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What is Solar PV?
Solar
PV is a silent source of renewable energy without any of the toxic
side effects of conventional electricity production. It produces electricity
from the Sun at the point of demand e.g. at your property. It will
work in low light conditions, even in UK wintertime, but the amount
of power produced will vary with the amount of daylight.
With a Solar PV array your property will use the emission free electricity at the time of production, providing you have electrical appliances requiring electricity at that time, and the excess unused electricity will automatically be exported to the National Grid. The average household will produce much more power than needed in the long summer months - this energy cannot be stored with a grid connected PV system but can be sold back to your electricity company at the time of production. Typically, when you then consume electricity, the outgoing/incoming power is measured and you only pay for any additional power used and supplied by your electricity provider.
Some of the electricity suppliers will fit an export meter to measure your solar energy production. For those that don't supply additional meters an estimated amount is agreed. If your electricity supplier doesn't do either, you can easily switch provider!
How it Works
A Solar PV module is a device which produces electricity when exposed to light. If you decide to have a system installed, a number of these modules will be fitted to your property normally on the roof (see photos on this page). During the hours of daylight, this PV array will produce energy that is fed to the lights and plug sockets, etc where it is used in the usual way. If you don't use all the electricity you produce, the surplus is fed back into the national grid and it will pop back up at a neighbouring property for them to use (they will pay for it in the normal way). If you need more electricity than the array is producing, then you will simply pull the power from your mains electricity provider. All of this happens automatically, so you wont notice anything different other than smaller electricity bills.
Why Buy Solar PV?
There are a number of reasons to buy this state of the art technology:
-
Helps reduce global warming (climate change)
-
No emissions produced in electricity production
-
Clean, sustainable and efficient energy solution
-
Reduces your own environmental impact
-
Reduces your electricity demand from non-renewable fossil fuel
-
Inflation proof form of electricity
-
Daylight is all that is needed to create your own electricity
-
Alleviates fuel poverty for housing association tenants
-
Virtually silent operation and visually unobtrusive
-
Low maintenance with a long life
-
Well proven technology
Additionally, as Solar PV is a beneficial investment for the reduction of greenhouse gases, the government are running a grant scheme to subsidise the installation cost. The percentage of grant you will receive varies depending on the type of solar PV technology installed.
What about the weather in the UK?
This
is not too much of a problem! It is light rather than heat that creates
electricity although more electricity is produced in the summer months
as the days are longer. Solar panels are actually happy in cold climates
and for example on a sunny (but cold) day in January they can produce
the same amount of electricity per sunlight hour as in July.
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How Much does it Cost?
Framed modules ('retrofit') installed on top of an existing
roof are the most common. Prices for a fully installed modular PV
system start at around £7,000 for 'crystalline' technology
(see solar electricity page for main types
of solar PV) and you will receive a grant off this amount. To give
you an idea, this is the sort of size that will fit on a modest
3 bed-semi and provide an inflation-proof annualised 25% of the
average household electricity consumption.
Semi-integrated modules may be fitted within the roof covering with the conventional roof tiles around. This type of system has a cost similar to the retrofit option above although there are additional works needed by your roofer. These additional works appear to be in the region of £1,000-£2,000 depending on the roofer.
Integrated solar PV tiles are another option where the solar PV tiles form the actual roof covering. Costs vary but generally prices are about twice the amount of the modules after the grant has been applied, for roughly the same output.
Integrated and semi-integrated PV options tend to be installed on new rather than existing roofs as the costs for removing a perfectly adequate existing roof covering can be prohibitive.
Government figures state that the average electricity consumption
for a domestic 3 bed semi is 3,300kWh per year. However, this appears
to vary greatly so you would need to check your own usage for an
annual period to give you a better idea of how much you could expect
to cover.
What Grants are Available?
Because
of the enormous environmental benefits of PV, the Energy Savings Trust
runs a Government funded scheme to subsidise the installation costs.
You can only get this if you use a recognised installer such as ourselves
and we will work with you to ensure the process is simple and easy.
