Solar & Renewable Energy

Solar and renewable energy.
The installation of renewable electricity or heating systems  can potentially reduce consumers’  energy consumption, energy bills and carbon emissions. The following points should be considered:

• Advertising claims have to be carefully considered to ensure that the benefits are not exaggerated, and Radiocentre will require good quality supporting evidence. Information about the benefits and potential savings can be obtained from the Energy Savings Trust website.
• Advertisers promoting  Government incentive schemes such as the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) or the financial benefits of these schemes must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).  Radiocentre will need confirmation of this.
• Renewable energy systems are not suitable for all homes (e.g. because of the location of the home or the amount of shade) or homes may not qualify for Government incentive schemes . Ads will need to be qualified accordingly; for example, by referring to ‘eligible’ or ‘suitable’ homes, or by making clear the need to ‘qualify’ for an incentive.
• Advertisers must demonstrate that claims about energy savings or income from incentive schemes are typical, and most cases claims will need to be qualified (e.g. “save up to £x a year on your heating bill”). The income generated and energy savings from renewable systems will depend on a variety of factors including the size of the installation, and the size and location of the home. Homes are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) in order to qualify for the FIT and RHI schemes, and only homes in Band D or above will qualify for the higher rate FIT payment.
• Potential savings from the installation of renewable energy systems can derive from two sources: 1. Reductions in the amount of energy used and 2. Income from incentive schemes such as the FIT. However, it should be noted that the savings and income may not exceed the cost of installation over the 20 year period of a Feed-In Tariff arrangement. Any claim, direct or implied, that a profit can be made from incentive schemes may have to be qualified to make clear that installation costs are excluded.
• Ads must not describe renewable energy systems as an ‘investment’ because they are not regulated under the Financial Services and Markets Act. See BCAP 14.5.4.