The commercial sector holds the key!

Given the latest changes in the Feed-in Tariffs scheme, it is not surprise that sales in the domestic solar sector have fallen down. However, many professionals in the solar energy sector believe that solar energy for companies is what comes next.

With energy prices rapidly increasing, the costs of maintaining a company have ever been so difficult to afford. Solar energy is now the way business owners can reduce or even cut their electricity bills. The commercial sector is waking up to the opportunities offered by PV, and businesses are now much better to understand the figures involved, and how these can be easily changed thanks to solar panels.

On the other hand, global opportunities for the solar industry are still growing with great potentials in the USA, China and Japan, but also in Europe, where the market shows development towards smart solutions, high efficiency for small systems and limited space, residential systems and self consumption. Solar panel installers are also doing their best to improve the solar market, offering the lowest prices for solar panel installations, and also starting innovative projects to install solar panels in communities and neighborhood in all around the UK. Also, lots of solar energy installers are already selling solar pv kits, that could become self-funding without the need for a Feed-in Tariff. The idea is homeowners and business owners want to do something for reduce their electricity bills and help the environment, more than just generating benefit from the Feed-in Tariffs scheme.

In my opinion, solar pv has just started. There is too much to do yet, too many ideas to develop, and too many projects to see. For a company or for a particular, it’s never too late to make this sort of investment. Whether the Feed-in Tariffs are reduced or not, solar energy will always cut electricity bills, as well as stop your company carbon emissions.

Solar Energy – Some Basic Concepts

Photovoltaics (PV) are a part of the known environmental technology, and one of the several renewable energy resources. PV allows to use energy from the sun and convert it into electricity thanks to the solar cells. As said on our post about solar energy jargon, solar cells covert light into electricity thanks to photons and electrons interaction when hited by the sunlight. There are three types of solar cells: mono-crystalline (high efficiency), poly-crystalline (medium efficiency) and Amorphous or thin film (low efficiency). Solar PV modules, also known as solar panels in the UK, are made of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells.

Solar PV Modules are covered with a low-iron glass with anti reflection coating cover usually made of glass that protects the structure of the solar panels from water, dust and other pollutants, as well as from mechanical stress. This coating also isolates the cells electrically. This glass cover reflects a proportion of the sunlight and prevent it from reaching the cell. By applying an anti reflection coating, this fraction is greatly reduced. A combination of modules make a solar array.

A photovoltaic system can be Grid connected or non Grid connected. Grid connected systems can feed back unto the distribution system and can be monitored on the output it is producing. In Grid connected systems, solar PV modules are fitted together in strings, in the best position to harness the most of sunlight. A collection of strings makes what is called the array, that is, all the modules together. The supply coming from the array in a Grid connected system will be connected to a d.c. isolator that feeds into the inverter. At the same time, on the a.c. side there will be a supply that feeds the inverter. Generation meters are used to monitor how much energy the array has produced, wether they are located in a house or they are generating solar energy for companies. There is also the possibility of having a display unit to show what the array is producing at any moment.

 

 

The UK has to switch OFF!

Homeowners are urged to take control to avoid fuel poverty. The UK could be less than three years away from an energy affordability crisis, according to a report recently published earlier this year. The research says if the high pricing trends continue, the average of energy consumed by each home will break the £1,500 anual barrier by 2015, becoming simply unaffordable for more than one half of the population.

Homeowners have to fit controls in order to control their energy consumption and reduce electricity bills. This is a very serious situation. Homeowners must be smart and environmentally friendly, take control now and start checking if they have enough heating controls in place.

The UK Government has recently announced some recent measures related to the future of the electricity in the UK that will save up to £300 million. Ministers have decided to modify electricity generators’ licenses to prevent behaviour that allows companies to profit unfairly at the expense of customers during periods of transmission constraint. DECC also published another project consisting of building energy efficient improvements and lighting controls in the commercial sector, and pump up efficiency in the industry.

