depending on application. The Zen is IP65 rated fitting that comes with a 50,000 hour lifetime and a 3 year warranty, emergency lighting pack also available. The Breeze offers a robust fitting that suits indoor situations corridors and stairwells fitting for either wall or ceilings. Our 105 bulkhead provides a fantastic three point detection system, light levels, motion and range with fully flexible settings that can be adjusted to suit your needs.

• LED Rope light – available in three formats that provide different levels of illumination and in a range of colours our LED rope light is high quality and extremely versatile, customers have used it to light bars, nightclubs, restaurants, gyms, escalators, and feature walls, ceilings and floors.

• LED Strip lights – our thin strip lights are great for jewellery displays, food cabinets, shop fittings and cabinet lighting. They are very bright and easy to install, ensuring that you get the best long-lasting light source to display your products.

•  LED Ribbon tape – with several different products available to help you achieve the look you desire our range of ribbon tapes are adhesive backed and can perfect the look for your under cupboard lighting, shelving units, TV and media consoles.

Happy to help with your enquiries
To view our full range of LED products please visit the website, if you have an enquiry or a project that you are currently working on and would like advice on which LED solution would work best please give us a call on 01453 756361or send us an email sales@exled.co.uk.

Web: www.exled.co.uk and www.led-lightbulbs.co.uk
Or follow us on Twitter @Exled_LED

Mike Burke, business development director at Unidata Infrastructure, looks at the challenge of making existing buildings more energy efficient in order to meet future low carbon requirements.

For some organisations, making carbon savings is part of fulfilling their sustainable policies. For others, reducing energy consumption is a purely commercial decision.  Over time, it is accepted that an office block or a factory starts to become inefficient in terms of its energy usage relative to modern buildings.  The challenge therefore is to find a practical and workable solution that delivers carbon savings and reduced energy costs, yet is not prohibitive in terms of the capital investment required.

Energy management specialists like ourselves are increasingly being called upon to advise on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing buildings.  As large public and private organisations will have to comply with the requirements of the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme from 2012 onwards, there is a desire to achieve greater energy efficiency sooner rather than later. This scheme aims to cut emissions from organisations with an average electricity bill of approximately £500,000 per year. In doing so, it is anticipated that it will cover 25 per cent of the total business sector emissions within the UK

Businesses that will be affected by the CRC are looking to implement effective energy management programmes that often include integration of renewables in order to reduce the cost of CO₂ allowances. Those that don’t will likely have to pay a considerably higher price for allowances that cover their emissions. Even organisations outside the current CRC remit are looking to reduce their carbon emissions, as legislation will become tighter for them too.

As a result of the ever more stringent legislation, building owners are looking for solutions to their energy reduction requirements that have a positive benefit on the environment and make good business sense too.  Renewable energy can be seen as a sound business investment for the building owner and carefully choosing an optimised energy solution can avoid upfront costs, as well as providing a guaranteed return on investment in just a couple of years.

Return on investment

With so many different renewable and energy saving systems available, it is essential to work with an energy management partner who is skilled and experienced in selecting an integrated set of products and services that will ensure long term energy efficiency and lower running costs. What is fundamental is that these systems must be able to guarantee reduced energy consumption, whilst providing a predictable and attractive return on investment, which makes it even more attractive to building owners.  It must also be the case that these systems can be implemented within a busy working environment to ensure any downtime is minimised.

When it comes to assessing an existing building for the viability of renewable systems, it’s necessary to first conduct a survey, which can be done using a smart meter monitoring system, or creating a Thermal Profile of the building utilising digital thermal modelling software. Elements such as the building’s shape, form, orientation and openings are linked to the surrounding climate and its thermal, light and airflow properties.

Building owners then have the option to commission a more extensive survey of the services that illuminate, heat, cool and control the occupied building. The survey is designed to identify areas of improvement within the premises in order to recommend energy saving solutions that will meet the client’s short or long term goals.  The subsequent report produced should highlight the main recommended technologies to be incorporated and potential electrical and HVAC system upgrades required to maximise savings.

