FAQs for Solar Panels . Domestic Solar UK . Solar Panel
Technology . Domestic Solar . Solar for Homes . Domestic Solar Panels UK
2. How can solar panels work in the UK ?
The UK receives 60% of the solar energy compared
with the equator. Each square metre of the UK receives between 900 – 1200kwh
of solar radiation each year.
3. Why quality matters?
Sadly, we get contacted by people who installed
cheap solar technology and now require expensive repairs after a short time
in use. A good quality system should last 30+ years and cost around £3-4000.
As independent solar experts, we say this either Schuco flat panels or Sun
Systems solar tubes
4. Why solar, not wind
?
Wind is great on larger scale installations
or on coastal areas or wind swept hills, but your average urban location means
performance and efficiency is low. You need a very large turbine to make a
sizeable dent in the average domestic energy bill, and has been confirmed
by government testing. Urban locations do not have the correct wind speeds
and vibration problems could lead to structural building damage.
"The likely output of a micro-wind turbine on
a pitched roof house in a large city such as Manchester would be less
than 150kWh a year; 2% of the energy consumption of an average house"
5. Is there enough sunshine in the UK for solar
energy ?
Compared to the equator, the UK receives approximately
55% of the energy received there, ample to operate an efficient solar panel
system if you have a south facing roof, even in the north of Scotland.
Just updating your hot water tank to our high
efficiency tanks without the solar panels, will save you money and energy.
With the solar panels your hot water bills will be reduced by dramatically.
"5 years from now, the UK will import
75% of it's gas"
6. What is the science behind solar panel technology
?
In a nutshell when solar radiation/solar energy
enters the earth's atmosphere, it does so as a short-wave. When these short-waves
hit something, be it a person, building or solar panels, then the short wave
converts to long-wave. This process expels energy and this energy produces
heat.
7. Can solar panels can add value to my property
?
Yes, your homes value will increase
in todays climate of high energy pricing.
A recent survey by MORI found people
are willing to pay up to £10,000 more for a home built to high
environmental standards and estate agents are now de-valuing homes for
sale with poor 'Energy Assessments' results, due to HIPS reports.
8. How long does solar technology last ?
Solar technology has been around for
a century now, but evacuated tubes have a longevity of around 30+
years. PV solar last much longer, but PV solar panels installed in the
60's is still working.
9. Will solar panels replace my energy bills
fully ?
No, you will not be able to totally
replace your current energy or power supply to the use of solar energy,
but you could get close with a realistic budget and the implementation
of different energy sources such as a bio mass and solar panel
combination.
10. There are two types
of solar panel, which is best ?
Both do very different jobs with
different pricing, (hot water heating) evacuated tubes
solar panels and PV systems solar panels (electric generating).
This varies per domestic household,
but it basically depends on which type of energy cost you want to
reduce. A solar panels
system is basically an investment into your home and energy future.
11. Do I need planning permission ?
No. From 6 April 2008 planning permission
will not be required for solar panels, unless you live in a listed building.
12. Why choose Solar4u?
As independent solar experts, we are not contracted
to sell any one particular technology (think freehouse) unlike other installers
who are contracted to a specific technology. Thus we only sell the best performing
and qulaity systems available today, so we can uniquely offer our 'no quibble
guarantee on quality'.
13. Solar installations will get cheaper with
time, won't they?
Unfortunately the indicators are that price's
will rise. Energy prices, the weak British pound and overhead rises, have
mean't prices have been rising year on year, throughout the industry. Although
we do our best to keep prices reasonable, their are customers we spoke to
2 years ago who wished they had bought then, for cheaper.
Hot water solar panels
Which is best for me, solar tubes or flat panels
?
Like everything in life, the answer to this
question is never simple, but simply put, if you have a gravity-feed hot water
tank, and you wish to keep your existing set up, then Apricus solar tubes
are best for you.
If you prefer to update your whole heating
system or hot water tank to a more modern system, then flat panels will be
more suitable.
Some people prefer the aesthetics of Schuco
flat panel solar, but solar tubes are more efficient. Saying that though,
the Schuco flat panels are the best efficient of all the flat panels on the
UK market today. With both systems being of excellent quality, this is the
main reason we promote these two products over any other solar manufacturers.
Why install a new hot water tank ?
Imagine converting your car to LPG, then running
it on semi-flat tyres. An old tank is very in-efficient and probably scaled
up with limescale. In order to maximise the efficiency of your solar panel
system, a modern super efficient tank is installed as part of the installation
to bring your heating system up to modern efficiency standards. Ultimately
saving you money in the long term.
We do not use much hot water, how can this help
us ?
At the moment the water in your hot
water tank has to stay above 60 deg C (to prevent legionaires), which
means your current heating method is constantly firing up to stay above
60 deg C. If you use the hot water or not, your boiler or emmersion
heater will still be keeping it heated up, so yes solar still benefits
your heating bills
What solar panels CANNOT do ?
The biggest miss conception of solar is that
it can do your central heating with salesmen miss-selling to take advantage
of this! Your central heating although connected to your boiler is a very
seperate system. Your hot water tank is not connected to your radiators in
any way shape or form.
Also common sense dictates, when you
need your central heating the most (winter), their is less/reduced daylight
and when solar is most efficient (spring/summer/autumn) central heating is
not required.
What solar panels CAN do ?
Solar keeps an abundent supply of hot water
in your hot water tank, thus extending the life span of your boiler because
for most of the year, your boiler will not be used at all.
