Member Article

Renewable energy company completes first dual installation

A Shropshire company has completed its first dual renewable energy installation, which is estimated to save the owners of a county guesthouse hundreds of pounds a year in heating bills.

Jinlye, a five-bedroom rural holiday retreat in a protected area of Shropshire countryside, has undergone extensive renovations by new owners, Lynda Adlington and Alistair Forrest, since they bought the property last year.

And as part of the refurbishment, they commissioned both a wood pellet heating system and a solar PV installation designed and installed by Shrewsbury-based 7 Energy.

The installations attract both the Feed-in-Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive, with the RHI paying the owner more each year than the cost of the fuel for the OkoFEN wood pellet boiler which provides heat and hot water to the guesthouse.

Managing director of 7 Energy, Martin Dowley, said: “This is the first dual renewable energy system we have installed, and we’re delighted that it is saving the owners money while meeting their brief to install efficient, low carbon, renewable energy sources for their eco-friendly guesthouse.

“As the property is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Stretton Hills, we needed to ensure that the solar PV system was designed so that it did not detract from the surrounding landscape and that it complied with planning regulations.”

A 4 kWp ground-mounted solar PV array of 16 panels has been installed near Jinlye, contributing between 50 to 60 per cent of the property’s daily usage. The installation qualified for the 21p FiT rate, guaranteed for 20 years, and the return on investment will see a payback period within 11 years.

The 56 kWp OkoFEN Pellematic wood pellet boiler, supplied by Welshpool-based Organic Energy, also attracts the Renewable Heat Incentive, which sees quarterly payments to property owners installing green heat systems.

Mr Dowley said: “The installation attracts the Renewable Heat Incentive at a level of £6,492.86 per year. But the estimated cost of the fuel is only £5,152 which effectively means the owners receive an extra £1,339 per year. That is in addition to the savings made by harnessing their own energy thanks to the solar PV system, so they are saving a considerable amount each year on their bills.”

Lynda Adlington, who bought the property with her author husband after living in Spain for several years, said: “We moved in April 2012 and immediately set about restoring and renovating the property.

“High on our priority list was eco-sourcing of power. We wanted to combine solar for electricity and a wood pellet boiler for heating and hot water and that meant renewing the entire water and electricity system, with 7 Energy bringing together all elements of the whole project. The system works brilliantly and was an important part of our recent 5-Star Quality In Tourism award as a boutique guest house.”

A new external pellet store was also constructed by 7 Energy, as the owners wanted to maintain the storage space of three garages onsite.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 7 Energy .