Solar Selections’ Funded Energy Efficiency Package Set to Make Impact

Published on Tuesday, 14 August 2012 11:15

Posted by Scott Buckler

Whilst many business owners have sustainability strategies in place, the required working capital and payback expectations often significantly delay the implementation of upgrades

Solar Selections are the UK's Solar and Energy Efficiency Brokers. They believe that through the use of a reputable and professional Energy Service Company (ECSO) many business's sustainability targets could be provided with the funding they need immediately. On a nationwide basis, they have worked with funders and energy efficiency upgrade specialists to bring forward this in what they are calling a 'Funded Energy Efficiency Approach'.

Jarrah Harburn, National Sales Manager with Solar Selections, states "This method provides a dedicated source of funds for buildings to install modern energy efficiency upgrades to their buildings at zero capital outlay." He highlights that The Funded Energy Efficiency approach is not unique to the UK and has been used in other countries, and that it's "growth here in the UK is set to increase drastically now that various factors have aligned, namely government incentives on renewable generation and energy bill increases."

Funding is available to any private or public organisation that freeholds any property and spend more than £30,000 a year on energy bills.

How does the Funded Energy Efficiency Approach work?

The basic methodology allocates the savings created by the new equipment to repay the dedicated fund's upfront investment. Once initial feasibility by Solar Selections is conducted, comprehensive surveys are carried out and a Shared Energy Saving Agreement is generated with terms of between 5 to 10 years.

The Shared Energy Savings Agreement

The approach representatives compile an all-inclusive proposal which constitutes what and where savings can be made. The Shared Energy Savings Agreement is an open book that clearly tracks the savings and production of all of the installed energy saving measures. Every agreement is bespoke and all varieties of building can be considered.

Upon client approval, the fund then handles all installation and maintenance, ensuring every upgrade is functioning as projected for the entire agreement period.

"This means if something were to occur with any of the upgrades, say the LED lighting wasn't delivering the expected savings or the PV system wasn't generating its expected energy profile, the fund is responsible financially and contractually to check and fix the issue."

Examples of the technologies implemented are:

LED Lighting.Solar PV (no roof rental required).Biomass Heating.Power management and distribution software.HVAC Upgrades.And more, dependent on the properties unique energy usage.

The funding is considered as a fixed service fee and not a loan, meaning that it does not sit on the freeholder's balance sheet.

Process Timeline

Following no obligation explanatory meetings with the fund representation, the following would represent a standard timeline of events;

An energy audit of the site is conducted and a site survey for the relevant energy saving products is completed.The energy savings are calculated and a shared energy savings agreement is generated and agreed upon.An independent third party energy audit is carried out to establish baseline energy usage.The fund representation manages the installation of the energy savings measures from start to finish.The installed energy management system provides continuous ongoing data collection to monitor the continued effectiveness of the upgrades.

Freeholder Responsibilities and Risk Assessment

The fund is responsible for the surveying, proposals, commissioning and maintenance of all energy efficiency upgrades for the length of the agreement. The freeholder has no responsibility over the measures during this term, simply receiving a pre-approved reduction in their operating costs for the required agreement length of 5-10 years.

After this point there is a transfer of ownership of all upgrades and the full benefits and savings are handed over to the freeholder. The freeholder will take over responsibility of their upkeep and Solar Selections will stay on hand for the entire lifetime of the upgrades to aid with practical advice.

Mr Harburn sums up by saying "This allows buildings to upgrade features such as their heating, lighting, power generation and management on a pay-as-you-save model. Reductions in carbon emissions, energy bills and maintenance are immediate and the long term benefit can for energy bills to be completely removed."