From March - September, solar will do most
of your water heating needs, and then half that in the winter.
Is my current set-up compatible with 'direct'
solar tubes ?
1. If you have a traditional ‘gravity feed’
system, with a southerly facing roof space, then you home is ideal.
2. If you have a ‘vented’ thermal store with twin/solar coil, then your
home is suitable too.
3. If you have a Combi Boiler, you will need to replace this at the end of
it’s life for a condensing boiler with ‘vented’ tank.
4. If you have a ‘high pressure’ system with gauges, then you will need to
replace this with a ‘vented’ tank.
How much conventional
energy will it produce ?
Independently tested, our solar
delivered 900 - 1400 kWh (3.6 GJ) of clean green energy (depending on
geographical location) as solar hot water a year in UK.
It saves far more bought-in energy. Peak output is 1.6 kW, similar to
an immersion heater.
(Performance varies per domestic
household, depending on your micro climate and geographical location,
but on average, an evacuated tube system will supply all your hot water
needs from March - September, and most, but not all, in the winter
months)
What temperatures can I expect from a
solar hot water ?
On sunny days possible temperatures of possibly
up to 75C can be achieved (45C hot enough for bathing), but this is dependent
on your micro climate and geographical position within the UK and solar panel
system you choose. On cloudy days this will still reduce the need to use your
boiler, thus extending your boiler life too.
Do I get hot
water during the winter months ?
Even during cloudy days in winter you can
expect some gain, on wintry sunny days, although evacuated
tubes are designed to run alongside conventional heating methods.
Can solar panels
be added to flat roofs ?
On an "A" frame to angle the panels
at 20 and 50 degrees to horizontal.
Is there any ongoing maintenance needed ?
The system is kept clean by weathering, just
like velux windows. A periodic check every 3-4 years is recommended to check
the PH level of the antifreeze solution, but other than that you can simply
fit it and forget it.
PV electric solar panels
Will PV solar produce all my electric needs ?
In most cases, no, but this depends
on you energy consumption rate and size of system installed.
What does on-grid mean ?
When PV is producing electricity, and
you are not using it, then it will automatically feed the electricity
out to the National Grid, were your will be credited for your
contribution.
How much energy can PV solar
panels produce ?
Each case is different, but a PV system
installation would generate approximately 750kWh/year per kWp
installed. So a typical 2 kWp system would generate around 1500 kWh per
year. A hot water solar panel at Peak output is 1.6 kW, similar to an
immersion heater, or 1,500kWh and 2,000kWh annually.
Does PV have to be installed on our roof
?
No. PV can easily be installed on
frames within your boundaries, or out buildings with suitable roofing.
How much roof space will I need ? 
Please CLICK
HERE, for panel installation dimensions.
Is there any
ongoing maintenance needed ?
No, Just like velux windows, they are
kept clean by weathering. Simply fit and forget.
General solar panels FAQ's
Green energy tariffs, good or bad ?
If you live near a coal fired power
station then your electricity will be powered by coal, regardless of
your decision to buy a green tariff. Many energy companies purporting
to be green are not. An example is Npower, who operate the most coal
fired generators, but still advertise with a 'green wash'.
We can only support 'Ecotricity'
because it pledges to spend all its profits on building new sources of
renewable energy.
Friends of the Earth commented ‘Most
suppliers have simply established green tariffs and then proportioned
in some arbitrary way renewable's to their green consumers. Their
purchases ought to result in an additional pull on renewable's, but
that’s not happening. We have been calling for an independent auditing
of these schemes.’
Why don't you offer finance deals ?
As an ethical business, it would not be right
for us, to put you into further debt for our products. Yes solar saves you
energy, but the benefits would be taken away, if you start paying silly finance
deals.
What about
payback ?
We are often asked, “what is the
payback period?” for a solar panels.
Well, first and foremost it does
have a payback. If you buy coal, oil or electricity or gas the supplier
does not offer you any pay back at all. No matter how much gas, oil or
coal you buy and no matter how long you buy it for, you never get your
money back. You have to service, maintain and renew you fuel burning
equipment. Similarly the electricity company never offers you a payback
Various government bodies define
sometimes payback as the annual fuel bill savings divided by the
capital cost. This is simply inaccurate misleading and wrong.
If you take a proper view of payback,
you have to factor in future energy increases, take account of
inflation, look at the savings in boiler servicing and the ability to
make a boiler last longer. Doing the sums properly most thermal systems
offer a pay back of between 6 and 15 years, depending on the fossil
fuel displaced, the future fuel inflation factor you use and the amount
of hot water you use.
If the product is built as part of
the housing infrastructure it will last for around 30 years with
minimal maintenance. If the product is built into a home in the course
of construction the pay back period declines rapidly.
Although payback is one way of
looking at the cost it is perhaps more accurate to look at the return
on your investment that solar panels
offer. Typically the financial savings of a good solar thermal system
will be equivalent to a tax free return on investment of between 8% and
12%.
Recently HIPS reports have for the first time
in history, allowed homes with renewable energy including solar panels, to
be valued higher, than those without, so solar installations have now become
a real financial investment opportunity, considering there longevity or and
long life spans (25 - 30 years), against the higher UK energy pricing policies,
and the ever increasing costs of peak oil.
"Our customers save *£1000 - £4000 on installations"
* Savings from installation costs. Energy savings
not included.
Micro-Generation
Systems trading as Solar4U
Beechfield House, Winterton Way, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 0LP
Tel: 0151 324 2808 (Local Rate) Business Hours - Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm
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