Find a Solar Panel Installer you can trust in Rowland's Castle.

There are two different types: flat plate, where lots of thin tubes carry water through a flat absorber panel, and evacuated tube, where vacuum glass tubes capture the sun’s energy directly. There is little difference in performance between the two but evacuated tube panels do more obviously extrude from the roof.

Asides from the fact that solar energy can be converted into electricity with the help of solar panels, there’s also another pretty cool way the sun’s power can be harnessed - solar thermal technologies. These technologies are able to convert sunlight into heat rather than power and these are in fact the very first solar energy products that were commercialized in the United Kingdom. Solar thermal panels, in a similar way to solar PVs, can help in minimizing your carbon footprint while also assisting you to save good money on your energy bills by providing the much needed coverage for your heating needs with the help of a renewable energy source that’s totally free.

Solar thermal panels provides some great benefits which is capable of making all homeowners in the UK consider installing one in their respective homes. Let’s take a closer look at these benefits.

✓ When compared to solar PV panels, they’re a more affordable heating option and also have a shorter payback period.

✓ Solar thermal panels are more efficient than PV panels due to the fact that the heat waves are able to hold more energy than sunlight and also because there’s no electricity transformation process.

✓ Solar thermal panels are able to operate in cold climates, strong wind as well as overcast weather, and make use of an energy storage system.

✓ They can help you save about 600kg of carbon dioxide emissions on an annual basis.

✓ Although most of the solar thermal panel systems come with a warranty usually within the range of 5 to 10 years, they’re able to last up to 25 years. What’s more? The require just a little maintenance, meaning the main cost you’d have to worry about is the cost of installation.

One of the things that has been on the UK government’s agenda for some time now is to promote the use of renewable energy sources. In fact, the Renewable Energy Directive put out by the EU instructs all member countries to achieve a 20 percent renewable target before the year 2020. The UK’s commitment to this objective has been made quite glaring with a number of funding options that has been put in place to help business owners looking to solar panels on their properties. This commitment was also showcased by a reduction in the cost of solar panels, so new investors have little to worry about. Although there aren’t any grants in the conventional sense, but there are opportunities for solar panel funding in the UK. At present, the only scheme open to new applications is the SEG - Smart Export Guarantee which came into effect on 1st January, 2020.

In general, there are four notable incentives in the UK for solar panels which includes the aforementioned Smart Export Guarantee, Reduced VAT on Energy Saving Products, Feed-in Tariff ( no longer open to new applications ), as well as the Renewable Heat Incentive ( RHI - applies only to solar water heating ).

Being the only one still open to new applications, we’ll provide you with some insights on SEG. The Smart Export Guarantee allows small scale low-carbon electricity generators to receive payments for surplus energy they’re able to export back to the grid. Although, this is not a direct government scheme, all licensed suppliers are necessitated to offer an export tariff to their customers. Those suppliers with more than 150,000 customers are obligated to offer a tariff, while the suppliers with fewer customers can partake on a voluntary basis.

Solar energy comes from the sun. Solar panels absorb sunlight, and convert it into electricity. This can be used to power heating systems, lighting and appliances. You can also get solar thermal systems, which use solar energy to warm hot water.

Solar energy is a type of renewable energy, because sunlight is considered to be in unlimited supply.

The more you’re at home during the day, the more you can save on your electricity bill, since solar panels generate electricity during the day. The Feed-in Tariff scheme (FITs) ended in March 2019, but the new Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) pays you, via your energy supplier, for the electricity you export back to the grid. With the savings involved in generating your own electricity and SEG payments, you can expect to save up to £390 per year on your electricity bill.

Are you currently weighting the possibilities of adding a solar system to your commercial building? With lots of commercial property owners in the UK using solar now, many more are gradually coming to terms with the numerous benefits they stand to derive by getting one. Therefore, if you’re thinking about adding the system to your commercial building but do not know where to start, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, our aim is to help you calculate the number of solar panels you’ll need to power your entire commercial building. Starting from the panels, you can begin by taking into account everything that makes use of power in your commercial building to get a good idea of how many you’ll need.

• To get started, you’ll have to determine the number of watts used by your commercial building. To get this, you simply have to go through your utility bill for kilowatt-hours (kWh). This varies amongst buildings and being able to identify your daily average energy usage will assist you in getting your solar panel needs.
• Once done, you’ll also have to determine the peak sunlight hours - having in mind that the solar panels only work when under direct sunlight. Once determined, you can then multiply the figure in hours by your home’s hourly energy usage and divide by your selected solar panel’s wattage.

In general, a medium-sized commercial building making use of an average amount of electricity will require about 70 average quality solar panels so as to cover its entire electricity needs. These are, however, just averages, so yours could be more or less so getting the idea is vital here.