News

June 2018

LHW have completed an aerial Infra red inspection on over 24,000 PV modules and undertook IV sweep testing on a proportion of the PV strings.

The site the largest roof mounted PV installation in the UK at 6MWp was in close proximity to a railway and East Midlands airport, and necessitated approval from both organisations. 

The results were reviewed and recommnedations provided to the system owner. 

March 2018

Energy Institute Article Published

LHW in collaboration with CLS Energy have had a technical article published by the Energy Institute on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) for undertaking Infra-Red Thermographic surveys.

The article is available to Energy Institute members and subscribers.

March 2018

IET Code of Practice PV System acceptance

On a bitterly cold day LHW undertook a system acceptance inspection of a 25kW PV System in Cambridgeshire. The system though covered in snow was operating, and all the optimsers registered with the inverter. With careful drone battery management keeping them warm prior to a short flight, the roof was inspected and clamping zones and panel count successfully undertaken.

February 2018

Infra Red / Aerial Platform Technical Paper- Energy Institute.

LHW are having a paper publihed by the Energy Institute on the use of UAVs (Drones) to facilitate the identification on bilding heat loss.

This is timley in the wake of the Governments revised energy srategy plcing a focus on energy efficiency in buildings.

The Energy Institute is a leading UK Engineering Institute, for professioal engineers and energy practicioners.

February 2018

Complex PV & Energy Storage Modelling Feasibility

LHW Partnership have completed a chalenging PV and energy storage modelling assignment on an interesting building. The building has extensive skylighrs to maximise daylightt, and is heavilly shaded by parkland trees.

In order to provide a robust apprasial, the buliding and locality was modelled using shade analysis techniques, and a solar simulaltion of the building created in order to optimise the generation.

Half hour demand and geenration profiles were mapped to optimsie the best value PV and energy storage systme size.

With dimiishing government support, the importance of high quality feasibility studies is increasing as broad estimates are no longer a safe way to justify project vibility. LHW has built an enviable reputation in system modelling, and the experience differential is now becoming important to clients. 

February 2018

Energy Study - Office/Works Relocation

LHW Partnership LLP undertook an energy study for Atlantas Marine who operate underwater drone surveillance systems to review the optimal energy solutions for a facility they are planning to relocate into in 2018/9.

The study looked at PV, lighting, ground and air source heat pumps, and provided a technical and financial appraisal.

"LHW explained how the heat pumps work, making what is quite a complex system easy to understand but more importantly you clarified the return on investment."

January 2018

Building Energy Infra Red Inspections

LHW Partnership LLP will be undertaking some ground level and drone  infra red residential building inspectons for a South Coast Town Council next week.  This is a first for the council who want to understand the energy performance of the building stock to a higher level of granularity.

January 2018

Energy Now Expo 7-8 February

LHW Partnership LLP are at the Energy Now Exhibition in Telford on 7-8 February, and will be presenting in the Energy Storage Theatre about optimising system sizes with Renewables, and sharing import offset and Grid Services and PV/Storage over a 12 month period.

January 2018

Using Infra Red Techniques to identify Building Heat Losses 

LHW Partnership LLP and CLS Energy have submitted a paper to the Energy Institute on useing Infra Red Techniquesto identify building heat loss.  

The paper, that covers the use of various analysis platforms, and why the use of UAVs (Drones) provides meaningful data where handheld techniques do have limiitations.

The building heat loss sector is only effective in the periods when building temperatures are 11 degrees higher than the outside temperatures, and is a natural complement to the Summer solar work.  

January 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

LHW Partnership LLP would like to wish everyone a successful and prosperous 2018 New Year, and every success in accelerating new low carbon technology projects.

December  2017

Due to increasing technical workload in PV, Energy storage modelling, Ground Source Heat Pumps, PV & Infra-Red energy Auditing, and ESOS Energy Management work, LHW will be looking for additional technical resource in 2018.

Ideally a Chartered Engineer in an Energy discipline, with Infra-Red inspection qualifications to address the emerging opportunity for aerial and terra firma heat loss determination, who has a “can-do” approach and can hit the ground running.

