Solar panels use direct and diffused sunlight and work all year round to generate electricity and heat for homes and business.
Learn about Solar Panels
Learn about domestic and commercial solar panels.
More people are now realising the benefits of solar panels including an increase in home values, better saleability, feed in tariff payments to you and saving on your energy bills.
Solar panels basics
Myth busted - Solar panels work even on cloudy days. The UK receives 60% of the solar radiation that the equator receives and more efficient technology make solar in the United Kingdom a very wise investment.
There are 3 types of solar panels
Solar heating panels - This type of flat plate technology is the most common as it applies to all flat solar panels and evacuated tubes too. This type of system has a lifespan of 30+ years and requires very little maintenance over the course of its life. Once installed you can have tanks of hot water without using mains electricity, which will mean your boiler will not be required for most of the year, thus saving you money long term. Domestic and commercial installations are common.
The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme gives additional financial benefits.
Learn about solar heating panels >>Evacuated solar tubes - This technology takes advantage of the thermos flask principle - of keeping heat in while building up the temperature. A tube with a 360 deg C collector surface allows a better absorption rate for longer periods of the day. Just like solar flat plates, the accumulated heat is then transferred down to a special solar- rated cylinder, which keeps the heated water hot and ready for your use throughout the day. Domestic and commercial installations are common.
The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme gives additional financial benefits.
Learn about evacuated solar tubes >>PV electric panels - This type of technology is used to generate electricity for both domestic and commercial applications. Photons from the sun hit the panel, which then produces a DC current used around your home or exported and sold to your energy supplier under the feed in tariffs scheme. The tariffs pay you for the power you produce, even if you use it yourself. Domestic and commercial installations are common.
The Clean Energy Cash Back scheme gives additional financial benefits.
Learn about PV electric solar panels >>Did you know - Investing in a solar panels installation will increase your property value, by *£10,000 approx and save on your energy bills. *Energy Saving Trust
In a nutshell - Solar heating panels heat up hot water within your hot water tank supplying you with a constant supply of hot water and in some cases space heating during the daylight hours. This means you no longer need to use your boiler for most of the year and you also use it less in the winter months too.
These solar panels are divided into 2 types:
Flat plate solar panels - The most traditional style of solar panel. This panel heats up an anti-freeze mixture called Glycol which circulates through heat exchangers in your water tank.
Evacuated solar tubes - The modern way of heating hot water using the sun's ray, giving the best performance of all solar heating technologies.
In a nutshell - PV (Photovoltaic) free solar panels generate electricity using the sun's rays. 'Photo' refers to the Photons which hit the panel and 'voltaic' refers to the volts of electricity which are produces when a chemical reaction takes place within the panels cells. The most common types are:
Mono-crystalline - Panels which have an efficiency rating of 15%. Slightly more expensive but give a higher peak output per panel usually 180 - 240 Watts.
Poly-crystalline - Panels which have an efficiency rating of 13%. The most common type of PV panel which gives a peak output of 150 Watts.
Did you know - Early manufactured photovoltaic solar panels installed in Japan in the 1960's are still going strong today.
First in your area
Solar panels are a long term investment for homes across the UK. Be the first on your street to install and encourage others to follow.
House value
Installing solar panels to your property is similar to adding a conservatory, to give you a possible increase in your property value.
Home selling
A solar panel installation will increase your homes energy efficiency rating on your energy assessment certificate, increasing your home's value and saleability.
The UK energy crunch
The UK Industry Task force on Peak Oil and Energy Security concluded last year that the economy faces a clear and present energy-security threat. Our shared opinion is that peak oil merited serious study as a business risk. Sadly, we are now of the collective view that peak oil is a high-risk, high-consequence issue.
Why not wind?
Most domestic houses are unsuitable for wind turbines.
Improved technology
Solar panels have greatly improved over the last few years, making them more efficient as a long-term viability, with a life span of 25-30 years for a good quality solar system.
