Solar panels and energy crunch forum

Solar panels, contrary to popular belief do work well within the UK climate. Because the UK receive's 60 % solar radiation of the equator and solar radiation can penetrate cloud cover at different levels depending on the density, this means solar panels contribute all year round.

Solar panel technology can be categorised into 2 types:

PV solar electric panels - Generate electricity for your home and surplus are sold back to the National Grid

Solar heating panels - Traps solar radiation to heat up your hot water tank meaning your boiler remains redundant for most of the year.

You do not require planning permission unless your home is a listed building, or in an area of outstanding natural beauty, but this can be overcome if your southerly facing roof is unviewable from a public access place.

A superb quality solar panel system will last around 25-30 years depending on your existing heating type/set up and the number of panels required. Please be aware, that there are cheaper low quality systems around, but their quality is dubious, and lifespan is exceptionally low.

Once a technology for eco/greens this technology is now being installed as an investment by customers at the moment by people aware of the vulnerability and problems faced by the UK in the coming years.

Solar panels work effectively in temperatures of 0ºC and below.

It is a common misconception that solar systems convert the Sun's heat into useable energy this is simply not true. The panels are powered by Sun light; this does not have to be direct sunlight! Even on a cloudy day you can be assured that our system will produce enough energy for your hot water.

The term solar power are used to describe methods of harnessing energy from the sun. As environmental concerns such as greenhouse gases and the depletion of fossil fuels increase, renewable energy resources such as solar power are becoming ever more popular in the UK and across the rest of the world.

In the UK, we receive vast amounts of solar energy, with the average amount of energy received in a year being as much as 60% of that received on the equator. This radiation is similar to the output of 1,000 power stations.

Today there are a range of high quality products, which enable us to use the Sun’s energy very effectively in the UK. Using the Sun’s energy reduces our consumption of conventional fuel and helps to reduce the emission of harmful greenhouse gases.

The effectiveness and efficiency of solar energy in the UK is far greater than most people imagine. In the summer, when items such as black tarmac and car bodies are often too hot to touch we become aware of the Sun’s heat. However, even in the spring and autumn and on clear winter days we receive very useful amounts of solar energy. By tilting a surface to an angle, the amount of solar radiation falling on it will be greater than that falling on a flat surface in this country.

Fortunately, the average tilt of a UK house roof is about the optimum for receiving solar energy in the UK.

The average property requires approximately 3,000 kw h per year for domestic water heating.

Solar water heating systems use solar panels, called collectors, fitted to your roof. These collect heat from the sun and use it to warm water, which are stored in a hot water cylinder.

A boiler or immersion heater can then heat this water further until it reaches the temperature set by the cylinder’s thermostat. (This should be set at 60 degrees centigrade.)

Larger solar panels can also provide energy to heat your home as well usually in the summer months, but they also minimise conventional boiler use in the winter too.

The illustration shows a typical Active Solar Heating system layout. An electronic controller constantly compares the temperature of the solar collectors with the temperature of the water in the cylinder. Whenever the collectors are hotter than the cylinder, the controller switches on the system’s circulating pump. A mixture of antifreeze and water are then circulated through the collectors and the cylinder’s heat exchanger, heating the cylinder in just the same way as a central heating boiler.

Solar panels act like a mini power station on your roof. They absorb sun light, which are absorbed, by the panel’s specially engineered surface and transferred into heat. This heats up the heat transfer fluid in the copper heat transfer pipe to a temperature higher than the water temperature in your hot water cylinder. When a temperature greater than that in the hot what cylinder are achieved, a digital controller activates a pump which pumps. The heat transfer fluid through the heat transfer pipework in your hot water cylinder and heats up the water.

When there is sufficient hot water in the hot water cylinder the pump stops. If the temperature, in the hot water cylinder drops, or water, are drawn off the pump starts again bringing the water temperature back up to the desired level. We fully expect our systems to provide up to 70% of your yearly hot water needs. We recognise that during the winter when days are short our systems will make a smaller contribution to your hot water than during the summer when days are longer, when our systems could provide you with up to 93% of your hot water needs.

The UK receives 60% solar radiation that the equator receives. A solar panel can offer up to 70% of hot water provided Free throughout the year and works even on cloudy days even in the UK.

The ultra violet radiation are converted into usable heat by the solar collector.

The heat generated are transferred into your storage tank.

