Renewable Energy Made Easy

First published on the YouGen blog

Q: I’ve built a few houses and know how important it is to have calculations for roof trusses, considering the weight and “sail” potential of PV (I’m considering a 3.99kw 21 panel Schuco system in excess of £10k). Who takes responsibility if this lot blows off or you get some structural damage? The insurance company I’m sure will ask for calcs and building regs approval or structural engineers report and his insurance details. Also of course you’ve added over £10k to the rebuilding costs. I’m aware it’s permitted development but I understand that covers planning not building regs or insurance. Have I got it wrong or are you deep in it if your roof blows off and you’ve not sorted this out?

A: You are right. It is very important to ensure your roof is going to be sound enough to take the added weight of a Solar (PV or thermal) system. Most PV systems will add another 14kg to the dead load of the roof, plus another factor to bear in mind is that the system is only going to be mounted on one side of the roof, therefore possibly unbalancing the structure if it’s insecure.

In my experience, most recent roofs are designed to take a load of at least 100kgs a square metre. Structural publications refer to Kilo Newtons, but for the purposes of this brief post I have done a rough conversion to Kg, which most people can relate to.

There are various weights to the type of roof covering, as examples: 25Kg sq mtr for slates, 50 Kg sq mtr for Roman tiles and 75Kg a sq mtr for large concrete tiles. A 15% tolerance for additional load as well (such as snow) is generally allowed, thus even with concrete tiles, the added 14Kg sq mtr for PV, just slips in as OK.

Even though your local planning office will probably give you the green light with regard to permitted development, no more than 200mm above the roof and not above the ridge, this does not automatically mean your roof is good to take the weight of added load.

If there is any doubt on either the security of the roof joists/ purlins etc, the solar installation surveyor should pick this up, as this is a critical part of the survey. The surveyor will need to inspect the roof structure and probably take some photos, so will need access to the loft to check all these items during the survey.

Anyone that tells you they have looked at the Google aerial view and your roof is perfect is not professional! Even if the solar installation is a ‘free’ version, it’s still your roof and you really don’t want it collapsing in the autumnal gales.

Going back to your original responsibility part of your question. If the roof did collapse due to the PV system overloading, it would definitely go back to the PV installation company, whose insurance company MAY not support the payout due to general incompetence of the installer.

Wind uplift is a smaller, but not to be ignored, problem. Situations where roof plates have not been secured and movements in high winds have resulted are not unknown. There is a BRE guideline document PV installers are able to use that addresses wind uplift, but there are no firm calculations, simply guideline calcs to go by. It is definitely down to the experience of the installer here.

As a side note, some of our guys went to a trade day event recently, and were astounded to hear that installers are simply screwing PV support brackets to the tile batten! These substantial structurally designed brackets need to be secured to the joists with substantial screws that relate to the timbers concerned.

As mentioned above, wind uplift is a small issue on a correct installation, but a very, very big issue if the system has been incorrectly installed using simply the tile batten, or even worse using the ‘click’ system of hanging the whole array onto the tiles only with no screwed fixings. There may be ‘budget’ companies doing this in the UK. If so, strong wind will displace the whole array easily.

About the author: Chris Rudge is an energy expert on YouGen and a qualified electrician who specialises in renewable energy. For more information on solar electricity please visit the YouGen website.

First published on the YouGen blog

Rumours abound about banks, and whether or not they will let people who hold mortgages with them participate in ‘free’ or ‘rent a roof’ solar panels schemes, so I thought I’d investigate.

The good news is that most banks will agree to these schemes, subject to certain conditions. Most of the onus is on the installer to prove to your lender that the lease meets the guidelines drawn up by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and Building Society Association.

However, all the banks and building societies I talked to said it is important that the mortgage holder should contact their lender too (the CML guidance only applies to properties in England and Wales – but I suggest people in Scotland and Northern Ireland contact their lender too).

The guidelines state that the installer must provide:
- signed confirmation to your lender that it meets that lender’s minimum requirements
- evidence that panels will be installed to a suitable standard (showing MCS accreditation covers this requirement).

