Renewables or commercial.

[mfgs]

I am always looking to learn more and expand my opportunities for getting more work in. I am thinking I would like to either go down the renewables route, or the commercial gas route. Any suggestions from guys that have done either as to how it has impacted on their business, do you enjoy it?

I used to do commercial plumbing but never had anything to do with the gas side of things. I have no experience in renewables at all, and unfortunately I dont know anyone who does as I would like to actually be involved in a couple of installs to see whats involved before spending lots of money on courses etc. Are there any good cheap courses which would give me an insight into what is involved?

 

[grahamgas]

If it were me then commercial it would be. With green deal coming in, it is another cost on top of training and mcs etc

 

[markfxy]

I'd go for commercial, the cost of renewables is putting customers off and I think the green deals going to go ti'ts up, Don't think gas wiil run out in our lifetime but you'll be lucky to make a living purely from renewables

 

[Barry98]

Commercial big on the agenda a lately was it in a magazine or something

 

[migoplumber]

commercial is great. no homeowners staring over your shoulder - no house bashing !
its different in a big way, you actually get to climb inside your boilers.
renewable will be ok in 5 years when prices come down to realistic levels.

 

[CES]

Only thing about Commercial stuff up beside me is that the big boys have got all the contracts sewn up. Not many commercial places dealing with small companies like myself local to me.

 

[peteheat]

Renewables can be fun depending on what your idea of fun is;

Wood pellet stoves and boilers that need input from customers who are total idiots (some of them) fuel suppliers who send out bags of wood pellet that are 90% saw dust I called that one a game of find the pellet.

Wood gasifiers where customers have the idea that they can heat a 3,500 sq ft house on two tonnes of logs, the real idiot doesn't even let them dry properly.

Solar where customers believe they never need to fire a boiler again, not from what you told them but some suited salesman on commission who spent hours trying to close a sale.

Solar that works at night where the manufacturers forget to mention the immersion heater discreetly fitted in the heat exchanger in their marketing blurb or the noise of a fridge working in the hot press beside your bedroom.

Heat pumps that are the miracle cure to everyone's heating bills well of course you save on oil or gas, just wait till the leccy bill comes in.

Not withstanding all of the above there are good systems available that do exactly what they are supposed to, the challenge is to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Don't believe anything the sales rep tells you, test the products yourself, make sure you have a direct technical contact in the factory who speaks English, visit the factory and learn everything you can about each part of the product.

Never get involved with new products just launched this year, give the manufacturer at least two years to test the product in their home market.

My advice from expensive experience is don't put your existing gas or oil business to one side, better to use the renewables to fill any slack time you may have, for example solar in the summer.

Have fun.