Brief

The property consists of a Grade II listed farmhouse with plenty of acreage, on which stood some disused stone barns. The customer wanted to create an income from the property so is in the process of converting the barns into holiday lets, one of which is The Linhay. The customer approached Stove Shop Renewables requesting a completely energy system that is both environmentally friendly and also able to run independently as the customer’s main residence is several hundred miles from the property.

Process

Stove Shop Renewables designed a bespoke system to fit the customer’s needs. A system of hybrid PV-T solar collectors has been installed to power low energy lighting, under floor heating and domestic hot water. The total system is 3.99kW which, as the average household uses 3.5kW, should be more than sufficient for these needs. The hot water is created as a by-product of making the PV panels more efficient, and with the addition of a heat pump, supplies ample hot water for the naturally low energy under-floor heating and hot water sufficient for sanitary use. While the system is suitable for running these main energy requirements, the system is also connected to the main grid to top-up the system should the tenant wish to run other electrical appliances.

Outcome

The alternative to this system would include costly, oil-fired, high consumption radiators and traditional electrical solution, which would require significantly higher running costs, both in terms of finance and environmental impact. Stove Shop Renewables have created a system for the client that is not only incredibly cost effective, but is also virtually carbon neutral. The system is automatically self-governing, due to an automatic control system attached to both the solar thermal collector and for the overall system. The back-up of being connected to the mains grid not only allows the customer piece of mind, should there be a bad spell of weather, but also enables them to sell back their unused electricity to the grid under the Feed in Tariff scheme. Essentially, the customer has a system that not only produces sufficient energy for the properties needs, but also generates a guaranteed tax-free income for 25 years.