subject: What You Should Look For In A Renewable Energy Provider [print this page] In this review I am looking to make it simpler for you to understand the issues that succumb many premises owners who take up the option to instalgreen energy products to their homes or business. By insuring that you make a note of these issues and highlighting them with the business supplying and fitting your products it will ensure that you can sleep safe at night knowing that you are receiving a service and product that is completely covered built to and insured to sustain the test of time. Some of thepoints are legal and some can be at theare best practice so be sure to differentiate between the two:
The first area of concern which should not be up for debate is that of certification. In the UK and USA you want the company that you use to be MCS certified and regulated. The MCS Scheme which is focused on ensuring the quality of renewable technology installations and products. It was launched in 2008 and has been developed continually over this time. It is an industry led and funded scheme.Allbusinesses that are part of the scheme have to follow their stringent guidelines and product tests. In essence if you choose a Green energy company that is MCS regulated you know you are using the green sector standard. Other affiliated bodies that your companies could be joined to as well as MCS are the REA (Renewable Energy Authority) again this body ensure their members stick to the guidelines set by the industry and they secure the best legislative and regulatory framework for expanding renewable energy production in the UK. They are at the forefront of the industry development thus companies linked to them are at the forefront of that is happening in the industry.
A second consideration maybe is thebusinesses you are using part of the ISO 9000 standards scheme. What this means is that thebusinesses in question will have signed Up to and abide by their standards and quality management systems of their customers and stakeholders meaning you are dealing with acompany that is tested on guidelines to ensurethey carry a good reputation in their field. Thus what this means when you are purchasing products with in the renewable energy sector you would be dealing withinstallersthat meets high standards.
The next point is a area that could give you complete peace of mind and that is your Guarantee period, in an industry that continues to make huge advances and products that get more advanced you should be looking for a good guarantee period many companies who deal in solar pv will now offer guarantee periods Up to 15, but if you scan the market you will find that some businesses will now even offer Up to 25 years. So this Can be a point to keep in mind before purchasing, that you should ask thecompanies the length of their warranty period.
Another key issue to clarify (if choosing solar) with the installer is the energy harnessing depreciation rate of products over the years. What this means is similar to a car looses horsepower over the years solar pv will loose part of theirharvesting ability. Now firstly the amount isn't huge,but still you would like to know what the rate is. A good system after 25 years will be expected to have dropped from 100% down to 70%, however the more advanced systems will be in the region of 80-85%. Now this is definitely worth asking so that you can ensure to get the most efficient PV system.
Type of purchasing structure is another key point. As the predominant amount of deals that occur for buying renewable energy sysytems within the sector are of high value this means that the method of payment is
regularly a finance deal. With this their are two key areas firstly is it 0% finance as this is always a good incentive and secondly who is the deal underwritten by, meaning is it underwritten by a bank so that if any problems occur ultimatley you will be able to retrieve your money via them. This is a good piece of added security.
In closing a small but also important area is what is how are the positioned within the industry,meaning what is the general feedback on theworkmanship and service. Now their are a few things you can do here the first is to ask for examples and contact details from previous jobs. Now of course these could be biased so another method is to look for reviews across theinternet and compare the differing stories and contact the article writer if need be.
