A beginners guide to solar panels
Do you want to learn about solar panels, but don’t know where to begin? Today, solar panels are good financial sense. Self-generation through photovoltaic solar panels is becoming more popular.
Reducing dependence is the motivation for installing any type of solar panel technology.
In a nutshell, there are two types of solar panels:
1. Solar heating panels including evacuated tubes.
2. PV electric panels also known as photovoltaic.
Self-generation through photovoltaic solar panels is the most popular. Your decision will depend on many factors, but Power My Home recommends a PV system installation. PV can multi-task, unlike solar heating!
Scientifically, when solar radiation enters The Earth’s atmosphere, it begins as shortwave. When short waves hit a solar panel, the wave converts to a long wave. This process expels a small amount of energy and produces a small amount of heat or electricity.
Domestic photovoltaic, solar panels use photocells to convert sunshine into electricity. The PV cell consists of two layers of semiconducting material, usually silicon.
When light hits the solar cell, it creates an electric field across the layers. This creates electricity to flow down pre-printed channels. The higher the intensity of the sun, the higher the flow of electrons. Today, we can sell electricity back to the National Grid with a Generation or Export Scheme. This is set up with your current energy supplier or shop around for better deals on the market.
In addition to saving on bills, photovoltaic solar panels provide battery storage benefits too.
Investing in your energy future has a typical lifespan of thirty to forty years.
Photovoltaic solar panels make financial sense when external factors dictate energy expenditure. The Generation Tariff incentive means your energy company whose obligated to purchase your surplus power.
Did I mention the free motor mileage from free EV-charging? Domestic solar heating systems convert passive heat into useful hot water.
Solar heating technology has been available since the 1970s and works with an existing boiler with a tank, to contribute hot water or space heating. A solar heating system provides 50% to 70% of your hot water needs each year.
Power My Home recommends PV-heating converters as part of a photovoltaic package installed by MCS-accredited installers.
Both technologies generate clean heat stimulated by strong personal financial incentives.
A solar heating system is a single or a combination of multiple panels:
On-roof.
In-roof.
Evacuated tubes are the most efficient in the winter months. Evacuated solar tubes have been available in the UK for two decades now.
It’s a cost-effective method of generating your hot water and using fewer fossil fuels. An average system can generate around 60-70% of the hot water required over a year.
We prefer evacuated tubes over flat-plates because they’re more efficient in winter. In the summer, most of your hot water needs can be produced easily. Even in the winter months, they can contribute to reducing your boiler firing up.
All solar panels work in our UK climate. The type of system required for your home depends on many factors and why we consult before quoting.
Always free and without obligation.
I am an enthusiast for any sort of alternative technology that will provide energy from the sun and avoid the use of fossil fuels which are swiftly being depleted. However, I took the plunge with PV panels. They are mounted on the roof of the house. At the front of the roof between the panels and the sun,is a small parapet wall which partially shades the lower row of panels when the sun is low in the sky at daybreak. I had not been informed that the PV panels which are connected in series will not operate properly when any one of them is partially shaded. Now I understand that when a PV panel is even partially shaded the internal resistance increases dramatically and so reduces the generated power of the whole array. The system I have only generates about a third of what I was expecting from the initial sheets that I was given. I have now been told that for quite a lot more money I can have “optimizers” fitted to each panel and that the optimizers will remedy the problem. I am hoping that this will be the case. If not, I have a lot of expensive technology on my roof which will certainly not repay the cost of the installation in its proposed life time!