What our customers say
Case Study 1
Getting a good return on our investment
Type of installation: Solar Photovoltaic Panels
Date installed: Winter 2010
Specification details: 11 x Sharp panels (1.98 kW output )
Background:
Actively involved in the University of the Third Age, retired couple
Mr & Mrs H. have been researching and strongly supportive of renewable energy technologies for a number of years. Mrs H. was an early adopter of green practices and a motivator in the development of a local community initiative to bring renewable energy messages and opportunities to residents of the market town.
In 2009, the couple felt that interest rates were not doing their capital any real favours. Thanks to Government Feed-In Tariffs which started in April 2010,the return on investment offered by an array of PV panels on their bungalow roof looked distinctly more attractive. And so the decision was made to “take the money from the bank and put it on the roof!”
The Mosscliff Environmental Ltd solution:
Mrs H. was keen to support a local company and, having met the team at a green community event, was impressed by the serious credentials on offer at Mosscliff Environmental Ltd. “Our site survey was undertaken by a fully qualified environmental engineer and their quote was very competitive,” explains Mrs H. who had already installed a solar thermal system and later added multi-fuel woodburner as part of her strategy to reduce dependency on the oil -fuelled systems in her 10 year old high specification bungalow.
The PV panels made by Sharp in Wales were Mrs H.’s preferred option over the larger, slightly more obtrusive Mitsubishi units on offer at that time through the company. Following some harsh winter weeks,the installation took place during a rather snowy January. “They had to remove the guttering to install the panels,
so we had a bit of fun when the snow was still dripping off the roof,“ recalls Mrs H.“The Mosscliff installation team were very efficient and professional though and any challenges were easily sorted.”
Monitoring the system:
Mosscliff Environmental Ltd provide an extensive operation and background information manual. This gives some guidelines on monitoring the system. Mrs H. found that, once her system was registered and gained approval from Ofgem and the necessary liaison with her conventional energy supplier had taken place – including taking receipt of her property’s own official generating station title! - everything to do with Feed-In Tariff income looked after itself.
Noting down the meter and volt generator meter readings each day has soon confirmed that the energy generation predictions of producing 1,584 units were not just realistic, but in fact a conservative estimate: Mrs H. is hoping to achieve in the region of 2,000 units – weather permitting!
Conclusion:
As the PV panels rely on the strength of the sunlight for generating electricity, poor summer sunshine does have an impact on the overall performance of the system. There is a need to accept that there are natural highs and lows in energy product and that overall, the longer term picture will iron these out.
Mrs H. has been very pleased with the performance of her PV system and is looking forward to receiving her first FIT payments from her conventional energy supplier. According to the Government FIT system, FITs will be payable on her system at the maximum pay-back rate until 2037.
Savings of around 38% on electricity bills have already been reflected in direct debit payments and an estimated return on investment of around 8 – 10% is looking very promising.
October 2010
Case Study 2a
Where sheep may safely graze
Type of installation: Wind Turbine
Date installed: Spring 2010
Specification details: Gaia 113 11KW
Background:
Mr A. from Stowmarket had always displayed a keen interest in green technologies. He had undertaken energy-saving initiatives as far as his listed property would allow. Having suitable outbuildings led him to source an 12 panel PV array to start electricity generation. Meeting Mosscliff Environmental Ltd’s director, David Wyllie, at a green event in Norfolk and impressed by his honest, laid back and distinctly unpushy sales approach, Mr A. went ahead with his PV plans and also got thinking about progressing another renewable energy project he had had in mind for some time...
a wind turbine.
The Mosscliff Environmental Ltd solution:
Mr A. was attracted to Mosscliff Environmental Ltd’s wind turbine credentials as regional and national distributors of leading brand turbines and also liked the idea of the company’s service of dealing with planning applications as well as installation. News of the Government’s introduction of Feed-In Tariff payments for renewable energy generation also assisted him in moving forward with the project.
The site survey completed, proposals for an 11kW turbine were progressed swiftly through planning with the District Council by the Mosscliff team and arrangements were made to start the installation of the turbine which was to be positioned about 140 metres from the listed property on the 5 acre plot, in a field which was home to some of the family’s rare breed animals.
The need to construct a temporary access way to the proposed site and wet conditions at the time of trenching made the initial stages of laying foundations slightly more lengthy than usual. There was disruption in terms of needing to move livestock and materials about, but the erection of the turbine itself including the use of a considerable crane, went very smoothly indeed.
