Is My Home Suitable for Solar Panels?

Is my home suitable for solar panels? That’s the first question most homeowners ask about solar panels. Most people have formed an image of the years of what solar energy is and what it requires – sunny days and lots of them. In fact, solar technology has advanced to the point where today’s solar panels will generate significant amounts of electricity even on cloudy days.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates that about 80 percent of UK homes are suitable for solar panel installation. There are, however, some factors that make one home a better candidate for solar power than others.

The Three Key Requirements for Solar Panels

The three most important things to consider when deciding if your home is a good candidate for solar panels are direction, angle and shadow. If your home meets all three requirements, there’s a good chance you – and your electric bills – will benefit from installing solar panels on your roof.

Direction

Solar panels require sunlight to produce electricity, even if that sunlight is reaching the panels through a cloud cover. The more direct sunlight the panels receive, the more electricity they will generate.  Roofs with a southern exposure will receive more direct sunlight than roof surfaces that face in other directions. East and west facing roof surfaces will also receive sufficient sunlight to generate enough electricity to make solar panels worthwhile.

Angle

The pitch of your roof makes a difference in the amount of sunlight it receives during the day, which in turn affects the amount of energy that your solar panels can generate. The optimal angle for your roof’s pitch depends a great deal upon where your home is located. A local solar system installer can help you decide if your roof is at the right angle for solar panels. Keep in mind that there are ways of installing solar PV panels at varying angles by using frames.

Shade

Anything that blocks the sun’s rays from reaching the solar panels can affect the amount of electricity they’ll generate. If your roof is shadowed by overhanging trees, chimneys or surrounding properties or landforms, a solar installer may be able to find ways to work around it. Again, the best source of information is a person experienced in planning and installing solar panels.

Most solar panel installations need very little maintenance over the years, and carry a 20 to 25 year guarantee. The inverter, which transforms the electricity generated by the solar panels into usable household current, may require replacing during that time, but it’s a relatively inexpensive and simple replacement to do. If your home is among the 80 percent of UK homes that are suitable candidates for solar PV panels, you’ll save money and help the country meet its energy goals.

Types of Solar Panels

There are four different types of solar panels used for generating electricity – monocrystalline, polycrystalline, hybrid and amorphous silicon. While they’re all made of silicon, the different types of solar PV panels are cut and treated differently. Because of the differences, they vary in cost as well as in efficiency. When you’re comparing the cost of installing solar panels on your property, it’s important to know which type of solar PV panels you’re pricing so that you’re comparing apples and oranges.

Monocrystalline Solar Panels

Monocrystalline solar cells are the most familiar and the oldest type of solar cells in use. They’re more expensive to produce, and thus, monocrystalline solar panels are more expensive to install. They are, however, more efficient and are generally considered to be the workhorse of the solar power world. Monocrystalline solar PV panels are also somewhat smaller than other types of solar panels and can fit on a smaller roof.

Multicrystalline Solar Panels

Multicrystalline – also called polycrystalline – solar PV panels are cut from silicon crystals that grow in multiple directions. They’re less expensive to create and are also slightly less efficient. Because they’re less efficient than monocrystalline solar panels, they tend to be larger and heavier. A new type of silicon could be a big game changer in the field of multicrystalline solar panels, though. These silicon nitride panels are rated as high as or higher than monocrystalline solar cells of the same size.

Amorphous Solar Panels

Amorphous technology, also known as thin film solar panels, is a wild card in the mix. Thin film solar panels are generally less expensive to make than either mono or multi crystalline panels, but their efficiency rating is also considerably lower than either. That means that the solar panels array has to be larger in order to deliver the same amount of electricity – and consequently, they require a larger roof surface for installation.

Hybrid Solar Panels

Solar panels that combine both crystalline cells and thin film cells – generally called hybrid solar PV panels – are the most efficient of all types of solar panels, but are also the most expensive.

Which Type of Solar PV Panels Are Right for You?

