Solar Adds Value To Properties

Residential solar boosts house prices by £30,000+

According to recent research, residential solar panels can boost the value of your home by over£30,000. In fact it showed an average increase in value of £32,459 across the UK. Houses in London saw the biggest increase (unsurprisingly), with the value jumping by £90,000, followed by
Bristol (£45,142), Edinburgh (£40,095) and Leicester (£31,577).

HOW DO SOLAR PANELS STACK UP FINANCIALLY
Solar panels are a very sensible, long-term investment for those looking to future proof their home, reduce their energy bills and improve their carbon footprint. Sunlight is free, so once you’ve paid for the initial installation, your long-term electricity costs will be reduced considerably. Your installation
will pay for itself over time (usually within 6-7 years, but as energy costs continue to surge ahead this will rapidly decrease), the exact period will be determined by several factors; the size of your array, roof orientation, shading issues and the brand of panels you choose.

COMBINING YOUR PANELS WITH A HOME BATTERY
Integrating your solar panels with a battery is a great way to store the free electricity your solar panels produce instead of exporting it back to the grid, allowing you to use more of your free solar energy in the evenings or when the sun isn’t shining. This is particularly useful for working families, who are likely to be out during the day, and therefore unable to use the energy they have produced.

Do bear in mind that in Winter, with shorter days and probably less sun, (we are in Wales after all!) you’ll still be very likely to need grid back up. Even if only top-up your batteries on a cheaper night tariff for your electricity…

Battery systems are technically complex and unlike solar panels there are several different factors to consider before installation. Each home battery you add offers you the potential to become more energy independent, generate additional savings and live more sustainably. There are several different products on the market, each offering different features, power capacity and functions. Ask us for more detailed information to suit your individual requirements.

CAN SOLAR PV PANELS HEAT MY WATER?
Yes. If you have a hot water tank with an immersion heater installed in your home, you can use the excess energy generated by your solar PV panels to heat your water. Every unit of power used to heat your water in this way reduces energy bought from the national grid by the same amount, resulting in significant savings. It is worth noting that many of those replacing their combi-boilers are now switching back to a tank due to the benefits.

WILL MY HOUSE BE SUITABLE FOR SOLAR PANELS?
Conventionally the ideal roof for solar panels was large, unshaded and south facing. Whilst this is still relevant, the exact orientation of your roof is now less important and can be mitigated by panel optimising technology. There are even options for using out-buildings or ground mounting your panels if your roof isn’t the right fit or orientation and you have available space.

Please visit our FAQ page if you have any further questions, alternatively call or email us to arrange an in-person visit to clear up any confusion you may have about solar or other renewable energy technology.

Do solar panels add value to your house?

A Space Saving Installation of an Air Source Heat Pump

Air Source Heat Pump Installation in Ammanford, Carmarthen

Ammanford is located within the Amman Valley with the Heart of Wales line running through it.

The Problem and its Solution:

A client came to us with a requirement to reduce their bills and step away from fossil fuelled systems. They currently had a LPG boiler costing them over £2200 a year to run for their heating and hot water demand. Because their building is a solid stone they were told heat pumps would not work, but they wanted to investigate it further anyway.

We assessed the property, and with its double glazing and over 200mm of loft insulation we could happily advise them that a heat pump would be suitable if all of the radiators were up-sized. Unfortunately external space was an issue with no land for a Ground Source heat pump and not much space to site an Air Source heat pump, we therefore came up with the solution of mounting it on the wall above the driveway.

The customers could not be happier with the outcome and after one of the hardest winters they are more than confident that they will be kept warm efficiently for many many years to come.

The Benefits:

A warm and reliable renewable heating and hot water system.
Over £1000 a year saving vs previous LPG boiler running costs.
Around £10,764 back from the Government Renewable Heat Incentive over the 7 year period.
Ongoing reduced CO2 emissions, helping them do their bit for the planet.

The Ever Reliable Ground Source Heat Pump

Ground Source Heat Pump Installation at Burry Port, Llanelli, Carmarthen

Burry Port is located on the beautiful Loughor estuary overlooking the Gower Peninsular.

The Problem and its Solution:
We were approached to find a way to reduce the customers outgoings and make their home more environmentally friendly. Upon our visit we established they were using electric storage heaters to heat their entire 10 bedroom house. Straight away we could advise them on more efficient alternatives and after some consideration they decided to have installed a Kensa Evo 13kw ground source heat pump.

The Benefits:
This renewable heating system provides 100% of their heating demand when ever they need it. The main benefits are:
– 400%+ efficient system, substantially saving their running costs
– £25,200 income from the Renewable Heat Incentive
– Fully automated and quiet to run
– Very little maintenance with a very long expected lifespan of 25+ years

Coal Power Stations and Their Decline

More Signs the Renewable Market is the Way Forward!

Progress for the renewable sector is evident as coal provided just 2% of the UK’s energy demand for the first half of 2017. This figure, published by Imperial College London, is even more startling when it’s compared to the same period 5 years ago when coal was generating more than 40% of the demand.

With pollution laws and carbon taxes making coal less profitable, the drive towards making the planet and its environment more sustainable should hopefully continue.

