New device aims to take guesswork out of micro generation

The Power Predictor is the invention of green energy specialist Better Generation on the back of two years’ research and development.

As well as forecasting how long it will take homeowners and businesses to recover the costs of installing solar and wind energy micro power generation equipment, it also recommends the most cost-effective form of renewable energy for a particular site, as well as the most appropriate equipment manufacturers.

Unlike some other products designed to calculate the pay-back time on wind turbines and solar panels, Better Generation says Power Predictor does not rely exclusively on computer modeling, but is in part a physical device that is mounted where the renewable energy equipment is intended to be installed.

The crow-sized device is left for a minimum of 30 days to collect data from the site, which is then fed into the customer’s computer to produce a bespoke report on the amount of solar power and wind energy that could be generated from the site. Products can then be compared and pay-back times measured before a purchase is made.

“For most people, micro power generation is a step into the unknown,” said Toby Hammond, inventor of the Power Predictor and managing director of Better Generation. “No one should spend thousands of pounds on renewable energy equipment without knowing the pay-back time based on the amount of energy they could generate at their premises.”

Aston Farm in Exmoor National Park has tested the Power Predictor, collecting a month’s data from its chosen site (on top of a 10 metre mast in the middle of a field). The resulting power report concluded that the Gala Wind Turbine would best meet the farm’s needs, generating more than enough energy to cover its total energy demand. Better Generation says the installation of the wind turbine will not only reduce the farm’s carbon emissions, but cut its energy bills by £7,000.

In another test, the Power Predictor was used to show that mounting a wind turbine on a roof in an urban area with low wind speeds made little financial sense – in this case the power report suggested installing a Solar PV panel instead, generating predicted savings of £300 a year.

Better Generation believes that in the past, too many people have bought expensive equipment only to find it has not been as efficient as expected or that an alternative product should have been used. It hopes that the Power Predictor will get round this problem and act as an enabling technology to help encourage the take up of renewable energy on a mass scale, both in the UK and abroad.

The Power Predictor is available to homeowners priced £99.95. Trade prices are available to businesses on application.