The CML provides a template letter for installers to use when seeking consent. This covers:
- confirmation that the borrower has been advised that the lease is a long-term, legally binding agreement, and they have been recommended to seek professional advice from a suitably qualified conveyancer about its implications
- proper inspection of the property
- insurance
- maintenance (and charging of any maintenance fees) access
- responsibility for legal consents such as planning permission etc
- responsibility for consent from landlord if property is leasehold
- other requirements of lease, such as keeping trees pruned
- liability for repair of any damage caused
- length of lease
- allowance for removal of panels for essential repairs and improvements (and charges made)
- ability to break the lease if property is repossessed.

This letter lays out the minimum standards and individual lenders may impose more (and some do).

Where a lender already has an agreement in place with an installer company, the process may be quicker and easier. A Shade Greener and Homesun are the two companies whose names came up most regularly as having negotiated agreements with various banks and building societies.

Barclays says: ‘Consent can only be granted by Barclays to the solar panel providers that have entered into a deed of agreement with Barclays. The deed gives the bank the right, as mortgagee in possession, to require that the solar panel provider surrenders the lease and removes the panels (making good any damage caused). Once in place, the deed of agreement between the solar panel leasing company and Barclays applies for ALL new requests for consent from that particular company.’

Lloyds says: ‘There are a number of things that we need to be in place for us to agree to the arrangement, including the mortgage account being up to date and the lease is in a form approved by us. It’s not acceptable for leasehold flats.

‘If the property is a house held on a long lease, confirmation is required from the customers solicitor that where the lease contains restrictions on sub-letting or carrying out alterations, the landlords formal consent has been obtained. The solicitor must be on our approved panel.’

As an interesting aside, I learnt that the solar panel installer isn’t actually renting the roof, but the airspace above the roof.

About the author: Cathy Debenham, Founder of YouGen – Renewable energy made easy.

First published on the YouGen blog

Just as all buyers should receive an EPC (energy performance certificate), all sellers have to show one to people thinking of buying their home, and this usually means having to pay for it yourself.  If your home already has an EPC, there is no legal requirement to replace it, so long as it is less than 10 years old.

There are lots of reasons why you might want to pay for a new one – if you think it’s too old, or if you know you’ve improved your home since you bought it, or if you don’t think it is accurate. This isn’t compulsory, but if you feel that you should not misrepresent your home when selling it, then bearing in mind how inexpensive they are you may want to consider having the EPC updated.

If you are buying an EPC, take care that you get what you pay for, and also get good value. The EPC provided by your estate agent may appear quite expensive, and there are offers online that at first sight are much cheaper (with prices quoted as low as £30). Unfortunately, in all walks of life there are some rogue traders, and EPC provision is no different.

Some online providers take the client’s money and don’t provide the promised EPC; or if they do provide it, it’s at the expense of the Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA), who doesn’t receive payment for the work done. Better not to take the risk, and to deal direct with a local provider. There is some guidance on avoiding the rogue traders on my website.

Next, how about the EPC’s accuracy? If you were present during the inspection you will know how long the DEA spent doing the assessment: did s/he look carefully at the building construction and insulation, lift the loft hatch and check the state of the loft insulation, and properly inspect the heating and hot water system?  A full inspection takes time, at least 30 to 45 minutes, and much longer for a large or complex home.

All DEAs are monitored (a sample of each DEA’s work is checked every year) but this doesn’t mean that all faulty EPCs will be picked up, and some DEAs are tempted to cut corners to save time, which can mean an inaccurate EPC.

The more clients who challenge them, the less work there will be for the few DEAs that don’t do a thorough job.

About the author: @linniR is an energy expert on the YouGen website.  She is also a consultant, a freelance writer and a Domestic Energy Assessor accredited with the NHER scheme, and she enjoys all three.  She tweets regularly on issues relating to energy efficiency and renewables and provides consultancy, especially in relation to training needs.

First published on the YouGen blog

Councils asking for planning permission, or building regulations applications for solar panel installations has been much in the press of late. Indeed much of that press has been linked to the campaign by YouGen and ourselves.

The campaign has been picked up and supported by shadow climate change and environment ministers Huw Irranca-Davies and Luciana Berger. Climate change minister Greg Barker has now responded saying he will look into the matter.