Another Record Breaker – Renewables Provide Over Half of Our Electricity

Renewables On The Rise

Another record has been broken! Yesterday, Wednesday 7th June, saw the UK provide more than half of our electricity from renewable sources. A combination of plenty of solar and wind energy, along with some hard working hydro and biogas/biomass plants produced more electricity than coal and gas stations together.

This indicates a step in the right direction, let’s see and hope that the new government furthers this by investing in a growing renewable market and not look backwards towards shale gas, coal and natural gas to feed our energy market.

Free Energy Anyone?

Solar Thermal Installation at Mayles, Swansea, Wales

Mayles is a populated suburb of Swansea with access to Clyne Gardens and a common located on Gower. It is a relatively hilly and wooded area within easy access to Swansea City Centre.

The Problem and its Solution:
Clients got in touch with Limitless Energy as they wanted to make their home more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Their home is a 4 bedroom detached house with 2 bathroom suites. Being a large family and having a recent condensing gas boiler fitted we realised that the maximum potential would be to reduce their hot water costs and contribute to their heating when possible.

We therefore installed a Daikin two panel solar thermal system and attached it to a 300l Gledhill thermal store. This system was installed on their south facing roof with no shading what so ever and so provides the maximum energy capture available.

The Benefits:
This solar thermal installation saves our customers upto 80% of their hot water demand and because it’s attached to a thermal store it can also provide some heating when excess energy is being produced. The system is eligible for the government RHI scheme and pays the family over £330 annually with the complete savings and earnings over the 7 year period totalling over £2,500

Home Devices and Their Energy Consumption

Energy Intensive Devices

Technology now means that the majority of us have become dependant on devices to get us through our daily lives, but how much energy are these devices using? This will of course depend upon the age and efficiency of each device, however we’ve got some averages to help make you think about what devices you need to update or change your behaviour.

So, this will not come as a surprise, but fridges, freezers, electric cookers and tumble dryers come with the highest running costs. The most being freezers using around 300kWh/annum and B rated tumble dryers consuming around 280kWh/annum. If you’re looking to reduce your energy consumption and you’ve got some of these devices with are old, then it’s definitely time to look at updating them to improve their efficiency. Televisions depend on whether you have a LCD or Plasma, LCD consumes around 190kWh/annum and plasma considerably more, and your wireless router uses around 60kWh/annum.

What else can we do to help reduce our consumption except for buying new devices? Simple, turn them off standby when your not using them. This has been said so many times before, but it really works. Turn off your electric toothbrush charger, printer, router, phone charges, desktop computers, TV’s etc… Obviously you can’t turn off your fridge or freezer, but turning off your wireless router helps not only with your home consumption, but also the global consumption due to increased server communication globally.

Having Problems with your Biomass? – We can Help!

Biomass Boiler Repair at Rhossili, Gower, Wales

Rhossili is located at the end of the beautifully picturesque Gower Peninsular, which was designated the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK. The village and surrounding area are steeped in history. The prominent wreck of the Helvetia, which ran aground on Rhossili Bay in November 1887 bears witness to the challenging weather conditions and the tales of our ancestors, who lured boats ashore to plunder their hold. Being located at the most western tip of Gower it’s not a surprise that the properties are off the gas grid and some even off mains electricity.

The Problem and its Solution:
Limitless Energy were asked to help with a problematic biomass boiler at the commercial look out station situated at the very end of Rhossili itself. The property has no hot water, gas or electricity, but requires heat for the occupants during the day who keep watch at the station. Currently installed is a small EcoTec 500 pellet biomass boiler which has been in for over 7 years but always given trouble.

The long standing problems we found with the current system was user error and poor electrical supply. The property relies on generating and storing a small amount of electricity via a turbine suppling power to the radios, lights, and the auger and ignition of the pellet biomass boiler stove. We diagnosed that the supply was sufficient due to the exposed location and size of turbine but the storage was not adequate for the demand. When the demand increased the supply could not provide enough power to ignite and run the auger effectively. We therefore recommended they increase their storage, which they subsequently did, and the problem solved. The user error was simply lack of understanding and so we provided full detailed instructions on how to operate the system efficiently and correctly.

The Benefits:
Our customers now benefit from a reliable, cheap renewable heating and power generation system. They have full understanding on how it works and can worry no longer as they’ve taken out and annual service contract and know that we are always on the end of the phone.

Introducing Robert!

I’m Robert Harvey, the founder of Limitless Energy. It began from discovering the lack of trusted, high quality Renewable, Heating and Plumbing companies. Personally, being passionate about quality, affordability, sustainability and good, individually tailored, customer service, I felt it was a must for me to offer the service I believe in.

I am delighted and excited to have been able to set up my own family-business which brings together my skills and passions, and am looking forward to working with you.

Why Limitless Energy?

Limitless Energy is your friendly, local, small renewable, heating and plumbing company with over 60 years’ combined experience. Being small, but big on experience, enables us to provide the very best personal service but at affordable price.

Not only do we have a great understanding of the sector, we are also highly qualified, ensuring you have a system which is installed by professionals. Our regulatory bodies, insurances and warranties provide you with piece of mind that your system is covered during installation and long after.