This autumn is also expected to be the start of The Green Deal, which aims to reduce carbon emissions cost thanks to improving the energy efficiency of the houses, as well as to improve safety in homes, all around the UK. Some measures that will be taken in order to have a energy efficient home are heating control, solar energy, wind power, and other renewable sources. The benefits of the Green Deal will enable householders to fund the costs of energy efficiency measures through savings on their electricity bills. By finding your solar panels installer in London, you could install solar pv and start making money and saving energy all of a sudden!

Renewables keep on growing!

Some reports recently published revealed renewable energies don’t stop succeeding, but keep on growing more and more everyday! Here you go some of the most important highlights of this last 2011 revision by Renewable Magazine:

Solar energy is the most popular in the UK. A 2,000 face-to-face survey has revealed 79% support renewables, and 84% would rather solar energy to the rest of the renewables.

The total worldwide renewable energy generation stands now at 1,360GW.

The number of nations having set one or several renewables target for now or a near future were 118 by the end of the year. At the same time, the number of nations that had settled Feed-in Tariffs were 65.

Renewable source’s share of global power consumption is now 16.7%. Also the renewable energy’s share of new generating capacity is 44%.

Global investment in renewables and fuels was £163.96 billion, and the total worldwide investment in the solar power sector is nearly £93.78 billion.

The average of solar panels price has dropped down around 40% over the last twelve months, and so did the cost of generating power from onshore, which dropped around a 10%.

Finally, the Top 7 nations for the biggest renewable capacity already installed – excluding hydro – are China, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, India and Japan.

Despite these really good news for the renewables sector, there is still work to be done. A few words with anyone in the street will tell us the truth: there is still an anti-renewables feeling amongst the population. The UK Government now is keep on working on promotion of the cause for renewables. There is still a lot of controversia and confusion that has to disappear as soon as possible. Barriers have to be overcome and the benefits of renewables highlighted so we don’t have to battle anymore and we can finally dispel the myth of renewable energies in the UK. The sooner we get the UK residents supporting solar energy and the rest of renewables, the sonner we’ll start to produce environmentally friendly energy.

Find your solar panels installer in Hampshire

Top 3 Ways to Cut CO2 Emissions trough Home Improvements

After talking a lot about Feed-in Tariffs and changes in income, I decided to give some fresh air to my Blog and give you some advise about how to spot generating carbon dioxide emissions. Here you go my Top 3 tips to cut CO2 emissions and save money on your electricity bills!

3. Double glaze your house

Double glazing costs, as an average, around £350 per window fitted. The estimation of savings on bills is around £80, and the savings in CO2 emissions could by up to 720kg. As an example, If you double glaze your kitchen, which has, let’s say, 3 windows on the front, facing the garden, and 2 windows on the left, the money you would pay for that would be around £2,000. It obviously would take some time to recover all that money, but the truth is, it’s an investment for all your life and even for your children: you would save money and energy, and so would they!

2. Insulate your loft with electric storage heating

By insulating your loft with an electric storage heating system you could save up to £193 per year on your bills, and around 2 tonnes in CO2 each year (wich means you are currently emitting a lot of carbon dioxide if you haven’t done that!

1. And…Install Solar Photovoltaic Panels! 😀

Solar panels uk can give you a lot of income, depending on how many you have. As an example, a south facing house in Devon, South West England, with a 6 panels installation, would cost around £3,700. In the first year, your benefit would be £339.36. In around 9 years, you would have paid your panels, and the rest of the time until year 25 you would be making profit. In this concrete case, your profit from year 9 would be a total of £7,916!

Hope one of these ideas have convinced you! See you next time!

Solar Energy

Solar Power

New Solar FITs from August 2012 – Is that bad?

The Government published last week what will be the new FITs from 1st August 2012. From that date, the rate will be 16 per Watt for systems up to 4kW if the house meets, the Energy Efficiency requirements. If the house is doesn’t meet that energy efficiency requirement, then the tariff will be lower: only 7.1p per kWh.