Your existing heating method will be used as a secondary back up if needed a new super efficient hot water tank can be

Installed, increasing your homes efficiency further. Usable hot water is available to use during the daytime and can be stored over night, ready for use in the morning.

Flat panels and evacuated tubes are available for solar heating.

PV solar (Photovoltaics) produce electricity. A remarkably different system to the solar system previously mentioned.

Solar energy or solar radiation is light and radiant heat from the sun that influences Earth's climate. Since the early years, solar energy has been harnessed by humans through a range of different technology. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar resources, such as wind and wave power, hydro electric and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. A solar hot water collector (solar panels) are specifically intended to absorb sunlight and collect heat for your domestic needs.

Solar energy is absorbed by the solar collector, which in turn heats a glycol mix that are pumped through your solar collector were the photons are absorbed. This heated glycol mix is circulated through a separate coil in the hot water cylinder and used to heat your domestic water. As well as heating domestic water the same solar array can be used for central heating and pools.

Depending on the location and size of the solar array installed, the annual space heating contribution of up to 70% or more in modern ultralow energy type buildings; even up to up to 100% where a large seasonal thermal store are used.

The easiest way to describe how a solar panel will benefit you, is the panel takes over from your boilers job of heating your hot water, so you do not use any gas, electricity or oil to heat your water. At night your boiler regains control automatically, during the hours of darkness and low solar radiation.

Your boiler will no longer be you primary heat source.

Reducing reliance on traditional energy sources should be all home owners priority.

You can invest in now while energy prices are still relatively cheap, or in coming years when energy prices are through the roof (sorry for the pun). Everything will be more expensive, not just solar panel installations, but everything.

Very informative website, by the way, Well done.

My experience of our solar installation is particularly good. Our gas boiler only boosts the water temperature for about 10 minutes twice a day in winter and not at all in summer. My solar tubes have performed well above what I expected from it.

Even if you do not believe in climate change. Solar panels will free us from dependence on oil, which corrupts our foreign policy and leads to foolish wars. What could be more home grown than energy from a free source.

But inside just about every renewable energy technology including solar, critical elements that come from a commercial competitor and political opposite.

The key ingredients are rare earth metals such as praseodymium, cerium and neodymium. They have unique magnetic properties which are essential for solar technologies, especially pv solar.

The trouble is over 95% are found in China. The expansion of China's rare earth's industry looks like a text book example of how to kill off rivals and exploit your power. Towards the end of the last century, it flooded the market to undercut and forced mines in the US out of business. Now China's restricting exports and demanding manufacturers open factories there. The strategy is working.

The Chinese control of the source and use of rare earth metals make OPEC look like a bunch of amateurs.

We are gradually relying, on a superpower of dubious motives, to keep our lights on. Scary!

Why did we choose to install solar panels?

We had been considering having solar energy for some time along with several of our friends and neighbours, but none of us took the plunge.

The minefield on the internet of companies offering different schemes and prices was over whelming and then we came into contact with Heat my Home.

Confident, reassuring and professional, it was excellent throughout the process having been honest, friendly and approachable during the survey, which you conducted on our home. Wer'e made to feel secure and confident that our hard earned savings will be well invested with the government feed-in tariff scheme.

It now feels thrilling to feel that we are in some way, contributing to helping our planets survival. Having been pioneers in our village has inspired others to take the plunge.

We are now using our dishwasher and washing machine during the day, using our own electricity, no more being woken at night with noisy machines. Our electric meter has stopped turning as soon as our PV system started working. How satisfying was that to see!

We have had solar water heating panels for the past 35 years, so we are aware of the energy that can be captured. We were excited to read about photovoltaic cells in recent articles, so we knew how the system worked and its advantages, so decided to look further into its operation. We were disappointed that the old government solar grants were withdrawn but happy that they were replaced by the current feed-in tariffs scheme.

Your holistic approach appealed to us. You are experts in this field and were happy to place an order. The only administrative task for us to undertake was to inform our energy supplier, and even then you sent us a pro-forma letter requiring only our address and signature. You made it all tremendously easy.

We personally believe that every new build should have a south aspect roof and solar heating and photovoltaic panels to be installed as standard.

We are monitoring the daily amount generated in relation to the weather conditions and will be interested to see how the four seasons affect the daily amount, but I can report that we have been pleasantly impressed so far.