Solar Photo Voltaic
There are mainly 3 types of Solar PV panel; Polycrystalline, Monocrystaline and Hybrid.
They are made from wafer thin silicone cells, that when exposed to daylight give an electrical DC charge. Polycrystalline cells are made from many small silicone crystals. Monocrystaline cells are made from a single piece of silicone and Hybrid cells are made from silicone, thin film cells other compounds.
The silicone cells are connected together and arranged to form collector panels. Doing this gives different collector outputs, efficiency’s and appearances.
Hybrid is more effective than mono - and mono is more effective than poly, per given collector area. This is reflected in the price per panel.The more effective hybrid needs less m2 per KW output. Put simply if you covered a roof in hybrid panels it would give a larger output then the same roof covered in mono or Polycrystalline panels, but it would cost considerably more. It must be said that the cheapest option isn’t always the best option! Most often the system chosen is restricted by budget and available roof area in line with customer requirements.
With any PV array the DC power produced by the array is first linked to a DC isolator for safety. It then goes through an inverter to convert DC to usable AC voltage, then through an AC Isolator. It is then connected to a meter to measure energy produced. If you are using electricity it will use what your panels are producing first and import the rest as required. If you are producing more than you are currently using, it exports energy back to the grid.
The average domestic installation is about 2KW in output and costs approximately £4,000-£5,000 per kilowatt installed. Costs are affected by type of panels and size of array chosen, location of panels and the condition of the existing roof and electrical system - which is normally the biggest variable.
They will provide a good portion of a households power requirement. This reduces household fuel costs and cuts carbon emissions, saving money and the environment. It can give a property a higher score on its energy performance rating and help achieve a higher level on the code for sustainable homes.
Grant funding is available in the form of the FIT (Feed In Tariff). Currently the FIT is giving £0.43 pence per KW produced for retrofit domestic installations of under 4KWp for 25 years.
This is changing as announced by the government on Monday 31st October. From April next year it is intended to cut the FIT from £0.43 to £0.21 per Kw for domestic retrofit installations of less than 4Kwp, however there will be a transition period: Installations registered before 12 December 2011 will still get £0.43 per Kw for 25 years. Installations registered after 12 December 2011 will get £0.43 per Kw until 31st March 2012. Then their payments will reduce to £0.21 per Kw for the remainder of the 25 year tariff term. From 1st April 2012 Installations will get the tariff at £0.21 per Kw for 25 years.
We provide a full estimate of performance in line with the government approved SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) with all our quotations.
We are experienced installers and we Specify, Design, Install and maintain our domestic PV systems to best suit your individual situation and requirements.
We strongly recommend an independent structural roof inspection by a RICS surveyor before and after our Solar installation to ensure compliance, and for your peace of mind as well as that of your house insurance provider. It may also be beneficial when marketing your property.
We also strongly recommend an independent SAP survey for your property before we undertake installation. This will indicate current energy usage and carbon production. It will provide an energy rating and highlight the most cost effective energy saving improvements. It can also demonstrate the likely energy and carbon savings made by those improvements.
www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/greenerbuildings/sustainablehomes
