To maximise the sustainability of heating their home by an air source heat pump clients of Fervo Renewable Energy in Tarporley, Cheshire have added a 3.5kW solar PV array to provide free electricity and tariff payments through the Feed-in Tariff incentive scheme.
Opting for 14 all black 250Wp mono-crystalline panels mounted on the south-facing roof pitch the array is predicted to generate 2,270kWh of free electricity a year. By installing Solar Edge Optimizers the output is enhanced further, the optimizers allowing each panel to generate independently of the rest of the array reducing the impact of any partial shading of the array.
The electricity generated using the sun’s free energy offsets that was used in running the Dimplex A-Class air source heat pump previously installed, though this being highly efficient had already reduced the households heating costs by over 40%.
In addition to the free electricity, the solar PV installation qualifies for the Feed-in Tariff with the homeowner receiving an annual index-linked income for 20 years.
Keith Hill, Fervo Director commented “This project shows the potential for combining renewable technologies to provide integrated energy solutions. This home when heated by oil had an annual heating bill in excess of £2,000. By installing the air source heat pump and solar PV array and using the Feed in Tariff payments to offset the heat pumps running costs has reduced the heating bill by 70%!” going on “These figures ignore the financial contribution from the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme that the heat pump qualifies (details here). Had the property been of more modern construction with better insulation qualities it is likely it would have a close to zero net heating cost!”
