| 
| 
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for Solar Thermal Hot Water System and Its Benefits
The UK Government has launched a green project called the Renewable Heat Incentive which will give tariffs to all home owners, landlords, schools, hospitals, businesses and other establishment owners who have an eligible renewable heating system installed which started on July 15, 2009 onwards.
These tariffs will be paid by the government on a quarterly basis depending on the type of green heating system installed and the heat generated from the said system. The government has pledged to support this project for a period of 20 years so owners of the renewable heating system will be able to save on energy bills, while getting incentive benefits from the government which is estimated to be around £400 a year.
In order to benefit, an eligible type of heat production must be installed. One of the technologies that are eligible for the RHI program are the solar thermal hot water systems.
So how does a solar thermal hot water system work?
There are two types of solar thermal hot water system:
Direct Solar Thermal Hot Water System. With this technology, roof-fitted solar panels called collectors, are installed which gathers energy from the sun. The system also consists of heat exchangers made up of coil pipes that are filled with water and is connected to an insulated storage tank. As the collector generates energy from the sun, the water inside the coil pipes is heated and is transmitted to the storage tank. Direct Solar systems generate more energy but it requires high level of maintenance as coil pipes have to be kept clear of any deposits or blockage.
Indirect Solar Thermal Hot Water System. This technology uses multiple heat pipes to absorb the energy from the sun.
Solar Thermal Hot Water system is the most practical way to tap the power of the sun to generate energy. An efficiently installed solar system can collect 70% of the sun’s energy which can heat water up to 140ºF and this can give significant benefit to an owner of a solar heating system. Here are some more of its benefits:
1. Installing a renewable source of energy like solar thermal hot water system can help reduce electricity or energy bills as you don’t have to worry about fuel cost as the sun will produce all the energy needed to power the central heating and water system.
2. Using solar thermal hot water system and other renewable sources of energy can reduce the use of fuel, gas and carbon which is a big help in reducing the carbon footprint to conserve the environment. This can be one good way in doing our part to combat the effects of global warming.
3. Since the government is actively promoting “Green Energy” campaigns, installing renewable source of energy can entitle the owner to incentives paid by the government and energy providers like the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Feed-In Tariff which can be an added income as well as a return on investment for the installation of such renewable power system. The UK government will open RHI to residential installations by October 2012 and solar thermal is eligible for up to 200kWth which is estimated at 8.5 pence per kilowatt hour.
Installing renewable sources of energy indeed has a lot of benefits not just on our pockets but to our environment too.
Published on behalf of Solar Guide - The UK's leading resource of solar and renewable, installation and maintenance professionals
