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When you’re about to transform from the standard electricity to solar energy, what determines your solar system’s size is the amount of solar that’s required. The amount of solar that you’ll need, on the other hand, requires considering the end goal, be it to increase money savings, reduce environmental contamination, maximize Returns On Investment ( ROI), or just to copy what the neighbour’s done.

In order the determine the number of solar panels that is needed, the first step would be to calculate the number of kWhs that’s currently being used. A kWh is what’s used to determine the amount of energy that has been incorporated over time which the utility uses to bill you. What’s strongly recommended to create a suitable range is a 6 to 12 months average of your household electricity bill. Other factors that can play a key role in the determination of the number of solar panel needed include the following:

✓ Sunlight exposure hours. In order to know just how much energy your solar panels will generate, there’s a need to know the number of direct sunlight hours you should expect on a daily basis. For example if you stay in a region that’s usually very sunny, then it’ll be reasonable to expect more energy production per panel than regions that are usually cloudy.

✓ Angle and size of the roof. Roofs with a lot of workable space may require to let go of some efficiency opting for larger and cost effective panels to achieve the targeted energy. However not all homeowners have sufficient roof space or shade coverage for the solar panel they actually want. Also, the degree at which the roof slants will also determine if the sunlight is hitting the panels well enough and the amount of energy that can be generated thereof.

Biomass boilers do require some maintenance. Many manufacturers recommend servicing twice a year, although this is often included in the installation cost. Many systems have automatic fuel loading that removes the need to manually load fuel. You will need to remove the ash from the boiler, but this is as easy as emptying a vacuum cleaner.

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.

Unlike the photovoltaic (PV) power which works to turn a part of the electromagnetic radiation of the sun directly to electrons and electricity, a solar thermal can simply be referred to as the absorption of the sun’s heat for human use. As a result, the solar thermal has a wider range of uses than the PV does in several ways. This is due to the fact that the sun’s heat can be absorbed and transported via a medium and the stored energy incorporated for several great purposes such as to heat water, to heat and cool a home or living space, to prepare a meal as well as to generate electricity. All these functions are useful for both residential and commercial spaces.

There are generally three different ranges of solar thermal energy that are being used which includes the low temperature ( for heating, cooling as well as ventilation), the mid temperature ( used for preparing meals, heating hot water and the likes) as well as the high temperature ( used for generating electricity). To focus more on generating electricity, there are a wide array of ways through which the sun’s heat can be directed at creating electricity via a heat exchanger which operates to super heat water or inert gas to power an electricity- generating plant or to produce electricity via a Stirling engine.

In order to increase their output or make them more efficient, evacuated glass tubes are used to encircle the tubes which in turn helps them to collect more heat energy while also protecting them from re-radiating the heat energy absorbed. The trough are normal positioned north to south as well as to keep tabs on the travels of the sun throughout the day.

Air source heat pumps are a type of heating system that you can use to warm the air in your property. They’re a semi-renewable energy generator as, although they use electricity, they extract and use renewable heat from the air.

There are two main types of air source heat pump – air-to-water, and air-to-air. Air-to-water heat pumps are the most popular, and are best used to heat water that supplies underfloor heating systems or large radiators. Air-to-air pumps heat air, which is then dispersed round your property using fans.

Do you want a low carbon way of heating your home? Then, getting an air source heat pump is the way to go! What they do is pretty simple - they absorb the potential thermal energy present in the outside air and transmit it directly to the home or property where it’s going to be compressed and the heat transferred with the help of a number of coils. In other words, it functions by extracting heat from a cooler place and then uses it to raise the temperature inside a home or property. Being very similar to air conditioning units, the amount of heat they’re going to produce for your home or property will be dependent on the size you install. Therefore, the bigger the heat pump, the more the heat that’ll be generated.

Air source heat pumps have two main types which includes air to air and air to water. Air-to-water heat pumps works by absorbing heat from the outside air, then relays it directly into your home or property through the help of fans. In order to move the heat around your home, you’ll need a warm air circulation system. This type of air source heat pump are not eligible for the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive Payment as they can’t generate hot water. What’s more? They can function in reverse during the hot summer months.

Air-to-water heat pumps, on the other hand, operates by extracting heat from the outside air and transmitting it into the wet central heating system. Due to the fact that they’re able to generate heat that’s cooler than the one generated by a conventional gas or oil boiler, they happen to be a better fit for larger radiators or water underfloor heating.

No, air source heat pumps aren’t particularly noisy. Most models make about the same amount of noise as a boiler or fridge. And don't forget, the unit itself is fitted to the outside of your property so you won't hear a thing when you're indoors or at nightime!

Are you interested in installing an air source heat pump in your home or property? If yes, then you’d probably want to know just how much this is going to cost. Well, so are many other potential investors in the unit and we aim to answer this question once and for all. In this post, you’re going to discover the price range at which your new air source heat pump will fall in.

As simple as it seems, the cost of an air source heat pump can’t be accurate and straightforward as there are a number of factors that greatly influences the price. These influencing factors include the size of the heat pump, the system’s complexity, your personal preference - whether simple or advanced controls, and lots more. However, according to Energy Saving Trust, an air-to-water heat pump should fall within the range of £7000 to about £11000. What’s more? You’ll also need to put into consideration the cost of upgrading your radiators or fitting underfloor heating which can also cost you thousands of pounds.

In general, the main cost of a heat pump is the upfront cost of making a purchase as well as installing it. The heat pump will consume a little amount of electricity and the running costs are also relatively low. The amount your air source heat pump will cost largely depends on your home’s size, the temperature you want your home or property to be as well as how properly insulated your home is.

The period of time it’ll take to recoup your investment in the system in energy savings will also depend on a wide range of factors including the price you pay for electricity, how efficiently the system works, how you use the heat generated and more.

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.