Using the latest technology available, this means that a precise profile of energy usage and loss can be developed to enable quantifiable opportunities for savings.   The detailed energy usage report provides a basis for designers to make recommendations relating to integration of energy saving renewable products, plus any aesthetic changes that the client may require to the building, either as a result of the work, or requested as part of general improvements.    The final proposal incorporates energy usage findings, carbon emission legislation compliance, details of Government-funded schemes, tax benefits and incentives as well as the cost implications and overall return on investment.

Specific energy efficient measures that we often recommend include lighting control products that are capable of reducing energy costs by up to 80 per cent and a range of LED lamps that will give the same Lumen output as a standard lamp, but use just 40 per cent of the energy.

Other measures include an innovative sun tracking control system for solar shades, which will help to reduce heat gain and the need for air conditioning, whilst controlling the amount of daylight entering the workspace.

Many building owners also choose to incorporate a solar PV solution, which allows them to earn revenue and reduce running costs. IMOP (inductive motor optimisation panel) units are also becoming more widely used and these are an essential part of reducing reactive power requirements.

Once upgraded, a fully optimised building energy solution involves the installation of smart metering systems throughout its infrastructure. This means the building owner can monitor the system, which can report back on how well the energy efficient upgrades have performed – an essential part of ensuring the accuracy of the ROI calculation.

Long term payback

When it comes to assessing renewable energy systems, the challenge is to balance the need to invest upfront in such systems, against the long term benefits of doing so. The issue is often the capital investment that is required, for example, for renewable systems this can be significantly higher than investing in a conventional energy system.

However, it is essential to consider return on investment when it comes to choosing an optimised building energy solution. There are also many different ways of financing the upgrade, such as a scheme that avoids any upfront costs in the form of a business loan, which has the added advantage of making energy efficient improvements accessible to all sectors of the market.

Latest optimised building energy solutions are leading the way in helping to cut carbon dioxide emission from the UK’s existing building stock, which are by far the largest contributors of greenhouses gases.   Government schemes like the CRC mean that it is now more important than ever to address energy management in existing buildings and to look at the options of upgrading to renewable technologies which offer a reduced carbon footprint.

For more details, contact www.unidatauk.com

An unlikely candidate for a design makeover, the electricity pylon could shortly become a design icon right across the UK. Dave Howell reports.

Currently the UK has 88,000 high capacity electric pylons. Often the target of criticism for their impact on the landscape, these monoliths of steel that have changed little over the past 75 years, have recently been the focus for a design competition run by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on behalf of the Department of Energy & Climate Change and National Grid.

The design brief for the new pylon design stated: ‘This new RIBA competition invites architects, engineers, designers, and university level students of these disciplines to come up with proposals for a new generation of electricity pylon. As well as exploring the design of the object, this competition also seeks to explore the relationship between our energy infrastructure and the environment within which it needs to be located. The challenge is to design a pylon that has the potential to deliver for future generations, whilst balancing the needs of our communities and preserving the beauty of our countryside.’

Design competition

Of the total number of pylons in the UK, 22,000 are on National Grid’s main transmission network in England and Wales. These stand some 50m high, weigh around 30 tonnes and carry up to 400,000 volts of electricity over thousands of kilometres of some of the most exposed, weather-beaten parts of Britain. But the familiar steel lattice tower has barely changed since the 1920s.

A DECC spokesperson outlined the thinking behind the international competition: ‘The equivalent of twenty new power stations are needed by 2020, and much more beyond that as electricity demand doubles by 2050 to power more of our transport and heating needs. This new energy will need to be transmitted from its source to homes and businesses across the UK.

‘The purpose of the competition was to make the wider public aware of the scale of new energy infrastructure needed in the UK over the coming decades, and to explore the potential for a new generation of pylon within our landscapes.’

Winning entry

A prize fund was also made available that consisted of a winning prize of £5,000 to the outright winner, with £1,000 to the five shortlisted candidates. At the deadline for entries, 250 submissions had been made. The six finalists then had their designs shown as the London Design Festival, which attracted a great deal of public attention.

The winner of the competition was announced as the T-Plyon designed by BYSTRUP [www.bystrup.dk]. Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne said: ‘This is an innovative design which is simple, classical and practical. Its ingenious structure also means that it will be much shorter and smaller than existing pylons and therefore less intrusive.’

