Cloudscape has been researching green energy solutions for the home and is able to offer advice and consultancy on Heatpumps, Solar PV, Battery Storage and Grid Failure solutions, as well as Electric Vehicle economics and charging. We are continuously looking at emerging technologies and products to enhance our knowledge.
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
Our consultants have been early adopters of EVs, starting with an MGB ZS EV back in 2021. At that early stage battery technology and price mandated smaller batteries, and charging points were much more widely spaced than today, so ‘range anxiety’ was common.
Even with a relatively limiting range of (optimistically) 150 miles the MG was a perfectly adequate vehicle for trips to the south of France, aided by the significantly better charging infrastructure in France.
The VW ID. Buzz pictured in the background above has a significant 200+ mile range, more than adequate for a return trip to London even at speed. EVs excel at town driving because the regenerative braking charges the battery when slowing down, unlike internal consumption engines which continue to burn fuel while decelerating.
Our consultants can not only advise on suitable vehicles but can also explain the very significant cost savings that EV ownership provides.
Solar Photovoltaic
One of the best money-saving and planet-saving installations – second only to good insulation and draft-proofing. Solar panels continue to increase in efficiency and on reasonable summer’s days will generate sufficient to provide normal household usage and a surplus for grid export or battery storage. Before PV panels became cost effective solar energy was used to heat water directly. Now it is considered more efficient to harness the energy as electricity, and use electrical means to heat the water.
The government has recently approved ‘balcony PV’, whereby portable solar panels, together with invertor and in some cases battery, can be placed wherever there is space and sunlight and can simply be plugged into a standard mains socket.
Battery Storage
Batteries are another technology which continues to improve, with higher capacity at lower cost. They can reduce costs in two main ways, (1) by storing excess Solar generation to be used when the sun goes down, and (2) by energy arbitrage, where the battery is charged using cheap rate electricity and provides power during high rate periods. Our consultants can advise on the best configurations to suit your requirements.
Grid Failure
With increasing turmoil in international energy markets any localisation of electricity generation is welcome. With (sufficient) battery storage an interruption of grid supply can be accomodated, with instant switchover to battery storage. The batteries will supply whole house load for as long as their capacity allows.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps provide efficient space and water heating by extracting heat from the atmosphere (air-source heatpumps) or ground (ground-source heatpumps) and feeding that heat into the house. They offer coefficient of power (COP) ratings of 3 – 4, meaning that each kW of electricity used by the heatpump produces 3 – 4 kW of heat, making them extremely efficient. However care is needed to ensure that the house is appropriately insulated and uses large high-efficiency radiators or (best of all) underfloor heating.
Payback Period
All of these technologies have a significant up-front investment which will be recouped over time. We can calculate the payback period based on electricity rates and household usage, and would generally expect payback periods for all the above except EVs to be 7-12 years, and reducing as electricity rates increase.