Hot weather, rising domestic energy bills and concerns over climate change have conspired to make life easy for companies selling solar energy systems to householders. However, according to Cambridge UK based analysts, CarbonFree, some parts of the domestic renewable energy market are, themselves, starting to overheat with the benefits systems being oversold to householders.
Already a few renewable energy technology installers have made front page news in local newspapers for all the wrong reasons as customers discover that either promised benefits do not
materialise or in some cases the systems do not work. According to CarbonFree the number of dissatisfied customers could increase this coming winter when the performance of solar energy
systems fall. In addition, it believes that if the price of oil falls some householders, who were persuaded to buy at the peak of the market, may question the cost effectiveness of their
new heating systems.
According to CarbonFree the problem of over selling is particularly acute with hot water solar installations, as the entry point into the market for small and relatively inexperienced
installation companies is very low in terms of equipment and staffing costs. However, a report based on research CarbonFree carried out into microgeneration identified well-designed and
professionally installed solar hot water heating as a relatively cost effective solution with a realistic payback period.
The report, "Householders as Energy Providers" catalogues a range of technologies that are deployed within microgeneration projects and describes government schemes vendors can use to
increase take up of renewable energy equipment.
CarbonFree has identified energy storage as an important component in both microgeneration and large scale renewable energy installations. In its report "Watts In Store - Storing
Renewable Energy", CarbonFree predicts a growth in demand for equipment that can both even out short term peaks and troughs in solar and wind energy availability and also store energy
during the summer for use in winter months. The report highlights "road energy" as an important technology in the energy storage market. In road energy systems, heat energy is taken from
highways and airport runways during summer months and stored in aquifers to boost the performance of ground source heat pumps during the winter.
The reports "Householders As Energy Providers" and "Watts In Store - Storing Renewable Energy" are available from the CarbonFree website. CarbonFree (http://www.carbonfree.co.uk)
About CarbonFree
CarbonFree carries out research and analysis in a wide range of alternative energy related fields and disseminates results in its highly focused CarbonFree reports. It also helps
organisations reposition themselves in the rapidly evolving alternative energy market.
CarbonFree (http://www.carbonfree.co.uk)
For further details contact:-
Toby Jackson
CarbonFree
++44 (0)1223 208926