LHW Partnership is a modern thinking family oriented organisation with flexible working, and ideally is seeking a like-minded engineer. We are based in Heath & Reach, near Leighton Buzzard home of one of the tallest wind turbine's in the UK, and the UK's first large scale battery system.

Please get in touch for more information.

December  2017

LHW Partnership have completed a successful tender review exercise to a point of contract award with the selected contractor for a 200kWe Ground Source Heat Pump System at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire.

Having previously undertaken heat loss estimation, site surveys and prepared a technical specification, LHW can look forward to the technical advisor’s role when the installation starts in the new year.

There were some interesting solutions proposed, and in particular angled boreholes to minimise ground space utilisation. 

LHW are currently preparing a technical specification for a matching ground based 400kWp PV array, and have produced layout drawing options for Heritage and Planning review.    

December  2017

LHW Partnership have completed an ESOS type Energy Audit of the Emmaus Village in Carlton in North Bedfordshire. 

Emmaus Village Carlton is a homelessness charity offering active support to formerly homeless people, and provide a real workable alternative to homelessness, offering people a home, as well as meaningful work in the social enterprise.

A review of the energy tariffs, electrical, water and heating systems, and handheld and drone mounted infra-red surveys to identity poorly performing technology

There were a number of principal aspects identified, and both renewable and energy efficiency solutions proposed offering both viable financial and 155 tonnes per annum C02 reduction. 

December  2017

LHW Partnership have released a video showreel of some of the interesting projects taken around the UK and Ireland over the last 12-18 months.

The videos abd images range from wind turbines, ground and buildng mounted solar PV arrays, coastal features, stunning scenery, and even a human "Crusaders" made up of enthusiastic children on a training week in Norfolk.

Sadly there were many to many  to choose from and not all could be aired, and we chose to avoid some of the more technically oriented images which is the core activity. Please click here or on the image on the right to see the video. 

November  2017

LHW Partnership have completed a due diligence undertaking for a major energy focused Interational Consulting Engineer.

The project the first for LHW in the Middle East ws a due diligence exercise for a large ground mounted PV project in Oman, and the power will feed a desalination plant. As a comparison to the UK the generation per kWp is about 40% more but the panels run a lot hotter so dont work as well as in UK.

November  2017

LHW Partnership were engaged by Billington Parish Council to provide a feasibility study to improve the energy performance of the village hall. 

A number of technologies were found to be feasible including PV, and most notably basic insulation improvements, as there was no ceiling insulation and the air to air heat pump was losing heat through the roof. Curtains were an additional augmentation that was recommended as low cost and effective, as there are a large number of windows in the building with no curtains, and the the heat could be retained. The study did not advise LED replacement as the existing lighting is relatively new, and the lighting is not used very often. The air to air heat pump was the single largest energy consuming component. The PV would offset the energy consumption of the heat pump on an annualised basis that than real time. It was recommended to fit a Half Hourly meter to record energy consumption, so energy storage could be adopted in the years to come.  

LHW were able to use infra-red aerial inspections though the building was close to the main road, the CAA approval granted to LHW allows a 20 meter area of control, so requiring control of the road was not an issue.

November  2017

LHW Partnership have been engaged by St Georges School, Leigthon Buzzard to look at the energy perfomance, and possible renewable energy initiatves for community ownership. 

As pat of the engagement an aerial Infra Red survey was undertaken demonstrating the building heat loss is a very visible form. 

The school is looking at ground source heat pump technology, as there are several acres of playing fields

October   2017

LHW Partnership have been engaged by Ovesco, based in Lewes to undertake feasibility of Solar PV and other technologies for schools and other interested parties in the East Sussex area. 

Over 14 locations have been visited, and grid connection, Half Hourly demand and generation appraisals have been undertaken to optimise the size, and avoid excessive export.  A technical tender specification has been prepared for each project for tendering , and aerial photographs and case studies of the completed projects are being prepared.

October   2017

LHW Partnership have been accepted as affiliate members of the UK Thermography Authority, part of the British Institute of Non Destructive Testing.