The crux of our campaign is that so many councils are interpreting the rules incorrectly, or blatantly ignoring them. So in short, here are the correct rules.

Planning permission

Since a change in legislation in April 2008, the installation of solar panels has been deemed ‘permitted development’ and therefore planning permission IS NOT required, unless the building is listed, or in a conservation area.

Being in a conservation area does not in itself stop you from an installation. Indeed we have many formally approved installations in conservation areas, including on the road facing roof. But you do need to notify you council and the conservation team of your desire to install. But without any real valid reason permission should be granted.

Building regulations

This is where there has been more of a contentious issue with many types of council not following latest government advice. Most building works you wish to have done to your house are subject to a building regulations application UNLESS you use a contractor/installer that is a member of an approved ‘competent persons’ scheme. In which case the contractor is able to self-certify.

The latest guidelines clearly state that there are a number of ‘competent persons’ schemes eligible for Microgeneration technologies including solar panels. These schemes are also part of the MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme). A full and clear guide to all of this is available from the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department and can be found here (clicking this link will download a pdf document). The bottom of page five clearly shows the list of schemes that are eligible, including for example NICEIC.

Just make sure your installer is MSC accredited and a member of one of the listed schemes. And as ever is the case, seek local customer recommendations and check their standing on YouGen.

Ed’s note: The following Competent Person Schemes cover installation of microgeneration or renewable technologies: CORGI, HETAS, NAPIT, NICEIC, APHC, BESCA, BSI, ELECSA, OFTEC, STROMA. The first four are also accreditation bodies for the MCS scheme.

About the author: David Hunt is an energy expert on the YouGen website. David is also co-founder of Eco-Environments

First published on the YouGen blog. For more information on renewable energy, please visit the YouGen website.

First published on the YouGen blog

Renewable energy enthusiasts looking at biomass boilers have one big decision: wood chip or wood pellet? This first of a two part series concentrates on the former fuel type.

What is wood chip?

Wood chips come from three sources; roundwood (virgin timber cut to length), slab wood (off cuts from timber processing yards) and arboricultural arisings (the by-product of individual tree maintenance). The timber will usually be seasoned to reduce the moisture content to around 30% and then chipped using specific machinery that delivers a consistent size. The chips will then be moved to a store where they await transportation. They will be regularly monitored for moisture content.

Wood chips are transported to the site of the biomass boiler where they are fed into the appliance typically using an auger system (a device which feeds wood chips into the appliance, often from a dedicated store room).

Why choose wood chips?

Wood chips are usually available at a much more accessible price point than wood pellets. However, this saving does come with a higher installation cost for boilers in comparison to a pellet system. Chip systems also require larger floor area and vehicle access to the chip store.

Wood chip is used extensively as the fuel source for automated heating systems such as industrial and commercial sized boilers. Wood chip usage is also growing in the domestic market, with consumers looking to replace old gas and oil boilers, yet still retain the reliability and low maintenance costs.

What makes a good wood chip?

Good wood chips will have been processed from seasoned wood and should contain a moisture content and particle size that matches the requirement of the boiler it is intended by used with. Low quality chips (high moisture content, inconsistent particle size) may damage the appliance and reduce its reliability considerably.
Typically, larger boilers (greater than 1MW) are designed to be more robust, with a higher tolerance to lower grade chips.

Standards

Wood chips should be processed to achieve the dimensions and moisture content that your boiler requires. This helps to ensure that the feeding mechanism operates reliably and the burner will fire effectively. It will also keep maintenance costs at a minimum and will extend the life of the installation.

Historically, the universal standard for wood chip quality was ÖNORM M7 133. This specified a particle size which manufacturers designed their appliances around (e.g. G30 & G50). A new European standard (EN14961-4) is due to supersede this, with an update on chip size for manufacturers to adhere to.

Consumers should check that fuel suppliers are producing wood chips to these standards or carry certification (such as the Solid Biomass Assurance Scheme) to verify this.

About the author: Laurence Jones is an energy expert on the YouGen website, making renewable energy easy. Laurence is also marketing support officer at HETAS

First published on the YouGen blog. For more information on Biomass or other renewable energy, please visit the YouGen website.