A smart energy platform for the age of the smart grid

The Freedom Project is investigating the potential of multi-fuel, hybrid home heating systems to address the balance between energy security, social impact and environmental security to deliver comfort, carbon and cost.

The reduction in the Feed-in-Tariff has created numerous challenges for the Solar PV industry.

In pursuing their efforts to address fuel poverty, many social housing landlords face some unique challenges in tackling the pressures to keep rental and energy costs as low as possible while complying with increasingly stringent energy efficiency standards.

While the use of district heat networks is well established in some countries, they currently supply just 2% of the UK’s total heat demand. Whilst this is a small contribution at present, an Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) forecast suggests that decentralised heat networks could cost-effectively supply over 40% of the UK’s peak space heat capacity needs by 2050. However, fulfilling this potential means addressing some of the fundamental issues that have troubled district heating schemes in the past.

With the feed-in tariff (FIT) payable for domestic systems at an all-time low in the UK, the rate of new installations has plummeted. As a result, the renewables industry is looking to new business models, like ‘solar buyback’, for sources of income.