There are a few factors to consider when deciding which type of solar panels are right for you. The two most important of these factors are your budget and the amount of space you have to devote to your solar installation. Generally, if you have little space, it’s worth the extra cash to invest in monocrystalline solar panels, which are more expensive, but take up less space and are more efficient. If, on the other hand, you have the room for a larger system, you can save money with an array of multicrystalline solar PV panels.

Five Reasons You Should Consider Solar Panels for Your Home

Solar panels produce clean energy that you can use to power your home and heat your water, but is it a good investment of your money? Let’s be real for a moment. One of the biggest drawbacks most people face in switching to solar energy is the cost. Installing solar panels on your property represents a significant cash investment. Are solar panels worth the cost? These quick facts can help you decide for yourself.

It Takes Between 2 and 8 Years to Recover the Cost of Installing a Solar PV System

When you install solar panels, your electricity costs will decrease significantly. The exact amount of your savings depends upon your typical energy use, the size of the solar pv system you install and how well it produces energy. Remember that every unit of electricity your solar panels generate is a unit you don’t have to pay your electric supplier for. You could conceivably cut your energy bill in half during the summer months, and see significant savings the rest of the year.

Rebates, Grants, Tariffs and Other Incentives can Reduce Your Costs Considerably

In many countries, the government offers financial incentives to sweeten the pot and get people to adopt solar panels or other renewable energy sources. In the UK, those who install solar pv systems are eligible to receive a payment for every unit of electricity produced by their solar panels. The payments are guaranteed for 25 years, which means that you’ll continue to get cash back on your solar energy investment long after the system has paid for itself.

Most Solar Panels are Guaranteed for 20 Years

Most solar panel manufacturers offer a 20 year guarantee on their solar panels. The details of the guarantees vary, but the length of the guarantee is a good gauge of the expected lifespan of your system. When you divide the cost of your system over the course of 20 years, you’ll see that the investment is quite reasonable.

You’ll Never Run out of Electricity

One of the biggest concerns many people have about solar panels is that they won’t produce enough electricity for their needs. Most solar pv systems today are grid-tied systems – that is, they are connected to your home’s current electricity system. The system is designed to draw first from the solar panels and then from the grid, so you never have to worry that you won’t have electricity.

You Save Money for Every Kilowatt Hour of Electricity You Use

Right now, you pay your electric supplier for every unit of electricity your home uses. When you install solar panels, you’ll be replacing those units of electricity with free power. Every unit of electricity provided by your solar panels reduces your electric bill by one unit of electricity. That can add up considerably over the course of the year.

If you want to know more about solar panels and whether they’d be a good investment for your home, contact a local solar pv installer and make an appointment for a consultation.

Do Solar Panels Produce Enough Electricity for Your Home?

One of the first questions people ask when they’re considering installing solar panels for home use  is whether a solar pv system will produce enough energy for their electrical needs. The question comes up especially often here in the UK, with its reputation for cloudy winters and short days. There’s no single answer to the question, of course. It depends on the size of the solar panels you install, the configuration you choose and the location and angle of your home.

In general, though, the typical home solar panels installation will probably not supply all the electricity you use in your home. For most people, the most logical solar system is a grid-tied solar pv system, which generates electricity for immediate use. The typical grid-tied system doesn’t include a storage battery, so your solar panels will only be supplying electricity for your use during the day. At night and during periods of extended cloudiness, you’ll still be able to pull power from your power supplier.

This arrangement gives you the best of both words – during the day, you’ll get free electricity from your solar panels, which cuts your energy bill considerably. If you opt in to the UK’s feed in tariff scheme, you’ll even be paid for every unit of electricity your solar pv system produces. That amounts to double savings – you don’t pay for your electricity. Instead, you get paid for producing it.

At the same time, you avoid the inconvenience of uneven electrical production. Because solar panels depend upon the sun to generate electricity, they naturally produce more electricity at different times of the day and different times of the year. If you choose a grid-tied solar pv system, you’ll never notice the inconsistency of electricity production. Your system will be set up to draw power first from your solar panels, and then, if you require additional energy, from your chosen power supplier.

