JARGON BUSTER

Biomass involves the burning of organic material. For household microgeneration biomass most often takes the form of wood pellets, wood chips and wood logs, but biomass can also apply to both animal and vegetable derived material.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is probably the most important of the greenhouse gases and is currently responsible for 60% of the 'enhanced greenhouse effect'. It is thought that it's been in the atmosphere for over four billion of the Earth's 4.6 billion year geological history. Although the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere by plants is almost perfectly balanced with the amount put back into the atmosphere by respiration and decay, small changes as a result of human activities can have a large impact on this delicate balance.

CHP stands for combined heat and power and describes a unit that simultaneously generates heat and electricity.

The estimated annual CO2emissions per square meter due to space heating, water heating, ventilation and internal lighting, minus any CO2emissions saved by the generation of electricity.

Introduced by the government on 1st April 2010, the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) scheme is also known as Clean Energy Cashback. FITs pay householders for all the electricity that they generate from a renewable source and homeowners receive 41.3p for every unit of energy they generate, regardless of whether they use the energy or sell it back to the National Grid. www.niceic.com Microgeneration Factsheet 1 Although microgeneration is set to revolutionise the way in which energy is produced for use in the home, there’s no shortage of technical terminology surrounding this subject. To help you understand what you need to know about microgeneration, we’ve put together the following guide to explain some of the terms that are commonly used.

Heat pumps come in three types - ground source, air source and water source. They all extract ambient temperature and pump it into the hot water system in your house. Heat pumps use electricity to extract the heat but can deliver 2.5 to 4kW of heat for every kW of electricity used.

Hydro power refers to any system that generates electricity from water.

A kilowatt (kW) is a unit of energy and a kilowatt hour (kWh) is most commonly used as a billing unit for energy delivered to consumers by electric utilities. Many people get confused about the difference between watts and watt hours. As a simple rule of thumb:
• Watts measure the rate of use at a particular instant.
• Watt hours are the total energy used over a period of time.

Microgeneration is the production of zero or low carbon heat and power. This essentially means creating your own energy to power your house by means of a renewable energy source such as solar panels and wind turbines.

The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is an independent scheme that certifies microgeneration products and installers in accordance with consistent standards. It is designed to assess them against robust criteria, which will provide greater protection for consumers. NICEIC runs its own highly successful MCS.

The MCS Installation Database was launched on the 1st April 2010 and is used by MCS certificated installers to register MCS installations that have been carried out. The MCS Installation Database is used to generate a certificate for a customer’s installation which can be used by the customer to obtain FITs, provided it was commissioned on or after 15th July 2009.

The National Grid is the electric power transmission network which ensures that the entire UK has a ready supply of energy regardless of where it originates from. As part of the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) scheme, any extra power generated from microgeneration based systems goes back into the National Grid. www.niceic.com Microgeneration Factsheet 2

You don't usually need planning permission for the installation of microgeneration systems, but it is worth checking first with your local planning officer, especially if your building is listed or is in a conservation area.

A term often used in conjunction with microgeneration. Renewable energy comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat, all of which can be naturally replenished.

This is a similar scheme in principle to the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) scheme but will focus on heat generation. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is scheduled to go live on 1st April 2011, however, the new coalition government is still to confirm its support for the scheme and respond to the consultation. Its decision is due at the same time as the spending review which will take place this autumn.

The national average household consumption of electricity in the UK, excluding heating, is 3300kWh. A 2kWp solar PV system in a good location in the UK will generate around 1,700kWh of electricity per year. This is enough to meet just over half of the average household's electricity needs and the system would also save almost a tonne of CO2a year.

A technology used in solar panels, the flat, black glass panels that are usually installed on roofs to convert sunlight into electricity. Solar PV technology is improving at an impressive rate, allowing it to become more efficient and effective at generating electricity.

Similar in appearance to solar PV panels, solar thermal systems are situated on roofs to provide a property with hot water by using the sun’s rays to heat water flowing through pipes on the panel. This is then passed through a coil in the household hot water cylinder or heat store, where it heats the domestic hot water supply. A typical domestic solar hot water system can provide almost all of an average family's hot water in the summer months and about 50-70% of its annual requirement. 27% The amount of the UK’s total carbon emissions that are produced by our homes. The increased adoption of microgeneration technologies will significantly reduce this figure. www.niceic.com Microgeneration Factsheet 3

The UK has an abundance of good quality wind. Wind turbines allow the wind to turn blades which are linked to an internal generator which produces electricity. These are free standing machines, which are usually erected in suitably exposed positions where there is plenty of wind – the more wind, the more electricity produced.

British Standard BS 7671 – also known as the IEE (Institute of Electrical Engineering) wiring regulations – details the requirements for electrical installations and is the standard against which all NICEIC contractors are assessed. To enroll with NICEIC all electricians, and anyone they employ, must meet this national safety standard.

Any electrician installing a new electrical installation (including a single circuit), altering, extending or adapting an existing circuit should issue the homeowner with an electrical installation certificate or minor electrical installation works certificate to confirm the work complies with the requirements of BS 7671.