Although we are losing 5p per kWh, the truth is solar panels uk installations prices have dropped more than 50% since the FIts started so revenue is right now the same as in that date, giving a 6% of return in domestic solar photovoltaic panels installations, and a 8% in larger solar panels installations. But, the new tariffs will now be paid over 20 years, five less than before.

These news can make you feel dejected. But anyway, in my opinion, we at least have FITs! If you have a look to what happened in other countries with tariffs from solar energy, the truth is that lots of Governments in Europe and also all around the world encouraged people to install solar photovoltaic panels on their roofs, and they all have now taken off their Feed-in Tariffs. That has provoked an anger reaction in their inhabitants, as they were expecting to receive money, and they don’t have anything!

So, if we try to be rational, let’s say how lucky we are that our Gov is still mantaining the tariffs and giving us some benefit!

And what about if Feed-in Tariffs continue going down? Well, Solar is great, and the sooner it’s down to a price whereby we don’t need a fit, the better! Do you change your washing machine for one that uses less energy? Well, this is the same: once solar panels are more cheaper, everybody will buy them as a way to save energy, not only to make benefit.

Feed-in Tariffs – The July cuts

As said in a post from 1 May – ‘Feed-in Tariffs in the UK – What’s new?‘ – , new Feed-in Tariffs that started on 1st April 2012 are likely to change in July, because of a new decision of the UK Government, which will include a new and lower new Feed-in Tariff. Although solar panels uk installations with that newest Feed-in Tariff will return less money, the UK Government justifies this announcement saying that the idea of the return on investment was always thought to be betwwen 5 and 8% for well located arrays – south or south west facing roofs.

According to installations levels, the Government is likely to introduce a new FIT rate of between 15.7 and 16.7p, depending on who’s saying it. Other just think they’ll keep the last FITS introduced by 1st April.

Although is not still clear what the effects of this cuts will be, the truth is that lots of solar energy supporters and homeowners are getting really annoyed with all these changes the UK Government has been making in this last year. The platform Our Solar Future is carrying out ‘Cut Don’t Kill’, a campaign  which aim to spread solar energy all along the UK.They defend solar power above all other sources of energy because, they say, there are not too may left, and because there are too many positive reasons to join the solar power club. As they say in their website, the Government cuts in Solar PV Feed-in Tariffs by 50% would devastate the solar power industry and jeopardise 25,000 jobs, which is, in my opinion, completely true.

They offer to their visitors to sign their petition to the Government to stop cutting Feed-in Tariffs. If you are interested in helping them, click in the link above:

http://www.oursolarfuture.org.uk/support-solar/

For more information about solar power cuts and Cut Don’t Kill campaign, visit their website: http://www.oursolarfuture.org.uk/.

Energy Performance Certificates at a glance

The UK Government has recently introduced the new Feed-in Tariffs which also come with some new changes: From 1st April on, those properties that apply for the highest Feed-in Tariffs – 21p/kWh – for their solar panels uk systems will also be required to reach an Energy Performance Certificate Level D or above. Otherwise, solar pv systems installed on properties with a lower EPC level would only be eligible for a lower tariff, 9p/kWh. However, if it’s not possible to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate for the property, this requirement would not take effect.

Although there are lots of information about new Feed-in Tariffs on the Internet, I found people is still lost with this Energy Performace Certificate, so I’ve decided to sum it. Find Energy Performance Certificate explanation below. Let’s see if it works!:

• Although there are some exceptions, in general, all buildings require an Energy Performance Certificate.
• Energy Performance Certificates give homeowners information about their home energy use.
• Energy Performance Certificates also make recommendations to reduce energy usage, make their home more energy efficient and, finally, how to save money thanks to it.
• Energy Performance Certificates also content the details of the EPC assessment person in charge, and also who to contact in case you have any doubt or complaint.
• Energy Performance Certificates are, basically, charts.
• Energy Performance Certificates are given to the new hosts when a house is bought or rented – ask for it in case you don’t receive it-. In the same way, if you are selling or renting your house, you’ll have to provide one to your new hosts. An Energy Performance Certificate is only valid for ten years.
• The cost of an EPC may change, as it depends on the market prices, and also on the size and location of the building, among other things.
• To get an Energy Performance Certificate, you will need to find and contact an accredited domestic energy assessor who carries out and produces the certificate according to your home condition.