During the day, your solar panels are likely to produce more energy than you actually use. In an off-grid system, that additional electricity would be stored in a battery for you to draw on when there’s no sunlight. With a grid-tied system, that additional energy will be fed from your solar panels into the electrical grid.

Because the UK is aiming to increase its domestic use of renewable energy, the government has committed to paying property owners for every unit of electricity they produce through solar panels and other green energy systems. For more information about solar panels and how you can benefit from the feed in tariff scheme, contact a local solar installation company and ask for s consultation.

Why Free Solar Panels Are a Bad Idea

You’ve seen the adverts promising free solar panels and installation – it’s hard to miss them, after all. They may sound like a good deal, but there are a number of reasons that accepting a free solar PV system deal may not be to your advantage. Here’s what they’re not explaining to you.

How Solar Companies Benefit from Giving You Free Solar Panels

The UK is pressing to increase the use of renewable energy sources as quickly as possible. To that end, the Department of Energy and Climate Change offers a subsidy to energy producers for each kilowatt hour of electricity produced by renewable energy sources like solar panels. It’s called a feed in tariff, and it’s paid directly to the owner of the solar PV system.

The feed-in tariff rate is set by DECC, and is guaranteed to stay the same or to increase for 25 years from the time that a solar PV system is certified and accepted into the system. At current rates, the solar panels on your roof are likely to pay for themselves in just six to seven years. Most companies that offer free solar panels and solar PV installation hold a contract for 25 years – because that’s the number of years they can reap the benefit of the feed-in tariff. Even if it takes a full ten years to recover the cost of your solar panels through the tariff, the solar company will receive 15 or more years of profit that could be going into your pockets instead. Why would you give up 15 to 18 years of steady, tax-free income for generating your own electricity and reducing your electric costs each month?

In addition, when a solar company installs a free solar PV system on your roof, it ties up your roof for the next 25 years. While that’s also true if you pay to have the solar panels installed yourself, you’ll have control over them in a way that you won’t if they’re owned by an electricity supplier or a solar company. If there’s damage to your roof and you have to remove the solar panels, who will pay? Will you be liable for other costs if you have to remove the solar panels? And what happens if the solar company fails to honor its commitment to repair and maintain the solar panels on your roof?

When you choose to buy a solar PV system and have it installed, you’ll have full control over the system and over your roof. You’ll also benefit from the feed-in tariff scheme, which could put money in your pocket for the next 25 years.

Installing Solar Panels? The Time to Act Is Now!

If you’ve been considering installing solar panels on your roof, it’s time to stop dilly-dallying and act. One of the prime homeowner incentives for installing solar pv panels has been the feed-in tariff offered and guaranteed by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. At current rates, the feed-in tariff scheme, set at rates guaranteed for 25 years, could generate enough savings/earnings to pay off the cost of your new solar panels and solar system in about 10 years, and generate an additional £15,000 over the next 15 years.

The FITS pays homeowners who install solar panels a fixed amount for every kilowatt hour of electrical power generated by their solar pv system, and an additional small amount for every kw/h or energy sent back to the grid. Currently, the rate stands at 43.3p per kilowatt hour of energy produced and an additional 3p per kw/h for excess energy fed back to the grid. Those rates are set at the time the solar system is certified, and are guaranteed at that rate for 25 years. The rate is also tied to an index so that it will increase with inflation over the years.

As of October 28, 2011, though, DECC has proposed a reduction in the rates paid by FITS, from 43p to 21p per kw/h – a reduction of more than half. At that rate, the payback period for your solar pv system will be closer to 18 years, and the additional return after payback reduced to about £3,800 – still attractive, to be sure, but nowhere near as attractive as the scheme currently stands.

The reduction is scheduled to take effect on systems certified after December 12. Solar pv systems installed and certified before that date will be eligible for the 43.3p scheme. The demand for solar panels and solar energy systems is high, but if you call around to local companies who do solar pv installations, there’s still time to get your system installed and certified before the December 12 cutoff.

