Find a Solar Panel Installer you can trust in Umberleigh.

In theory, you can fit solar panels yourself. In practice, it’s worth leaving it up to the professionals.

If you get DIY solar panels and install them on your roof yourself, you won’t be able to apply for the government-backed Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). The SEG pays you for every unit of electricity you generate and send back to the grid, so it’s a scheme well worth signing up for. However, you must have your solar panels installed by a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)-registered engineer or company, so you’ll miss out if you install the solar panels by yourself.

The other thing to consider about installing solar panels yourself is that you’re dealing with electricity. Electricity is extremely dangerous if handled incorrectly, so if you don’t have any qualifications in working with electricity you could be putting yourself and your family at risk. Connecting DIY solar panels yourself and doing it incorrectly could mean that you give yourself an electric shock or cause a fire. If your home is damaged due to a fire caused by solar panels you’ve installed yourself, it’s unlikely that your home insurance company would pay out.

Before having a go at installing your own solar panels, do some quick sums to see how much money it could really save you. A 3.5kW DIY solar panel kit will cost around £4,000-5,000. According to the Energy Saving Trust, a home in the South East of England where most occupants are out all day until 6pm would save around £100 a year on their electricity bills. That means that you wouldn’t break even until 40 years, but solar panels last around 25 years on average. However, if you have your solar panels installed by an MCS-registered installer and they cost £4,500, you could save £220 a year including your SEG payments. That brings the payback time to around 20 years.

So although the initial outlay is slightly less when you install solar panels yourself, it’s much better to have them installed by an MCS-registered engineer so you can take advantage of the SEG payments.

Whether solar panel batteries are worth it depends on how much you’re at home and how big your solar panel system is. If you’re at home most of the day and your solar panels only generate enough electricity for you to use while for that day, then a battery probably isn’t worth investing in. However, if you have a large system that generates more than you can use or you’re out most of the day, then solar panel batteries are definitely worth it.

A solar battery storage system works by storing the electricity that your solar panels generated until you need to use it. That’s why they’re great for people that are out all day – your solar panels generate electricity all day whilst the sun’s out, but no one’s home so you’re using minimal energy except for things like your fridge and any appliances on standby. Most of the electricity charges your solar panel battery. Then, when you get home, your battery will discharge, and you’ll use all the solar electricity that your panels generated during the day.

Solar batteries are also excellent for people with large solar panel systems that generate more than they use in the day. Any electricity that you don’t use during the day will charge the battery, so in the evening when the sun goes down, you’ll just use the excess electricity that’s stored in the battery.

To work out whether solar panel batteries are worth it for you, you’ll need to work out how much of your solar electricity you’re using already. If you’re at home and you’re able to run your appliances all while your solar panels are generating electricity, a battery might not be worth it. Also, if you’re receiving export payments from the Feed-in Tariff Scheme (FITs) or the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), you might want to look at the rate you’re getting paid. If it’s a good rate, it might be more cost-effective to continue exporting unused electricity to the grid. Speak to an MCS-registered installer that will be able to help you work this out.

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.

Installing solar panels for your business operations can provide you with a number of impressive benefits. It is not only capable of helping you minimize your business’ environmental footprint but it can also go a long way to help you save money. Irrespective of your company’s size, whether big or small, it can still benefit immensely by making use of solar panels. If you’re currently planning to install solar panels in your business environment, then you’d probably want to know just how much it’ll cost to complete the project. In this post, we aim to give you a good insight into commercial solar panel pricing so as to help you make the best informed decisions possible . Let’s take a look!

In truth, there’s no single and accurate answer to this question as there are a number of factors that can influence the cost of commercial solar panels. These factors include the size of the roof, the amount of energy that’s generated as well as the number incorporated. To give you a general idea, the price of solar panels for commercial property is usually within the range of £16000 to £70000 for small to mid-sized companies. For a more accurate estimate, you’ll need to get in touch with a professional with your unique needs.

There is also a need to evaluate the cost of solar panels so as to determine whether or not they’re a feasible option for your business. In order to determine the amount of energy your company uses per month, simply take a closer look at your utility bill.  This should indicate just how much energy you use per month as well as how much the utility company charges per kW. In general, most small to medium sized companies will incorporate 30,000 to 50,000 kWh annually and you can expect the cost to differ based on your location and the size of your system. The rule of thumb with larger systems is to calculate using £1000 per kW, plus VAT as the yardstick.

If you’re thinking about installing a solar system in your home or property, this is probably one of the things you’d like to know before making a purchase decision. Well, you’ve come to the right place! In this post, we’re going to give you a good insight into this to help you make the best informed decision possible moving forward. Let’s take a look!

First and foremost, it must be stated that providing a short and accurate answer to this question is nearly impossible as the amount of time a solar panel will last after dark is influenced by a number of factors. These factors include the size of your solar system, the battery size as well as your power usage. As you would have imagined, batteries are charged when there is excess energy that’s being produced by your solar system but it’s not being incorporated to power your home or property. More often than not, this occurs during the sunlight’s peak periods from about 10am to 2pm.

The time it’ll take for your battery to charge is influenced by the size of your solar system in Kilowatts, the size of your battery as well as the rate in which your system is being used. Your battery can be charged in a day or two, of course unless it’s an over-sized battery for your system.

When the sun sets and your solar panels can no longer directly run your appliances via electricity generation, the battery then kicks in. You will use about 1 to 2 kW’s of power if you’re watching TV, using the oven as well as lights internet etc. in other words, even a small solar panel battery will last all night. However, the same doesn’t apply if you’re having a party with running floodlights, three fridges and air conditioner as the battery will drain a lot faster.

Solar cells , also referred to as photovoltaic cells (PV), absorbs energy from the sun and converts it to generate electricity. This, however, should not be confused with photovoltaic thermal cells or PVT which operates to generate heat for water in homes. Solar cells are linked electrically and also carefully organized into a large frame which is popularly called solar panels. Generally, solar cells are produced or made of silicon semi conductors which works to absorb sunlight and then turn it into electricity for use at a home. A solar panel comprises of either 60 or 72 solar cells which are electrically interconnected in series and parallel and also positioned in between glass and plastic which is then framed.

At present, solar panels incorporated for residential or domestic purposes only possesses the capacity to make use of only about 20 percent of the sunlight they’re able to absorb and convert it to electricity - also called solar efficiency. Available in the market are also a wide range of solar cell available for both industrial and commercial purposes. This type of solar panels have an efficiency rating of about 40 percent which will also automatically make them more costly than the domestic types.

One great thing about the solar industry is the fact that it keeps improving in such a way that raises both its efficiency as well as overall quality. And with further research and development, this is expected to even increase as the years go by. What’s more? As these aspects keep rising, it’s also expected that the solar panels price should be on a decrease. That way, they’ll become available to a wider range of individuals who’ll also like to save money on electricity bills and go greener.