Nick Winser, executive director, National Grid expanded: ‘In the T-Pylon we have a design that has the potential to be a real improvement on the steel lattice tower. It’s shorter, lighter and the simplicity of the design means it would fit into the landscape more easily. In addition, the design of the electrical components is genuinely innovative and exciting.’

With Ruth Reed, RIBA Immediate Past President explained why the T-Pylon had been a clear winner: ‘The potential to reduce the size and height of pylons and consequently their impact on the landscape and the amount of materials in their construction, made this scheme a clear winner for me. The radical design of a single suspension arm carrying three conductors is simple and understated. Whilst there should still be the opportunity for statement designs where they are appropriate this radical solution is a quantum leap forward for the design of the thousands of pylons needed in the years to come.’

The winners of the competition have a background in pylon design that stood them in good stead when tackling the new pylon design for the UK. BYSTRUP had already successfully designed a new pylon in their native Denmark with 80 of their pylon designs being erected between Bramslev and Haverslev in Jutland.

Rasmus Jessing, architect and partner at BYSTRUP commented: ‘The main challenge was to create a pylon with a reduced visual impact suited for repetitive use across the British landscapes that was able to compete with the existing lattice towers regarding steel use, carbon footprint and overall cost. The T-Pylon is a very compact pylon. It is designed to meet the beautiful British landscapes, where space for the alignment of pylons is often limited, and a low overall height of the line is a virtue. The T-Pylon is approximately as wide as the existing lattice tower; however it reduces the overall height of the towers by almost 20 m.

‘It is our strong believe that design is function. Our design aims to improve all aspects of the project. In this case that includes erection speed, number of parts, overall height, maintenance and inspection, carbon footprint, visual impact as well production, safety and cost efficiency.’

And will we see the T-Pylon being erected across the UK in the near future? The National Grid is hopeful that the winning design can indeed be developed into a practical solution. Winser said: ‘We are very hopeful we can take the T pylon forward to production. At this stage it’s difficult to say if any aspects of the design will have to change. We will need to examine every aspect of the design with the BYSTRUP team. This design includes a new triangular configuration for the insulators. The positioning of the earth wire is different. And there are both a circular and square designs for the pylon shaft. We have to evaluate how to construct the towers.  And we will also have to look at how the pylon, insulators and conductors can be maintained and kept safe.’

The electrical pylon that is so familiar right across the UK is an unlikely candidate for a design competition. With energy needs on their inevitable upward trajectory, the need for more pylons will be necessary. Injecting a level of design into the whole process will not only deliver the pylons we need, but also create a piece of industrial design that everyone can appreciate.

Energy harvesting – also known as power harvesting or renewable energy scavenging – is the process of capturing ambient energy and converting it into renewable electricity to drive small autonomous electronic, electrical and combined devices. Basically, energy harvesting gathers energy that would otherwise be lost as heat, light, sound or vibration – and puts it to use.

Why is creating this type of renewable energy important?
Good news for those who are interested in renewable energy. Energy harvesting technology is on the up. At present there are approximately 500 organisations developing energy harvesting or applying this means of renewable energy. All round Europe, manufacturers are developing tiny devices to be fitted inside industrial machinery to capture lost heat and reduce energy wastage.

Whilst they won’t solve the looming energy crisis or convince those to switch to renewable energy, they will make everyday and industrial processes more efficient and as demand increases and new markets open up, their production could deliver economic growth across the continent. Already, trials have delivered positive results in applications from thermoelectric generators fitted to heavy duty lorries to condition monitoring sensors in oil fields.
Energy harvesting in buildings
More than a third of the energy we consume is related to buildings. In the UK alone this results in approximately half of the nation’s CO2 being produced from energy in buildings.
The EnOcean Alliance is a consortium of more than 70 companies looking to address this. It is working to develop and promote self-powered wireless monitoring and control systems for sustainable buildings by formalising the interoperable wireless standard. The EnOcean Alliance has the largest installed base of field-proven wireless building automation networks in the world.
Through this EnOcean has installed 4,200 wireless and battery-less light switches, occupancy sensors and daylight sensors in a new building construction in Madrid. These are powered by energy harvesters and embedded in the building. This saved 40 percent of lighting energy costs (by automatically controlling the lighting in the building) 20 miles in cabling, 42,000 batteries (over 25 years) and most of the cost of retrofitting.
Similarly, the Lightning Switch piezoelectric wireless switch technology from US-based company, PulseSwitch Systems can deliver significant savings in construction costs. In one case, a 71,000-square-foot industrial facility needed 21 banks of lighting with associated controls. The contractor originally bid $63,000, based mostly on the labour and overhead costs of installing more than a mile of conduit and switch wire. The contractor then bid again and won, using various Lightning products to complete the job for $10,000 for materials and 10 hours’ labour. This technology has applications in re-modelling and renovation projects, since Lightning Switches – unlike re-wired switches – require no new wires, no demolition, no patching and no re-painting.