For DOMESTIC properties, The grants on offer for the UK are £2,000 per kWp installed (total system size) to a maximum of £2,500 per household, irrespective of whether you installed one or more renewable energy technologies. Therefore if you wanted to install solar PV for electricity and also solar thermal for hot water generation you would still receive a maximum grant of £2,500.
The grant scheme requires that some energy saving measures be met on your property before you can apply for a grant. The criteria are:
a. insulation
for whole of the loft of the property to meet current building regulations
e.g. 270mm of mineral wool loft insulation or suitable alternative
b. Installed cavity wall insulation (if you have
cavity walls)
c. Fitted low energy light bulbs in all appropriate
light fittings
d. Installed basic controls for your heating system
to include a room thermostat and a programmer or timer for the property
as a whole.
In addition, you need to have obtained planning consent from your local council prior to applying for a grant. We recommend you contact your local council Planning Department after we have surveyed your property and have confirmed what size of system we could install.
For PUBLIC SECTOR buildings (including schools, hospitals, housing associations and local authorities) and CHARITABLE BODIES the grant value is up to 50% of the installed cost. The scheme for these type of projects are run differently to the domestic grant scheme. Please contact us for more information or you can get details on the respective government grant scheme from the website - http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk.
Is it safe?
Yes. Solar PV systems do not emit any toxic chemicals and there are no moving parts. All fixing methods we employ have been approved by independent chartered structural engineers for use on new-build or existing roofs.
How long has Solar PV technology been around?
In
1838 the photoelectric effect was discovered by physicist Edmund Becquerel
although it wasn't until the 1950's that the technology was developed
enough to produce efficient working cells. During the 50's and 60's
Solar PV was put on satellites and sent into orbit but it was still
too expensive for general use. The next few decades brought better
technology with lower prices and Solar PV was installed in world-wide
remote villages to provide electricity for where there was no supply.
Grid-connected Solar PV has had a massive growth since 1990's in the
more developed countries of the world.
How long will a Solar System
Last? 
There is no reason that a PV system shouldn't last the lifetime of the building as there are no moving or wearing parts in the panels. To support this, the panel manufacturers generally have a guarantee of twenty years try getting that on a new car or DVD player! In addition, the inverter (converts the electricity from DC to useable AC) that is part of the system has a guarantee of 5 years and we provide a 2 year installation guarantee.
All the materials used have been selected in accordance with British Standards so that they will not rust or deteriorate with age (unlike the author!).
What is the efficiency of the Solar panels?
There are different types of solar panel technology and the size of available roof space, angle to the sun, pitch of the roof and budget will have an effect of how much solar electricity you can produce. For an overview of the different solar panel technology please see the table on our Basics page (section titled Main Types of Solar PV).
Once we have received your information on your specific project from the completed Assessment Form and photos of your roof area, we will be able to give you a no obligation estimate of the most applicable options with the expected output for your property.
Are there any planning issues?
One
of the conditions of the grant scheme is that you have received written
planning consent from your local council - please note, this is different
from planning permission. For the majority of homeowners the addition
of solar PV panels fall within 'permitted development rights'.
If your property is in a conservation area, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or is a listed building you may need to apply for full planning permission. We recommend checking with your local council to see what their stance is on solar PV panels.
What to do if I am interested 
To ensure your building will be suitable for Solar PV we ask you to complete an Assessment Form. From the information you provide on the form we can initially ascertain if Solar PV will be appropriate and what options are available to you given the roof space, orientation, roof pitch and your budget. You can complete the online assessment form, print a copy of the Assessment Form from the link below or contact us and we will send one in the post.
Online Assessment Form or download an Assessment Form (Word Doc.)
• Complete the Assessment Form and return it to us ideally with some photos of your property's roof (south facing aspect is optimum for solar).
• This will allow us to provide a technical evaluation and a cost estimate.
• If this estimate is favourable, we can then arrange for a survey at your premises.
• As a result of the survey we will produce a quotation that can be submitted to the Energy Saving Trust to obtain a grant.
• If you wish to proceed, simply place an order.
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