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Unlike in houses built in the 1970s where a good majority of the houses will not need to be rewired, for houses built in the 1960s you’d probably need to rewire the entire house unless the wiring is the modern PVCu coated type. Generally, the homes built especially in the 1960s and 1970s brought about enormous changes. This is because over the years our way of living began to change and as a result, our need for electricity became even greater. In response to this, the electrical systems we incorporate needed to change in order to match the new set standards.

In the 1960s, the amperage normally used was increased to 100, which enables home and property owners to power their dishwasher, microwave as well as refrigerator all on one circuit. However, while this may be a remarkable improvement for our grand parents, this is just enough to cater for our modern day appliances. In recent times, new homes are constructed using a wide range of dedicated circuits due to the fact that each of our appliances makes use of much more electricity to function. Consequently because the 100 amp panels of the 1960s possessed restricted space for breakers, home and property owners who still had the units in their homes will inevitably require a sub panel or a new panel entirely - meaning a total rewiring of their property.

Furthermore in the 1960s, builders turned to aluminium from the previously used copper as it was a great conductor and also happens to be relatively cheap. However, after a couple of years a host of electrical fires cropped up in houses that are wired using aluminium. It was later discovered that when the switch to aluminium was made, the light switches or receptacles which were originally made for the previously used copper was overlooked. It was learned that there’s a corrosive chemical reaction that arises as a result of the two dissimilar metals when connected. Hence, the more reason why aluminium wired houses in the 1960s needs to be rewired.

If you’re thinking of adding a solar battery to your home, you might be wondering whether or not it’s going to work in a power cut. If yes, then you’re not alone as this is one of the most common questions asked when it comes to solar batteries. In this post, we aim to provide you with a detailed answer to solve this concern once and for all.

The answer to this question is, it depends. The main reason why your solar batteries will usually not work or provide your home with the much-needed back up power is as a result of the several threats it poses. You should be aware that both your solar panels and battery are connected to the main grid. When a power cut occurs, your engineers will have to operate on the grid. If the solar panels or batteries are in operation at the period there’s a high chance the engineers would be electrocuted by the electricity that’s being produced. As a result of this, solar inverters are usually designed to automatically switch off once a power cut occurs. However, it should also be noted that if your solar battery possesses backup functionality, you’ll be able to make use of your solar energy in the event of a power cut. In other words, what determines if your home battery would work in a power cut is the availability or otherwise of a backup functionality.

Furthermore, you might also wish to know if your solar panels will continue to charge the battery in a power cut. Well, this depends on the type of backup system you possess. There are some more affordable batteries that are designed to automatically release their stored energy upon the detection of a power cut. And this is mostly because the battery inverter is usually smaller than the solar inverter which allows the energy from the solar inverter to the transmitted to the battery - risking an overload. However, if otherwise, then energy can continue to be transmitted to the battery until its fully charged.

So, you’ve finally decided to go for solar? If yes, then you’d also probably find yourself trying to figure out exactly what solar battery size is needed to power your home or property. This is one of the most common questions when it comes to the solar system world and understandably so. In this article, we aim to give you an idea of the solar size you’d need to power your home or property before making a purchase decision. Let’s take a look!

The first thing to do if you find yourself asking this question is to identify the reason why you want to purchase the solar battery in the first place. For some individuals, they simply want to save some excess energy being fed back into the grid, while others just want protection from possible blackouts. There are also some environment-conscious home or property owners who makes this decision in order to create a carbon-neutral home. Another crucial factor to consider is your budget. A full solar storage system can be quite costly, although this is cheaper than a decade ago. Generally, the size of solar battery you’ll require depends on the following:

• How much energy you’re able to generate: The size of your solar array as well as its efficiency will influence the amount of power it’ll be able to supply to your home.
• Your daily energy usage needs: Daily energy usage can vary greatly between households depending on a number of factors. These factors include the number of occupants, geographical location, type of building, general household energy usage and more. Some may find that their solar system cover for most of their energy usage, while others find themselves still relying heavily on the grid.

If you possess an electric vehicle, then you should be well aware of how expensive the cost of getting electric vehicle chargers can be. The portable charger happens to be one of the most costly chargers that’s present in the market today. As a result, many individuals wonder exactly why ev chargers cost so much. After all, its just a little box with some wiring, so why should it cost up to hundreds of pound or a grand plus another grand or thereabouts for installation. In this post, we’ll give you insights to some of the primary reasons why ev chargers are relatively expensive when compared to other charges. Let’s take a look!

• Production factors. The manufacturing and testing phase alone is actually one of the costliest aspects in building a high quality and reliable charger. As stated by one manufacturer, the cost required to make metallic materials to trip switches to the testing phase and the marketing efforts, can all run up to over £30,000. As a result of this high production cost, the average of a new ev charger can be between  £125 to about £300 depending on whether you need a type 1 or type 2 charger as well as the size required.
• Specific design. If you own an ev, you’d know that there’s a standard charging port which allows for easy charging just like in petrol or diesel powered vehicles. The goal is to design a universal charging port whereby all electric vehicles can charge sufficiently.
• Safety. The development of a electrical design involves a lot of engineering which are quite pricey. However, this is a top priority to ensure the safety of both the user and car.