With increasing recognition of the benefits of Infra Red imaging in the renewable and energy efficiency sectors with the identification of building heat losses, and technology anomalies, and the recent recognition of the importance in building energy in the Governments Clean Growth Plan, it is a natural step to accelerate learning and mix with fellow professionals and share best practice.

September   2017

LHW Partnership has undertaken a multitude of Energy Feasibility appraisals for clients and operators in the Water, Transportation, Aggregates, Poultry & Agricultural,Fisheries and Logistics sector to optimise the PV/Wind generation, on site demand, export constraints and optimising the adoption energy storage, on a Half Hurly Modelling basis.  The system developed in house, can accommodate all generation types on a HH basis, and HH PV data can be simulated  for any system.

The system called Yieldworks is predominantly behind the meter based and can factor in DUoS rates, CCL, Triads, on a kWh and monetorised basis, but also has the flexibility to augment revenue models with grid service appraisal for the energy storage.

September   2017

LHW Partnership LLP actively supported a successful planning application for a second 1.5 MW wind turbine planning application in its home town of Leighton Buzzard, in the face of strong opposition locally.

LHW were able to provide technical advice to people in the community on the less clear aspects of the renewables mix. 

These included comparative data on seasonal Wind & PV generation profiles, embodied energy, capacity factors, and the comparative costs of grid development, the looming energy gap and nuclear issues.

The planning process was typified by a significant amount of creative information that was less than supportive of wind technology, and LHW was able to utilise 25 years of renewable and wind industry experience to help educate people who wanted honest information not always easily available

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September   2017

Over the summer LHW has undertaken Ground based infra-red inspections of over 50MWp of PV Systems ranging from roof mounted through to ground array PV installations, and provided IEC compliant reporting on the findings. The work has involved both PV module installation, as well as balance of plant including Inverters, Sub & main LV distribution boards, and HV equipment (transformers & switchgear) 

LHW has developed a toolbox of Infra Red solutions for Ground based, roof mount, using drones, vehicle mounted, handheld stabilised gimbal and pole mounted platforms, enabling investigation in urban areas as well and in more rural areas.

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Issed encountered and identified include PID, By-Pass diode failures, soiling from dirt build up, vegetation occlusion, and single multiple hot cells from potential  manufacturing issues.  

May  2017

Today is the 4th anniversary of the establishment of LHW Partnership LLP.

Against a backdrop of an almost total removal of Government support for renewable energy, LHW Partnership LLP has completed over 500 varied engineering projects in PV, Solar Thermal, Biomass, Heat Pumps, Wind, Anaerobic Digestion, CHP and energy efficiency.

April  2017

LHW Partnership LLP have secured a 2 year contract to undertake aerial photographic and video services of a sustainable construction project involving the reclamation of a quarry in the Leighton Buzzard area and conversion into sustainable housing and landscape.

LHW Partnership LLP will record the progress of the project  twice a week until project completion. The service commnenced in April 2017.

The project will involve the use of 2 UAVs , the CAA approved Hexacopter with congested area appproval and  Sony A6000 / Panasonic GH4 , and also the Yuneec Typhoon H Hexacopter. 

LHW Partnertship hold PFCO and a 20 metre congested area approval, making them one of very few orgnaisiations in the UK approved ot survey schools and other buildings which a stanard licence with a 50 metre appproval would not accomodate.

January 2017

LHW Partnership LLP are providing visual, infra red inspection and photography services to clients in the UK. 

We can operate in rural locations with land owner's approval as well as in urban, more congested areas as we hold CAA approval to operate with a 20 metre area of control for such work.

December 2016

LHW Partnership LLP have been awarded Operational zone of control area permission by the Civil Aviation Authority of 20 metres radius to undertake aerial inspection work. This means that a distance of 20 metres around the drone is required, as opposed to the standard 50 metres, which is very restrictive in built-up areas.This will enable the facilitation of visual and infra red inspection of schools, urban buildings, that were previously not legally possible.

The approved aircraft is a hexacopter, with dual flight controller, dual GPS, dual power supplies, emergency parachute and prop guards, and is the result of 12 months safety case preparation, approved by the CAA in December 2016.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) can carry visual and infra red camera technology.