Dividing walls supporting switches can be moved without rewiring. Another contractor wrote: ‘We tried your product and saved the customer hundreds of dollars, time, and the hassle of breaking into the drywall and repairing the wall.’

The future

Analysts have forecast multi-billion pound market growth in energy harvesting over the next decade and a whole range of new applications. An IDTechEx report predicted the global market would grow from $605m in 2010 to $4.4bn by 2020.
While these numbers are impressive, there are important considerations to be made. Talk to developers and investors in the energy harvesting community and there is one major part of the jigsaw missing – an agreed set of measurement standards to gauge potential savings and compare efficiency.

Measurement infrastructure

The lack of internationally recognised standards prevents the accurate prediction of improved efficiency provided by these devices under different operating conditions. Without this key information, developers are unable to provide meaningful product specifications for commercially available energy harvesting devices and potential markets are forced to buy the products and conduct their own trials – often at great expense and time.
Whilst Europe is currently a world leader in this technology and best placed to take full commercial advantage of its benefits, other regions are catching up and the lack of dialogue between closed pockets of researchers and developers is threatening our position.
It is in this context that the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project was set up last year. Made up of seven European national measurement institutes (NMIs) including the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, it aims to develop traceable (traced back to national standards) measurement methods that reduce duplication and accelerate innovation and competitiveness in energy harvesting.
Within the first year of the project, it has already developed measuring systems for quantifying the electric potential within thermoelectric materials across different temperatures. There are many of these materials, which convert temperature differences into electric potential, available on the market, so NPL has built a system for characterising and comparing the efficiency of each. For piezoelectric harvesting devices, which convert mechanical strain into electric output, the project has developed models to predict power output based on the initial force applied.
The project has also developed an ever expanding industry base of support. This group comprises 30 companies from across Europe involved in construction, automotive, transport, mobile communication, and sensors and instrumentation further highlighting the wide range of uses of energy harvesting devices. Major names such as Fiat, French electronics company, Thales and UK-based Perpetuum, a global leader in vibration energy harvesting, are helping focus direction and inform the development of new standards.
The viability and cost effectiveness of energy harvesting is widely appreciated. However there is also recognition that to take energy harvesting further and fulfil its market potential, there must be a platform for comparing products in various environments before buying them.
This is where the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project will deliver tangible benefits. The project is helping metrology meet the challenge of standardisation, taking into account perspectives from manufacturers, integrators as well as end-users, by defining measurement conditions and qualifying systems and harvesting environments.

Current research

At present, focus is on specific projects within thermoelectric and vibration energy harvesting, but the research is expected to grow with time.
Thermoelectric materials convert wasted heat into electrical energy. Thermoelectricity is regarded as one of the most promising technologies for increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes and automotive applications, which produce a large amount of waste heat. Piezoelectric materials convert electrical energy into a strain (or vice-versa). The best known use of piezoelectricity is for medical ultrasound. Current research in these fields includes:
• The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany has installed a measuring system to determine the Seebeck coefficient of thermoelectric (TE) materials. PTB is currently testing the system and making improvements such as a calibrated thermometer to ensure that the reference temperature, which is close to the sample temperature, is traceable to National Standards. Once these improvements are complete, the group will start to investigate and characterise different TE materials as candidates for reference materials for Seebeck coefficients in the temperature range 300K–900K.
• France’s Laboratoire National d’Essais has designed first electrostatic energy harvesters based on comb-drive MEMS. The device architecture has been optimised to maximise the electrical power converted from mechanical vibrations in the frequency range 1 kHz to 4 kHz. VHDL (VHSIC hardware description language) simulations on these systems indicate that they are capable of harvesting electrical powers ranging from 6 µW to 60 µW. The harvesters are fabricated through an industrial SOI (silicon on insulator) wafer process and will be distributed to the project partners for full electromechanical characterisations.
• NPL has also undertaken work recently into piezoelectric energy harvesters. These are typically cantilevers with an inertial mass at the end. The base of the cantilever is exited by ambient vibrations and the inertial mass exerts a force on the cantilever which generates a stress in the piezoelectric (yellow). NPL has developed a model that predicts the output of the beam based on the force at the cantilever tip. In order to investigate the effect of the coverage of the beam with piezoelectric elements NPL have made a cantilever with 30 elements along its length, and measured the power output.

