Why Solar

About Solar energy.

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available renewable energy on earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.
Solar powered electrical generation relies on heat engines and photovoltaic. Solar energy's uses are limited only by human ingenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.To harvest the solar energy, the most common way is to use solar panels.

A practical guide to solar panels.
With current interest rates and unstable utility energy prices, installing solar panels, currently represent one of the best investments, increasing your properties value and reducing your energy bills long term. This website is designed to educate people on the different solar technologies available for the UK climate.

What can solar panels do for you? 
In the crazy world of energy prices and the downturn of the economy, any way that you have to reduce your living expenses will help you get through the economic downturn. Using renewable energy such as solar power will be a great way to eliminate your energy and heating bills.

Benefits of solar energy

Reduce Pollution + Save Money  +  Free electricity. 

For the Environment - Environmental benefits

Environmental benefits include reduced fuel consumption and displacement of fossil fuels. Cut your carbon footprint: solar electricity is green, renewable energy and doesn't release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants. A typical home PV system could save around 1200 kg of carbon dioxide per year - that's around 30 tonnes over its lifetime.

• Long lasting
• Reduced Energy bills
• Feed in Tariffs (FITs)
• Virtually no on going maintenance

When generating electricity PV systems produce no atmospheric emissions or greenhouse gases. Compared to fossil-generated electricity, each kilowatt of PV electricity annually offsets up to:

• 16 kilograms of nitrogen oxides
• 9 kilograms of sulphur oxides
• 2,300 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2)

The benefits of Solar PV

• Cut your electricity bills: sunlight is free, so once you've paid for the initial installation your electricity costs will be greatly reduced. A typical home PV system can produce around 40% - 50% of the electricity a household uses in a year.
• Sell electricity back to the Grid: if your system is producing more electricity than you need, or when you can't use it, someone else can use it - and you could make some money from it.

Eg.
A 4 kWp PV array installed in Berkshire will provide a cash payment of £1,376.00 and on top of the cash payment the 3,334 kWh generated from the PV system can be used for own use or be sold. All the cash payments paid from the feed-in tariff for the electricity generated from PV is tax free.

Payments are made for the actual amount of electricity generated from the PV solar array. Most suppliers will make payments each quarter by either a cheque or BACS which ever the customer requests.

The customer will be required to supply the energy supplier with a reading from the PV solar meter and the payment will be made to the customer based on the reading supplied. The energy company will also pay 3p per kWh for 50% of the generated electricity from the PV solar array based on the assumption that 50% has been exported back to them.

The cash payments are made by the energy company, are index-linked and guaranteed for 25 years by the government. The government are giving a 25 year guarantee on the feed-in tariff and £10,000 invested in solar electricity over the 25 year period will return 50% more than leaving the money in a bank. This calculation does not take into account the savings made on electricity bills over this period.

Earn Guaranteed Income
From April 2010, you can make tax free returns of around 8% by generating your own electricity.

The government has introduced a subsidy program (called a Feed-In Tariff) to create a financial incentive for people to install renewable energy generation technology in their homes and small businesses.

How will the Feed-In Tariff create such a compelling investment opportunity? The new subsidy, which was created by the Energy Act of 2008 and will come into effect on 1st April 2010, benefits generators in three ways:

Earn as you generate
For every kWh of electricity generated, the government will pay 41.3p (~3 x grid rates) guaranteed for 25 years & inflation linked 

For the electricity you don't use up but ‘export’ you receive an additional 3-5p per kWh

Save on your energy bill
By generating some of or all your own electricity you can reduce the amount you buy from a utility

Today this means a saving of around 13p per kWh but this will rise as energy prices increase

Increase your home value
With a 25 year technology warranty and a subsidy lifetime you will earn money for many years.

How does the Feed-In Tariff work?

The Tariff is paid to you by your grid energy supplier using your existing bills - and is:

• Index linked (so payments will increase each year to stay in line with inflation)
• Guaranteed by law for 25 years - long after you will have paid back any up-front cost of the electricity

	Benefits	Savings
Earn as you generate	Toby's 2kWp installation generates 1700kWh each year & receives 41.3p per kWh & and additional 3p for any electricity he exports to the Grid	£728 (each year)
Save on bills	Toby uses ~50% of the electricity he generates and so avoids needing to buy 850 kWh at ~13p per kWh from his fossil-fuel based utility	£110 (each year)
Total savings per year	Having spent ~£11000, Toby makes a massive tax free annual saving of ~8%	£840 (each year)
Increase in home value	Because Toby is going to sell his home next year, he can pass on the savings to the next owner. We assume a simple 10 x yearly earnings as a reasonable price	£8400 (£840 x 10)
Annual carbon savings	To illustrate the environmental benefits, we've calculated the annual carbon savings in terms of the equivalent miles you could drive in one of the engensa Smart Cars	6200 miles

Source: Energy Savings Trust; assumes 89 g/km emissions for a Smart for two pulse cabrio

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems Feed-in Tariff

Feed-in tariff - Payments per kWh if installed before 31st March 2012
up to 4 kW (new build)	36.1 pence per kWh generated
up to 4 kW (retrofit*)	41.3 pence per kWh generated
4 kW to 10 kW	36.1 pence per kWh generated
10 kW to 100 kW	31.4 pence per kWh generated
100 kW to 5 MW	29.3 pence per kWh generated
Stand alone system**	29.3 pence per kWh generated

Here is our advice about how to save energy

• Look at microgeneration technologies. These include small scale renewable sources such as photovoltaic solar systems, as well as wind turbines, hydroelectric plants, ground source heat pumps and Micro Combined Heat and Power (MicroCHP) installations. Grants are available for most technologies, and saving energy means saving money.
• Check out all available grants, especially for extra loft insulation and cavity wall insulation; you'll be amazed at the difference in heat loss.
• Good old double glazing: if you haven't got it, get it.
• Buy an energy monitor to show your electricity usage, cost and CO2 levels to make you more aware of your energy consumption.
• Adapt your environment: does your heating really need to be on full? Turn the thermostat down by just 2 or 3 degrees, you will hardly notice the difference.
• Only have the heating on when necessary: if you are at work all day and no-one is in the house, turn the heating off, or least turn it down.
• Switch off the lights as you exit the room.
• Next time a bulb blows, change it for an energy saving bulb. It will take a bit of getting used to, but the money and energy you'll save is worth it, not to mention how long they last.
• If you replace an old boiler with a new one you can save up to £200 per annum.
• Close your curtains when the sun goes down and make sure they're not hanging over the top of the radiator.
• Always use a full dishwasher, washing machine or tumble dryer. Whenever possible limit your use of the tumble dryer.
• Shower instead of having a bath: a shower uses 40% less water.
• Fill your kettle with only the necessary amount of water needed for coffee and tea.
• A large plasma or LCD TV generates a lot of heat: turn the radiator right down in that room whilst the TV is on.
• Don't keep the TV, stereo, etc, on standby - this very simple tip really adds up.
• Try to remember that energy has to go somewhere, and wasted energy is usually in the form of heat loss. Use this to your advantage: a working kitchen will generate its own heat simply through appliance heat loss, so turn the radiators down and use the heat loss to warm your kitchen.
• If you need a new fridge or freezer, make sure you get an energy efficient one. This appliance is on 24 hours a day, so big savings can be made here.
• http://actonsolarpower.com/why-solar