LHW Partnership LLP holds fully PFCO approval, OSC approval for 20 metres, is qualified and insured, and holds level 2 infra red qualifications, to sign off infra red inspection reports. This is a requirement of the forthcoming IEC PV system inspection technical standard.  

December 2016

LHW Partnership LLP have been awarded a contract by Siemens to provide engineering services including inspection and routine maintenance on the PV Array at the Crystal Building in Docklands.

The 120 kWp array was commissioned in 2012, and LHW Partnership LLP will provide testing and maintenance services including Infra Red inspections, IV curve verification, and routine maintenance in line with the IET PV Code of Practice.   

Siemens opened the Crystal in 2012 as a global hub for debate on sustainable living and development. Since opening, over 100,000 people each year have visited the interactive exhibition; thousands of meetings and events have been hosted in our sustainable events venue; and numerous major projects have been undertaken in the Siemens office on-site.

The Crystal sets the benchmark for sustainable building design. It is the only building in the world to achieve the highest certification in both the BREEAM and LEED schemes, as well as many other accreditations. Siemens technologies throughout the building ensure the highest energy efficiency and CO2 standards are met.

December 2016

Designed by LHW Partnership LLP, and commissioned in 2014, the largest tracker ground mount system in the UK at 248 kWp is set to generate just short of 300 MWh in 2016. the same system generated 300MWh in 2015 which had a far better generating period in the June 2015 period.

Comparative models of a fixed non tracked system estimate the yield to be 241 MWh per annum, so for the second year running the system has generated 25% more energy than a fixed system, making it almost certainly the most efficient and effective larger scale ground mount PV generation system in the UK in terms of kWh generated per kWp.

December 2016

LHW Partnership LLP along with the CLA are featured in an article on "behind the meter" energy storage benefits in last weeks Farmers Guardian.  LHW Partnership LLP advocate a proper demand side energy audit, before investment as returns on investment are very much dependant on energy export offsets, and there are some very ambitious and unrealistic claims being communicated to prospective customers. An energy audit will determine the benefits and return on investment. See Farmers Guardian article here 

November 2016

Alongside other industry leaders, LHW Partnership LLP have been invited to present in the Energy Storage seminar on a topic called "Behind the meter - using storage to minimise export and maximise on site demand”, at the Energy Now Expo in Telford in 2017.

The presentation will allow the audience to hear about the importance of knowing your energy demand profile, and generation profile, and how careful data collection, modelling and system size optimisation can ensure a good project is developed and delivered.

Other speakers include the Energy Storage Network and the CLA, and the audience will be Rural and Agricultural stakeholders. More information is available here

November 2016

The 2 partners at LHW Partnership LLP have had a technical paper approved  for publication by the Institution of Engineering & Technology in the Engineering & Technology Reference section. The paper written by Laura Jones & James Hoare is titled 'Maximising and optimising solar PV generation with limited grid capacity by adopting new technology'.

The paper covers the background contexts and issues,  the technology application benefits, and provides 4 pragmatic examples of successful installation where the technology application can be demonstrated.

The paper will be released in November 2016 by IET for members.

October 2016

The LHW Partnership's Autumn Newsletter is now available for download. Click the link below.

October 2016

We are pleased to announce that LHW Partnership LLP is now offering half hourly modelling for solar PV and energy storage systems. The YIELDWORKS modelling software, which has been in development for 2 years, can incorporate any system size and technology combinations, providing a granular appraisal of the viability of battery storage systems.

More information here

September 2016

LHW Partnership LLP will be attending and exhibiting at the Community Energy Wales - New Horizons event on Thursday 15th September at Bethesda, North Wales. You will be able to speak to one of the Partners about renewable energy technical advice including PV, solar thermal, heat pumps and biomass.

Additionally, you can discuss how LHW Partnership LLP's modelling of electricity generating project accommodating constrained grid export capacity and energy storage, using their Yieldworks methodology, can benefit and optimise your projects.

Speaking at the event will be members of Cyd Ynni (a consortia of local community energy organisations) who have teamed up with Energy Local and a range of other partners to deliver a trial to offer local people the chance to buy their energy directly from a locally owned hydro scheme.

Speakers include Mary Gillie from Energy Local, Keith Jones from the National Trust and Alun Hughes from Ynni Padarn Peris.