If you’re thinking about getting a solar thermal system for your home, it’s normal to consider the possibility of using the system for central heating. So is this viable? In this article, you’ll learn how solar thermal panels can be incorporated for heating. Let’s have a closer look!

Heating and hot water systems, on the average, takes up a sizeable part ( up to 70 percent) of our energy bills. Now take a moment to imagine how cool it’ll be to generate your own hot water for free without having to depend on any supplier which in turn significantly reduces your energy bills. Well, this is exactly the work of central heating systems that are powered by solar. That’s super cool, right? Well, let’s have a look at how this works.

While solar panels generates electricity, solar thermal panels produces heat for hot water production. However, what’s important is the fact that they both make use of the sun’s natural energy to provide us with a free and renewable energy we can use in our homes. Here’s how it works.

Solar thermal panels directed at central heating incorporates the sun’s natural energy to heat water in a storage cylinder which is then available for use at home. These solar thermal panels are exposed to the sunlight by fitting them on the roof of the home. Generally, they’ll include tubes that contains liquid whose job is to collect the heat and then transfer it to a hot water cylinder that’s solar compatible in your home. The heat is generated for free and is also renewable. This is help you save lots of money on oil, gas and even electricity which you purchase to power the cylinder.

Is Electric Heating Expensive?

Well, electric heating being termed as “expensive is relative to your budget. But we can tell you making use of electric heating will cost you within the range of an additional £300 to £400 per year more than the conventional gas powered systems. Meanwhile the average UK home making use of heating has been found to incur around £550 on an annual basis while those using electric storage heaters will spend almost £900 every year, according to OVO Energy.

However, there are numerous benefits of using electric heating and some of which can contribute to give a lower cost. If you’re considering the installation of an electric heating, here are some of the benefits you’ll derive.

• Safety. The several risks that comes with traditional systems are greatly reduced with an electric heating system. For instance, there’s no risk of carbon monoxide emissions or potential explosions since there’s no use of fuel to run the system.

• Installation. When compared to traditional systems, electric heating quite inexpensive to fit. This is due to the fact that minimal hardware are needed in the installation - no pipes, no flues, no vents and no ducts to be used. As a result, electric heating systems can also be installed within a shorter period of time.

• Environment. Generally, electricity has a positive impact on the environment especially due to the fact that there are no gasses or heavy metals incorporated in the system’s make up.

• Control. Electric heating offers a more convenient and controllable system. What’s more? This does not only make life easier, but can also help save as much as 30 percent on yearly cost of heating as well as helping to minimize toxic carbon emission. Furthermore, there’s a built in Wi-Fi that usually comes with electric heating systems while same can not be said of traditional gas systems.

The importance of selecting the right size battery for your home simply cannot be overemphasized. A lot of home and property owners are facing this challenge and understandably so. Selecting the right battery size for your needs depend on a number of factors which includes your motive for adding a battery, your electricity usage, your budget as well as your panel array size, be it new or existing. In this post, we’re going to take you through some of these factors to help you determine the right battery size for your home or property. Let’s take a look!

• Your motive for getting a battery. While most people purchase a battery to wipe out their need to purchase electricity from the grid with the hope of making some savings, others add a battery so as to enjoy backup power. There are also some who just needs it to power their home with solar energy. It’ll not be economical to size a battery to effectively take you off the grid, but if your motive is to make savings, then you’ll should expect to purchase some electricity from the grid during the year.
• Electricity usage. The average household uses about 16kWh of electricity on a daily basis. During the daylight hours, most of these household will use a third of their electricity when the solar panels are still generating electricity, while the remaining two third are purchased from the grid. In other words, you’ll require a minimum of 10kWh battery capacity if you were to use a battery to power the electricity you purchase from the grid.

For a typical British household, you’ll most likely need a 5kWh solar power system which normally generates about 17 to 21 kWh on a daily basis depending on your location in the UK.

If you’re thinking about installing a solar thermal system in your house, it’s always important to put into consideration numerous factors before you proceed. While some solar thermal systems are suitable for use at home, there are also some that are suitable for businesses or organizations which normally requires a big amount of hot water like hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals and many more. You’ll also find some types available in the market that are suitable for communities to satisfy communal hot water demands.

It should, however, be noted that solar thermal systems do not have the capacity to produce all the hot water demand of a house. In the UK, an average household will need an annual water heating of between 3000kWh to 5000kWh. Whereas, a solar thermal system is only able to meet about 40 percent to 60 percent of this demand.

With that in mind, it’s also worth noting that during the summer months when the solar radiation is at its peak and hot water demand is relatively lower when compared to other seasons, a solar thermal system may be able to provide all of your household’s hot water needs. This implies that during this period you may not find the need to operate your boiler at all. However, during winter or colder months, when you have a higher hot water demands in contrary to a lower solar radiation, a solar thermal system will only be able to take care of about 20 percent of your household’s hot water needs. And that ultimately implies that during this period, you’ll need to rely more on a alternative or backup source of heat like gas, coal, electricity, oil or LPG.