Once installed and the Ofgem certification was sorted, there was a need to revisit the systems to ensure that all the property’s electricity needs were being serviced before excess energy was exported.
Monitoring the system:
Mr A. notes turbine readings on a monthly basis and has been encouraged that estimates for energy production have been met. “We keep a regular log of the performance of our wind turbine and note our solar PV meter readings. Everything is meeting our expectations and Mosscliff Environmental have been pretty much spot on with their predictions. “
Conclusion:
“The service from the Mosscliff team was excellent,” comments
Mr A. “They handled every stage of the process from the planning application to its installation in our field shared by our rare breed sheep and they also liaised with our electricity supplier to get our own ‘generating station’ running smoothly.”
Electricity generation levels are meeting estimations.
The only noise from the turbine – the gentle swish of the wind in the blades - is only slightly above rural night-time background noise and is of no inconvenience to the livestock which share the field – so even the resident sheep are happy with the arrangement.
October 2010
Case Study 2b
More fiddling on the roof
Type of installation: Solar Photovoltaic Panels
Date installed: (12 panels – autumn 2009) plus 8 panels summer 2010
Specification details: Total 20 x Sharp NU 180
In advance of his wind turbine installation, Mr A. has sited 12 PV panels on the roof of his steel frame Dutch barn at his home near Stowmarket. Impressed by their performance and interested in maximising earning potential of this roof space, he contacted Mosscliff Environmental Ltd to add a further 8 panels to the installation.
This would bring the generation potential to around 3.5 kW, a figure which, sitting just comfortably under the 4kW cut-off, points for the maximum income tax free pay out for a domestic PV set up through the Government Feed-In-Tariff system.
The Mosscliff Environmental team installed the additional panels swiftly with no disruption or inconvenience to life at the small holding. Systems were tied in and meters were positioned alongside those for the wind turbine in an easy access position inside the barn to support regular meter reading. Early meter readings indicate that electricity generation predictions indicated by the installer are already being exceeded.
October 2010
Case Study 3
Pooling green resources
Type of installation: Solar Photovoltaic Panels
Date installed: Early summer 2010
Specification details: 22 x Sharp panels
Background:
With an indoor swimming pool dehumidifier to power in addition to all of the regular appliances at his rural home near Ipswich , Mr L. is a significant energy user. Over the years he has supported a number of green initiatives to heat his then outdoor pool, and was particularly interested in his options for reducing his electricity bills through renewable energy generating equipment.
He learnt of Mosscliff Environmental Ltd through a recommendation of their services at a local green community group.
The Mosscliff Environmental Ltd solution:
The new pool house had an extensive roof, well suited to a PV installation at a 45° angle and, covered by permitted development, there were no planning issues to consider. This, together with the attractive Feed-In Tariffs from the Government scheme, swung him towards the solar option rather than progressing other thoughts of a wind powered generator.
Mr L. liked the attitude and approach of the Mosscliff Environmental team and felt very comfortable with their openness and lack of hard sell.
The site survey established that the pool house roof could accommodate and support a 22 panel PV array. This was calculated to produce 3.96 kW and keep the Feed-In Tariff income potential for producing energy for own consumption at the maximum level (cut-off point 4kW).
The installation hit a slight delay whilst a slow link in the supply chain caused a wait for the all- necessary inverter, but as
Mosscliff Environmental Ltd are key stockists of this PV equipment, so once the inverter became available, all the rest of the installation kit was ready to go.
The panels were put in place in two days, with a day and half total for scaffolding either side. There was no disruption whatsoever to Mr L. and his family.
Monitoring the system:
Mosscliff Environmental Ltd left full operation instructions, which were well documented and was very much appreciated. Mr L. got into the habit of checking the generation meter daily and soon got a feel for how the weather was influencing the performance of the panels.
Conclusion:
“My 22 PV panels were installed efficiently without any disruption to ourselves,” comments Mr L. ”Everything went really well: the installation and all the wiring was a very neat job and the support information pack was very helpful.”
With such a high demand for electricity at his property, Mr L. had not anticipated that his PV panels would generate energy for export: his priority was to see a significant reduction in his energy bills.
Early meter readings suggest that electricity generation will exceed the predicted figures and savings of around £30-£50 per month are to be expected on electricity bills.
October 2010