More information here

September 2016 Update 

This month LHW Partnership LLP is launching a renewable and energy storage management modelling service offering.

End Users (home owners up to and including Half Hourly metered and utility scale), installers, funders and communities will be able to appraise the effectiveness of implementing an energy storage system to supplement Solar PV, wind and also other less intermittent generating systems.

The modelling software can accommodate single and multi-facing PV systems, with either satellite or ground based meteorological data, historic Half hourly consumption data, simulated or recorded domestic consumption data at 5 minute intervals, network operator export constraint allowances, varying battery technologies, immersion heater diversion. It can also accommodate future energy demand reductions from LED implementation and other future energy efficiency technology innovations.

August 2016 

LHW Partnership LLP have published a guide to maximising PV Size, when there is a network constraint.  The system based around HH modelling of PV & energy demand provides designers and developers with the opportunity to maximise / optimise the PV system sizing without being too conservative of having unacceptable yield constraints.

August 2016

As part of the CLA Rural Business 2030 conference being held in London in December, the CLA are holding an Energy Seminar on September 6th at Hotel Du Vin in Birmingham.

The aim of the day is to bring a group of experts and CLA members together to put together some rural energy policy ideas looking towards 2030 as part of our Rural Business 2030 conference. LHW Partnership LLP are delighted to have been asked to present on the subject areas of

August 2016

Both Partners at LHW Partnership LLP are now Level 2 certified thermographers qualified to undertake thermographic surveys. Infrared thermography technology can be used to inspect ground mounted and roof mounted solar PV systems and thermographic surveys are now a feature of BREEAM, the world’s leading environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings.

BREEAM New Construction and BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment programs both recognise the benefit of thermographic surveys by awarding credits for Level 2 certified thermographers undertaking suitable thermal surveys.

July 2016

LHW Partnership have recently completed the Site Acceptance test on a 500 kWp project on behalf of Prater for the new BSkyB Headquarters building near Isleworth in West London.

LHW Partnership were also engaged as Technical Advisors for the first phase of the project, providing system modelling services, technical advice on the use of PV module optimisers for fire alleviation to the lead project consultant (Arup), providingtechnical submissions and undertaking a technical review of contractor proposals. Following the completion of the installation work LHW Partnership conducted a site inspection to ensure all aspects of the system were in accordance with the new IET PV Code of Practice.

April 2016

LHW Partnership, working in partnership with CLS Energy have undertaken an ESOS audit and appraisal report for the Landmark Trust. The portfolio of 195 buildings and associated transport infrastructure are some of the most unusual in the UK encompassing accommodation in Castles, Chapels, Light Houses, Gothic Temples, Railway Stations, Historic Towers and a wealth of interesting historic buildings. 

The Landmark Trust offer short breaks in restored historic buildings, and are charity that gives new life to interesting and historic buildings for the benefit of the public at large.

April 2016

LHW Partnership were engaged as Technical Advisors on a 2.3MWp ground based PV farm located south east of Leicester. The system was commissioned to meet the ROC deadline of 31/3/16 and comprises JA Solar 315 Wp modules with on board optimisers in a landscape orientation with 73 SolarEdge 27.6 kVA inverters. The system was designed to be one of the most efficient solar farms in the world by adopting technology not previously adopted for large scale ground mount systems, and will provide the client with real time performance information on each of the 8000 modules.  

LHW Partnership undertook the following professional services:

- Layout optimsation, planning application drawings

- System architecture appraisal

- Detailed yield modelling

- System design 

- Equipment selection

- Installation contractor selection

- Communications architecture strategy

- G59 Site acceptance arrangements

- System inspection and acceptance

March 2016

LHW Partnership LLP are providing Technical Advisory, Project Management and Compliance services for a ground source heat pump system for a large domestic property near Henley on Thames.

As part of our role, LHW have undertaken a feasibility study, prepared a technical specification, conducted a tender evaluation and recommended the most appropriate installer for a 60kW heat pump with boreholes. The GSHP will meet all the heating and hot water demands of the property and will be eligible for payments under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. Work will be completed by the summer.