If you miss that cutoff, though, there is still ample reason for booking a consultation and solar panels installation as soon as possible. DECC is also proposing new energy efficiency regulations which will go into effect in April 2012. In order to qualify for the FITS after that date, homes will have to meet energy efficiency standards that could add considerably to the cost of your solar pv installation.

Benefits of Installing Solar Panels On Your Property

The use of solar energy is coming of age in  the UK, with a little help from the government and the utility companies. As the world’s supply of oil and coal becomes more expensive and more restricted, energy provided by solar pv becomes a more and more attractive option. Installing solar panels on your roof has benefits that are both personal and universal. If you’ve thought about installing a solar pv system, but have yet to take any action, these facts about the benefits of installing a solar energy system may help you make your decision.

Benefits of Installing a Solar PV System

There are several types of solar energy systems for residential and commercial use, but they fit into two basic broad categories – grid-connected and off-grid. Grid-connected systems are an addition to your current electrical system. Off-grid systems are completely independent of the current electrical grid. There are benefits and drawbacks to each type of installation, but the most common type of solar energy system installed today is grid-connected.

When you install solar panels on your roof as part of a grid-connected system, the electricity produced will be available for your use as it’s generated. If you need more power to operate all of your electrical devices, your system will draw it from the traditional energy grid only when there isn’t enough solar power available. If your system generates more electricity than you need at the time, the excess power is fed into the electrical grid to be available for others to use. If that happens, you’ll receive credit for every kilowatt hour of energy fed back into the system. That amount will be deducted from your electric bill each month. If you ever generate more electricity than you use for the entire month, the utility company may actually pay you rather than charging you for its services.

You can also take pride in the fact that your choice to install solar panels and use clean, green energy from the sun helps the planet. According to energy experts, every kilowatt hour of electricity produced by solar power prevents one pound of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. While that may seem like a small amount, when you add up all the hours of electricity you use and multiply it by solar panels on rooftops throughout the UK, you end up with a considerable amount of good for the atmosphere.

A local solar installation company can give you more information about the benefits of installing solar panels, and help you decide if a solar pv system is right for you.

Solar Panels and Distributed EnergyEnergy

One aspect of solar panels that’s seldom discussed is the issue of centralized vs. distributed energy. Currently, most of the world, the UK included, obtains most of its power from a centralized power grid. While this allows for easier maintenance and higher profits on the part of the utility companies, it also presents a serious security concern. In a nutshell, the more centralized the energy grid, the easier it is for one mishap or disaster to create chaos. If a natural disaster or act of terror disables a part of the energy grid, every home that relies upon that section of the grid for power will be left powerless.

In many parts of the world, countries are attempting to reduce their reliance on electricity produced in carbon-producing power plants. In equatorial countries, that often means huge centralized solar power fields, bristling with solar panels that feed energy to storage towers and from there into the electrical grid. While these centralized solar encampments reduce the use of carbon-based fuels and produce cleaner energy, they remain a security risk. The larger the production facility, the greater the risk it presents.

For decades, the popular view has been that the UK is a poor candidate for expansion of solar energy, in part because of its lack of a desert and large areas where direct sunlight falls on the surface for much of the year. It is, however, ideal for distributed solar energy installations, that is – rooftop solar panels installed on individual homes and other buildings. The advantages of this type of solar pv installation are many, both for the individual and in terms of energy security for the country.

The biggest advantage to the individual homeowner who chooses to have solar pv panels installed on his rooftop is reduced reliance on the centralized energy grid. While many home and business owners focus on the cost savings realized by replacing bought electricity with electricity produced from the sun, the benefits also include increased energy security. In simple words, if the power goes out, homes that have rooftop solar panels will still have some electricity to power vital appliances, such as the icebox and the furnace.

Because the UK is attempting to decrease its reliance on carbon-based fuels and shift to cleaner sources of energy, owners of residential and commercial buildings can take advantage of a number of schemes related to installing solar panels. They include subsidies, reduced taxes and a feed-in tariff that will pay them for any excess energy produced by their solar pv panels and fed back into the grid. Property owners who are interested in taking advantage of the incentives for installing solar panels should contact a local installer to evaluate their property for the installation of solar panels.