Industrial engagement

Achieving this will require expertise and input from all aspects of science and industry, including from leading research institutions on energy capture and storage, material science, and systems engineering as well as metrology. Yet just as importantly will be engagement with European businesses. The technology characterised through the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project has to reflect what industry wants and this requires input from companies, to find out the issues they currently have, and how the project can address them.
Europe is a world leader in energy harvesting R&D, and this project will both keep it there and service the needs of industry across the continent.
Prof Markys Cain is Knowledge Leader at NPL, and an IOP member. To find out more about the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project please contact markys.cain@npl.co.uk

The Metrology for Energy Harvesting project is funded by the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) and national metrology research programmes.

Alva Northern Ltd is one of the fastest growing home insulation & renewable energysurveying companies in the UK. Our staff are fully trained in undertaking the surveys necessary to see if your home can be insulated under current government grant schemes or check sutability for other renewable products. Our renewable energy and home insulation surveyors cover all parts of the UK and our head office is based in Glasgow.
“We pride ourself on training people that are hard working and willing to learn the skills it takes to be a good surveyor and grant advisor.” ~ Stuart Higgins, Scotland Director with Alva Northern Ltd.

Alva Northern Ltd are currently recruiting for a number of different posts throughout the UK. If you are enthusiastic about working in one of the only growing industries in the UK then please call one of our team on: 0800 285 1260 or 0845 519 6523

Alva Northern Ltd can advise you about insulation grants for home, business, commerce and the state sector. We can organise surveys to see what type of renewable technology would fit your requirements and needs, such as solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, small scale hydro, solar water heating, heat pumps and bioenergy, renewable CHP, micro CHP and fuel cells. Grants may be available for microgeneration technologies including: solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, small scale hydro, solar water heating, heat pumps and bioenergy. Alva Northern Ltd can organise the installation of  these technologies.

Alva Northern Ltd – The Team

Jay Singh (Director) - Having left a career in property development to complete my Masters degree in IM (International Marketing) in Scotland, I began to develop an interest in the renewable energy sector and set up Alva Northern in partnership with Stuart Higgins in 2009. Since launching the business in the home insulation sector, we have moved into a range of exciting new renewable energy technologies, the fastest growing of which is Solar PV. We now work not only with small systems for residential customers but also on large scale commercial and community projects and are able to cater the needs of all our clients. 

Stuart Higgins (Director) - ” I am originally from a Forestry Management background. I have always been concerned on environmental issues. I specialise on the home insulation side of the business. I feel lucky that I can combine my work life with the topics that matter greatly to me.”

John Tait (Renewables Surveyor Perthshire and Highlands) - “ Having spent over 12 years promoting home insulation, I’ve watched the sector expand to incorporate exciting, affordable renewables technology.  I studied for an MBA (Marketing) degree to hone my business and marketing skills and enable me to move into this growing business sector with confidence.  I’m in my element enthusing with prospective customers about the benefits from embracing Solar PV technology, securing a rock-solid capital investment and acquiring that ‘feel good factor’ through cutting CO2 emissions at the same time.  I try to practice what I preach, drive an eco friendly – but still fun – car to meet my clients, and discuss their needs.  I am optimistic about ensuring Scotland’s sustainable energy needs for my grandchildren and beyond.”

