Delve into renewable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and pico-hydro, and find out what system is best for you on this two-day short course.

Explore:

• Where should you put the system?
• How much energy will you get?
• How much money will you save?
• What will your emission reduction look like?
• What energy storage can you use?
• How much energy do you need?
• How to size a reliable system?

This short course aims to answer these questions and more through a series of lectures and hands-on sessions.

Key information

• Duration: two days
• Upcoming date: Saturday 20 to Sunday 21 June 2026
• Start and finish times: starts at 9:30am and ends at 3:30pm on the last day
• Fee: £250
• Includes: tuition, buffet lunch.
• Terms and Conditions:

  • you must be 18 years or over to attend our courses.
  • For full list of terms and conditions click here

What you will learn

This course will give you the ability to decide if off-grid energy is feasible for your location, how a hybrid system should be configured, develop a cost-benefit analysis and quantify the emissions reductions.

It will give an overview of the different commercially available energy systems, and how to assess their suitability and efficiency for your location. You’ll learn how to undertake a wind/solar/hydro resource analysis, calculating the likely annual output for a given site, how to calculate your energy needs, and how to choose an appropriate energy storage system.

Your expert tutor, Alan, will guide you through how to select the best location and orientation, the size of the system you will need, and look at the methods of connecting different technologies.

You’ll also have the chance to see and discuss the small-scale technologies on site at CAT.

A basic knowledge of MS Excel (or equivalent) is desirable for this course.

Renewables for Households courses

This course is part of a series exploring renewable energy technologies for households. Each course can be taken as a standalone or as a series, where they will equip you with the skills and knowledge to implement different renewable technologies in your home.

• Renewables for Households: Solar PV – Saturday 18 April 2026
• Renewables for Households: Micro Hydro – Saturday 16 May 2026

Add accommodation to your booking

Would you like to stay at CAT during your short course? Simply add the short course to your cart and then choose from the options provided.

Accommodation options include:

• Full board and accommodation while your course is on – £97 single

Any questions please email courses@cat.org.uk

Meet your tutor

Alan is a Chartered Energy Engineer and lecturer on our postgraduate courses here at CAT. His research ranges from numerical modelling of sustainable energy systems and resources in Europe, to developing international sustainable energy policy and strategy in post-conflict/post-disaster areas of South East Asia.