An assembly of electrical equipment (socket outlets, lighting points and switches) supplied from the same origin and protected against over current by the same protective device(s).

A device capable of making, carrying and breaking normal load currents and also making and automatically breaking, under pre-determined conditions, abnormal currents such as short-circuit currents. It is usually required to operate infrequently although some types are suitable for frequent operation.

Equipment in which protection against electric shock does not rely on basic insulation only, but which includes means for the connection of exposed-conductive-parts to a protective conductor in the fixed wiring of the installation. Class I equipment has exposed metallic parts, e.g. the metallic enclosure of a washing machine.

Class II equipment, such as music systems, televisions and video players, in which protection against electric shock does not rely on basic insulation only, but in which additional safety precautions such as supplementary insulation are provided, there being no provision for the connection of exposed metalwork of the equipment to a protective conductor, and no reliance upon precautions to be taken in the fixed wiring of the installation.

Equipment, for example for medical use, in which protection against electric shock relies on supply at SELV (Safety extra low voltage) and in which voltages higher than those of SELV are not generated. Class III equipment must be supplied from a safety isolating transformer.

Also known as a fusebox, consumer control unit or electricity control unit. A particular type of distribution board comprising a co-ordinated assembly for the control and distribution of electrical energy, principally in domestic premises, incorporating manual means of double-pole isolation on the incoming circuit(s) and an assembly of one or more fuses, circuit-breakers, residual current operated devices or signalling and other devices purposely manufactured for such use.

An assembly containing switching or protective devices (e.g. fuses, circuit-breakers, residual current operated devices) associated with one or more outgoing circuits fed from one or more incoming circuits, together with terminals for the neutral and protective circuit conductors. It may also include signalling and other control devices. Means of isolation may be included in the board or may be provided separately.

Any assembly of electrical equipment supplied by a common source to fulfil a specific purpose.

NICEIC registered electricians have already helped to improve the standard of electrical work in the UK. A new electrical safety law, often referred to as Part P of the Building Regulations, has further enhanced the protection of homeowners and reduced the risk of electric shock when using electricity. The law, which applies to England and Wales aims to improve electrical safety in the home and prevent the number of accidents which are caused by faulty electrical work. The law requires an electrician registered with a government-approved scheme, such as NICEIC, to carry out most electrical work in the home. After completion of any work your NICEIC registered electrician will issue you with a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate to prove it meets the required standards of Part P. You can only carry out electrical work yourself if you can inspect and test that it is safe for use. To comply with the law you must notify your local building control office before you begin any work and pay the appropriate fee for them to inspect the work.

An extension cable, also known as a power extender, extension cord or an extension lead, is a length of flexible electrical power cable or flex with a plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end - usually of the same type as the plug. However use of extension leads should be avoided where possible, as there is a chance of overloading the circuit.

Low Voltage

Milliamp or 1/1000 part of an amp

Electrical current (in amps) that exceeds the maximum limit of a circuit may result in risk of fire or shock from insulation damaged from heat generated by overcurrent condition.

The specific section of the Building Regulations for England and Wales that relates to electrical installations in domestic properties. Part P provides safety regulations to protect householders, and requires most domestic electrical work to be carried out by government-registered electricians, or to be inspected by Building Control officers.

An electrical survey, known as a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR), will reveal if electrical circuits are overloaded, find potential hazards in the installation, identify defective DIY work, highlight any lack of earthing or bonding and carry out tests on the fixed wiring of the installation. The cost of a typical PIR should start around £120, depending on the size of your property. The report will establish the overall condition of all the electrics and state whether it is satisfactory for continued use and should detail any work that might need to be done.

Broad term for insurance which covers liability exposures for individuals and business owners. Homeowners should check that their electrician has public liability insurance, which covers them if someone is accidentally injured by them or their business operation. It will also cover them if they damage your property while on business. The cover should include any legal fees and expenses which result from any claim by you. Homeowners looking to employ trades people to undertake work on their homes should ensure the companies selected have suitable cover – minimum recommendation is £2 million.

Electrical equipment which is less than 18 kg in mass and is intended to be moved while in operation or which can easily be moved from one place to another, such as a toaster, food mixer, vacuum cleaner, fan heater.

The value of overcurrent at a given point in a circuit resulting from a fault between live conductors.

Residual current device is a safety device that switches off the electricity automatically when it detects an earth fault, providing protection against electric shock.

This is not just a manually operated isolating switch but a very sensitive safety device which cuts off in fractions of a second if it senses an earth fault. RCDs can be bought in different current ratings and various sensitivities to current leakage.

A final circuit connected in the form of a ring and connected to a single point of supply.

Separated Extra-Low Voltage. An extra-low voltage system, which is electrically separated from Earth and from other systems in such a way that a single fault cannot give rise to the risk of electric shock.

Normally not exceeding 50 V a.c. or 120 V ripple-free d.c., whether between conductors or to earth.