Complete solar photovoltaic (PV) data management service unlocks Feed in Tariff (FiT) revenue

Funders and landlords can warm up their financial returns on large, multiple site solar photovoltaic (PV) projects following the launch of a complete renewable data management service by UK metering and billing specialist ENER-G Switch2 (www.energ.co.uk/switch2).

The end-to-end service provides a total back-office operation for multiple solar PV installations – making it simple for funders and landlords to unlock maximum Feed in Tariff (FiT) revenue on-time, and to monitor and protect their investment.

It has been trialled in partnership with a number of social housing trusts and is aimed at organisations planning and funding the installation of PV systems on large numbers of domestic dwellings and commercial premises.

Jayne Clare, Managing Director of ENER-G Switch2 explained: “The complex issue of collecting the data associated with electricity generated by PV and the process of actually collecting the Feed-in-Tariff payment is often completely overlooked during the project planning phase. We take care of everything – from receipt of Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MCS) accreditation from the installer through to managing FiT claims and analysing and benchmarking PV performance.

“Other suppliers offer partial data capture and management services, but none provide such a complete solution as ENER-G Switch2. One key difference is that we manage registration with the FiT energy supplier, ensuring that customers meet the five-day deadline after installation to qualify for immediate payments and optimise cash flow immediately. Otherwise, they could be in payment arrears by up to three months.

“Another unique feature is that we analyse and benchmark system performance, and with our national technical service team are able to provide remedial action should any problems arise.  Speaking from personal experience, the inverter connected to the PV array on my home tripped out three times over the summer. This went unnoticed on the first occasion for four days – resulting in approximately 70 kWh loss of generation, or £30 income. If we hadn’t been monitoring closely we would have lost the generation for a much longer period, resulting in a massively reduced FiT claim.  If my own situation was multiplied over 1000 installations, then the lost revenue and cash flow implications to the investor or asset owner could be huge.”

She continued “The new service is a natural extension of our work with social landlords and Local Authorities. We have a proven track record stretching back more than 30 years of supplying metering equipment, together with sub-metering and billing services – generating more than 20 million data transactions per year and providing maintenance services to more than 56,000 dwellings.”

ENER-G Switch2’s PV data management service includes supply of Meter Instrument Directive (MID) approved generation meters together with installation and commissioning support; provision of SIM cards; FiT licensee registration; half-hourly generation data collection; reporting; monitoring; system benchmarking, and submission and reconciliation of FiT claims.

By utilising established energy monitoring systems, ENER-G Switch2 takes half-hourly reads from the meter to create a detailed electricity generation profile. Through the use of benchmarking, parameter setting and anomaly indicators, the alarm can be raised on poor performance, thereby protecting returns on investment.

Clients have full online visibility of their PV systems via the ENER-G Switch2 web portal, containing detailed easily understood information on the site, array and, most importantly, the electricity generation. The client can choose which information is most applicable to them and can track their investment from the moment it starts generating

The data management service can also be applied to other microgeneration technologies and is being developed for renewable heat generating technologies in readiness for the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Jayne Clare added: “Whether PV is being installed to reduce energy costs, to cross fund other energy efficiency measures, to support compliance with carbon reduction, or as an investment, the accuracy, quality and timely collection of electricity generation data is key to all stakeholders.”

Media information:  Janet Kilpatrick, email: jk@janetkilpatrick.co.uk, phone: 0161 487 3830, mobile: 07794 192 677

NOTES TO EDITOR:

Bradford-based ENER-G Switch2 is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of  bespoke metering and billing technologies and services for multi-tenancy buildings – enabling residential and business customers to precisely monitor and control their water and energy consumption and pay only for what they use.

ENER-G Switch2 generates approximately 20 million data transactions per year and 8,500 energy bills per month and provides maintenance services to more than 56,000 dwellings across 435 district and communal energy systems. Of these, around 25,000 homes are connected to automatic meter reading systems. Among its customers are: Berkeley Homes, Hyde Housing Association, Network Housing, FCHO, KNH, Kier, and Gentoo, as well as numerous local authorities, registered social landlords and public and private sector organisations.

The company is part of global sustainable energy business ENER-G (www.energ.co.uk). In partnership with its sister companies the company can provide total energy service provision, including the design, installation, operation and maintenance of green communal energy schemes for both public and private sector clients.

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