Power Predictor estimates savings from microgeneration

A new gadget launched last month calculates how much money a household or business could save on their energy bill by opting for solar panels or a wind turbine.

Inventor Tony Hammond said the Power Predictor “takes the guesswork out of microgeneration”.

The Power Predictor is left outside for a month, where it gathers data on wind and solar conditions.

Users then connect the device to their PC, which uses specially designed software to work out whether a wind turbine or solar panel would generate the most energy.

It also lets users know how quickly they would recoup installation costs, the carbon savings they’d make, and the most appropriate brand of generator for the local climate.

Tony Hammond said: “For most people, micro power generation is a step into the unknown.

“No one should spend thousands of pounds on renewable energy equipment without knowing the payback time based on the amount of energy they could generate at their premises.”

Hammond believes the Power Predictor removes a major obstacle that prevents people from installing solar panels or wind turbines by letting them know which they’d be best to choose, and how much money they could save.

Power Predictor will “act as an enabling technology to help encourage the take up of renewable energy on a mass scale both in the UK and abroad,” Hammond concluded.