UK Energy crunch
British Gas Managing Director - Mark Clare, said "the industry had no choice but to pass on the large increase in wholesale gas prices to the consumer". Mr Clare said "The wholesale price forecasts for 2006 are something like 50 percent higher than a few months ago. "FORWARD MARKET PRICES ARE PRETTY UGLY FOR EARLY NEXT YEAR AND BEYOND". "All suppliers are going to have to put prices up in 2009, that's inevitable". He added "higher gas prices means higher electricity prices too, because Gas fuels 40 percent of the UK's power stations".
Works when cloudy in the UK
A common misconception about solar panels is they don't work well in the UK. Wrong! Solar works even on certain cloudy days too.
Think long term
Leaving your money in the bank gives low returns. Solar heating has become a wise investment, reducing both your energy dependency and energy bills in the long term and PV solar technology gives great investment returns, with the government- backed feed in tariff schemes which are currently available.
Generous feed in tariffs
Both solar heating and electric panels now come with feed in tariffs for a great financial return for your investment.
Did you know - 82% of people who installed solar panels did so to reduce dependence on increasingly expensive energy sources from conventional suppliers.
Solar panels for energy supply security.
The UK over the next few years will have to come to terms with 75% of our energy (oil and gas) coming from Russia as our North Sea outputs decline. A 2009 Ukraine versus Russia dispute highlighted the problems that our country may face, being at the end of the supply chain as we are in Europe. The UK unfortunately is very vulnerable especially as our other energy sources come from the Middle East.
In addition the energy industry is currently in turmoil as many of our older power stations are due for de-commissioning with no replacement stations due to be built for another 10 years. More importantly, oil output from the world's oil largest fields is declining at 9% per year.
Current trends in global energy supply and consumption are obviously unsustainable long term. Both the oil industry and many corporate figures are warning that global peak oil (the point where supply cannot keep up with overwhelming demand) will arrive unexpectedly early, resulting in a global energy crisis.
Solar panels for investment.
With bank rates falling to as little as 1.0% on savings, you will almost certainly get a better return on investment. With the feed in tariffs for both solar electric and solar heating technologies and including the saving on energy bills with a property price increase, investing money in a long term solution has now become a no-brainer.
Solar panels for the environment.
Solar panels used to be considered as 'green' product, but this is not the case anymore. The primary reason people buy this 'energy saving' technology is for both long term security and as an investment for environmental reasons which is now considered a secondary benefit.
The sun and the solar energy it gives out have allowed life to flourish on our planet.
Solar energy in many ways has been used by humanity since the dawn of time most notability to heat water and dry meat and fish.
The earliest version of what we would call modern solar panel technologies can be traced back to heating water as far back to before Roman times.
The most common solar panel technology are solar heating panels, also known as solar thermal, flat plate solar panels and evacuated tubes. The panels work in a similar way to your car heating up in the summer sun but on a more condensed version. The heat in the panels increase to a point where the water gets heated too - a very simple and very effective technology.
Photovoltaic's (PV) solar panels date back to 1839, when a French physicist Antoine Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect with a primitive cell that was made up of two metallic electrodes. The first mass produced solar cell was manufactured in 1907 with the modern refinement processes and photovoltaic cells we know today being perfected in 1941.
The modern solar panels excite atoms in a wafer thin layer of silicon. This produces electrons which are diverted to produce an electric current feeding down into wires which are then used by your household appliances.
Over the last 50 years, solar panel technologies have been refined and tweaked to a point where we can now get fantastic performance out of these technologies, even in the UK and northern hemisphere. The once common saying "Solar panels don't work well in the UK" is no longer true.
100 years of extensive research and development have brought this much needed technology into our homes and will continue to do so as conventional fuels become more expensive. See our solar panels and energy crunch news feature for the latest infomation.
Solar panels including installation quotes are as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Simply click on our 'Get a quote' button and arrange a FREE home survey and consultation appointment which should last around 1 hour. Appointments with questions and answers sessions may take longer.
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© Copyright Heat my Home 2004 - 2012
Expert & Author - Stuart Lovatt
Solar panels are popular with domestic and commercial users across the UK.