As part of the change to the Permitted Development regulations, that allowed small wind turbines and Air Source Heat Pumps to be installed without planning permission in England, MCS have published the associated Planning Standards.
The document details the procedure for calculating the noise levels that apply for a particular planned installation.
After a couple of years of delay the government have finally brought in amended legislation to allow permitted development for the installation of small wind turbines and air source heat pumps (ASHPs) on domestic premises in England. (Wales still has to wait a little longer.)
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2011 also rolls in the revised wording for solar roof-top installations that allows systems on roofs in conservation areas, that had previously been the subject of an amendment.
Permitted development for both wind turbines and ASHPs is subject to an array of conditions, which in the main are in line with conditions imposed on all previous renewable technologies. The most notable are that products and installs must comply with MCS Planning Standards. More on this later once Gemserv have made those documents available.
For roof mounted turbines (never something I advise) the tallest part of the blades must not go 3m above the roofline (excluding any chimney) and cannot exceed a total of 15m in height.
Ground mounted turbines cannot exceed 11.1m in height. And in both cases the swept area of the blades cannot exceed 3.8 square metres. This will limit the blade diameter to 2.25m and effectively means that the capacity of the turbine can be little more than 1kW at 11m/s wind speed.
The Energy Saving Trust have published a RHPP FAQ document that may clear up some of the doubts surrounding certain aspects of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme and how the eligibility rules would be applied.
1. Only air to water heat pumps are eligible. Air to air heat pumps are not.
2. A household that is connected to the gas main can apply but only if gas is not currently used as the fuel for their heating.
3. The dwelling must be the primary residence of the applicant – holiday home owners (and MPs) need not apply.
4. The residence must be a permanent building – boats, caravans, mobile homes and swimming pools are not included.
5. A minimum 250mm loft insulation should already be in place, and cavity wall insulation ‘where practicable’.
6. Only installations that have been carried out since the scheme announcement on 21st July 2011 will be eligible. But EST say that they cannot guarantee a voucher for anyone who installs before applying.
DECC have published a factsheet covering the terms of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) that serves as an interim measure to incentivise take up of renewable heat systems until the full Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) comes in to force for domestic properties.
Of special note is confirmation of the earlier rumour that RHPP (and possibly therefore also applies to the full RHI) payments are only going to be made available to properties that are not connected to the gas grid. Solar thermal is an exception to this.
The scheme is limited to £12 million and is being administered by the Energy Saving Trust on a first-come first-served basis.
Payments will be:
– solar thermal £300
– biomass boiler £950
– air source heat pump £850
– ground source heat pump £1250
At these rates the £12 million budget will only fund around 15,000 properties:
4000 x £300
4000 x £950
4000 x £850
3000 x £1250
totals £12.15 million.
[update]
DECC press release now says that £15 million is available “to support up to 25,000 installations” but with a review once £10 million has been reached.
It also looks like early adopters get disadvantaged again as the RHPP will only apply to systems that are to be installed from today onwards. The full RHI was always supposed to be available to systems installed on or after 15th July 2009. I’m waiting for the EST to confirm this – calls to their Helpline 0800 512 012 are not being answered at present as they are probably inundated.
Northern Ireland will introduce permitted development legislation for some microgeneration systems from 6th April 2011 – finally bringing it in line with the rest of the UK.
A few details are different and are worth highlighting:
- planning permission will still be required for solar panels on roof slopes in conservation areas where they face roads
- conditions that require minimising effects on appearance or amenity have not been included
- Air Source Heat Pumps and wind turbines have not been included
The Energy Saving Trust have just released their field-trial report on heat pumps installed in the UK. 83 heat pumps (54 ground source and 29 air source) were monitored over a 12 month period to determine how well they performed.
Data is reported for only 47 GSHPs (with no explanation as to why the data is missing for the other 7) and an average system efficiency (the ratio of input electrical power to output heat inclusive of pumps and supplementary heating) of just 2.3 (range 1.2 – 3.2) where manufacturers regularly claim figures of 4 or even higher.
Overall the report is rather worryingly short on specific details in reporting the reasons for the results found and in any guidance that would allow prospective owners to make better informed decisions.