 

Coming soon: more information about Energy Performance Certificates, how to reach Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Level D or above and EPC  accredited assessors in my Blog.

 

 

Feed-in Tariffs in the UK – What’s new?

From 1st April 2012, Feed-in Tariffs in the UK have changed: all homeowners who had installed solar panels under 4kW and also applied to receive these tariffs on or after that date, will receive 21p per kWh they send to the grid, in comparison with the 43.3p/kWh old tariff, which will continue working, but only to those who applied before 1st April 2012.

That means a reduction of more than 50% of the money old solar panels users are receiving. And this situation will also get worse to those whose house is not an EPC band D or above on the date the application for FITs is made, which are supposed to receive only 9p/kWh.

With the old Feed-in tariffs, 43.3p/kWh, the average household could expect to be receive £1,200 a year, according to the energy saving trust estimations. But even with a so much reduced tariff, house owners will continue making a good benefit. It’s said that house owners who had installed solar panels uk and also applied to receive Feed in tariffs after 1st of April will receive, as an average, around £50 , which is £600 a year. If that’s true, a £9,999 solar panels installation will be paid in approximately 16 years and hence, after these 16 years, house owners would be producing only benefits. Although the initial investment was recovered in ten years before new FITs, in my opinion, that’s still good, isn’t it?

However, I honestly think solar energy, or the electricity generated by solar panels shouldn’t be subsidied anymore, as although the energy supplier weren’t paying anything, house owners would be saving money anyway, as they energy use would be reduced. In fact, I’ve recently read that costs of solar panels supply will come down so much in the next decades that subsidies won’t be needed anymore, and the estimation of the total subsidy over the next thirty years will be a maximum of £9 per household.

Learn about Solar Energy History

Microgeneration – What’s that?!

Microgeneration is a term used for the generation of low, zero or renewable energy at a ‘micro’ scale, and covers all the energy generation resources that are decentralised. In legal terms, Microgeneration is defined as <45kWs (micro-heat) and <50kWs (micro-electricity) under the Energy Act 2004.

The first and primary resource of microgeneration which is renewable is solar energy. Solar photovoltaics (energy from sunlight), micro-wind turbines (energy from the movement of the wind), micro-hydro (energy from the movement of the water) and micro-CHP are considered Micro-electricity technologies. Heat pumps (that is, air, water and earth sources), biomass or biofuels (plants grown or fuel) and solar thermal are considered Micro-heat.

There are lots of different technologies available in the UK. Find them below in alphabetical order:

• Air Source Heat Pumps: Also known as ASHPs, generate heat with the energy absorb from the air.

• Ground source heat pumps: Generate heat with the energy absorb from the ground.

• Hydroelectricity: Water in movement is used to generate electricity.

• Micro-CHP: Micro combined heat and power. This technology generates heat and electricity at the same time, and is currently powered by mains gas or LPG. In the future there may be models powered by oil or bio-liquids.

• Solar panels (PV): Sunlight is used to generate electricity.

• Solar water heating: Sunlight is used to heat the water of houses and buildings.

• Wind turbines: Wind is used to generate electricity.

• Wood-fuelled heating: Also called biomass systems, burn wood pellets, chips or logs to to provide warmth in a single room or to power central heating and hot water boilers.

 

By installing microgeneration technologies, consumers and communities are contributing to european renewables targets and development, helping cut greenhouse emissions, and, summing, fighting against the climate change. As said in the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, the UK’s main environmental target is to achieve 15% of its energy consumption from renewables by 2020. Do you think that’s possible?