Renewable Energy Installer December/January 2017 | Page 10

Switch2 and Newport City Homes win award for combating fuel poverty
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New standard for hot water storage with solid fuel

Switch2 and Newport City Homes win award for combating fuel poverty

Switch2 Energy and Newport City Homes ( NCH ) have won a national award for their joint success in tackling fuel poverty . More than 750 homes connected to NCH ’ s Duffryn district heating scheme have halved their energy consumption by using Switch2 Energy ’ s G6 smart energy pay-asyou-go meters . Previously , residents paid a fixed weekly charge for their heating and hot water , but now they have control over their usage and costs , which allows them to budget better and save money . The joint project was voted ‘ Best Initiative to Combat Fuel Poverty ’ in the Association of Gas Safety Managers ( AGSM ) Supplier Excellence Awards .
Since implementing Switch2 ’ s smart payas-you-go meters , annual gas consumption at the Duffryn biomass boiler plant has reduced by around 50 per cent , with a saving of around 2032 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year . The G6 meter makes pay-as-you-go energy more customer friendly . It uses smart wireless technology to replace the traditional corner shop / token-based system . Residents can instead ‘ top-up ’ online , by a smart phone app , by phone , or any PayPoint location . The technology includes a graphical display to show residents how much energy they are using - helping them to reduce consumption and save money .
In a joint initiative , HETAS has worked with the Hot Water Association to develop a new standard for hot water storage designed for use with solid fuel appliances . The first HETAS listing has been awarded to Advance Appliances for their SFUTS multi fuel thermal store ( pictured left ). With all the plumbing , controls and wiring preinstalled the unit is easy to install in any multi-fuel system . Using the SFUTS ( Solid Fuel Universal Thermal Store ) makes it easy to incorporate a wood burner with other appliances such as gas or oil boilers , solar thermal or PV roof panels , off-peak electricity and other inputs for heating and hot water . Each input has a thermostat control pre-wired to a junction box to control all inputs . Solar thermal is not pre-figured as panel suppliers usually supply a control package . The SFUTS unit can be specified in three domestic sizes – 210 , 250 and 300 litres capacity – and can be supplied as suitable for sealed heating systems so underfloor heating and modern sealed system boilers can be incorporated . The sealed system unit meets G3 safety requirements with three levels of safety so wood burners can be safely installed on a pumped circuit . The unit is CE marked in addition to the HETAS listing . The store ’ s solid fuel pump also acts as a re-circulator to ensure that cold return temperatures to the appliance are avoided . This prevents condensation , helps the heat up profile and aids efficiencies . It also helps with maintaining even store temperatures . A flue stat is wired into the system to detect when the wood-burner is lit . Hot water is always mains fed in these systems for power showers and fast bath filling , using an internal high output coil as a heat exchanger through a thermal mixing valve . A small expansion vessel is used as a shock arrestor and a service valve is fitted .
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