How do photovoltaic (PV) cells work?

PV cells are panels you can attach to your roof or walls. Each cell is made from one or two layers of semiconducting material, usually silicon. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers. The stronger the sunshine, the more electricity is produced.

 PV cells come in a variety of shapes and colours, from grey “solar tiles” that look like roof tiles to panels and transparent cells that you can use on conservatories and glass.

 The strength of a PV cell is measured in kilowatt peak (kWp). That’s the amount of energy the cell generates in full sunlight.

The benefits of solar electricity

Cut your carbon footprint: solar electricity is green, renewables energy and doesn’t release any harmful carbon dioxide (CO₂) or other pollutants. A typical home PV system could save around 1tonne of CO₂ per year – that’s around 25 tonnes over its lifetime.

• 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% 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 a bit of money. Read more about feed-in tariffs and selling electricity.

• Store electricity for a cloudy day: if your home isn’t connected to the national grid you can store excess electricity in batteries to use when you need it.

Is solar electricity suitable for my home?

To tell if solar electricity is right for you, there are a few key questions to consider:

• Do you have a sunny place to put it? You’ll need a roof or wall that faces within 90 degrees of south, and isn’t overshadowed by trees or buildings. If the surface is in shadow for parts of the day, your system will generate less energy.

• Is your roof strong enough? Solar panels are not light and the roof must be strong enough to take their weight, especially if the panel is placed on top of existing tiles. If in doubt, ask a construction expert or an installer.

• Do you need planning permission? In England, Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland, you don’t need planning permission for most home solar electricity systems, as long as they’re below a certain size – but you should check with your local planning officer, especially if your home is a listed building, or is in a conservation area or World Heritage Site.

Read more about planning permission for renewable energy technologies.

Cost, savings and maintenance

Costs for installing a solar electricity system vary a lot – an average system (2.2kW) costs around £12,000 (including VAT at 5%). Per kW, solar electricity systems can cost in the region of £4,500 to £8,000 per kW, but costs per kW should reduce as system size increases.

In general:   

• the more electricity the system can generate, the more it costs but the more it could save
• solar tiles cost more than conventional panels
• panels built into a roof are more expensive than those that sit on top but,
• if you need major roof repairs, PV tiles can offset the cost of roof tiles

Savings can be considerable – around 1 tonne of CO₂ a year. A 2.2 kWp system can generate around 40% of a household’s yearly electricity needs. If the system is eligible to receive the Feed In Tariff it could generate savings and income of around £900 per year.

Maintenance is generally small – you’ll need to keep the panels relatively clean and make sure trees don’t begin to overshadow them. 

Selling your own electricity

You can make money on excess electricity by selling it back to the Grid through a scheme called Feed in Tariffs (FITs). Find out more about FITs

All tariff levels (including export tariffs) are indexed against the Retail Price Index (RPI). This ensures that the target rates of return are maintained for the lifetime of the FIT.

So as the cost of installing systems reduces, so will the FIT rates accordingly.  When signing up for the FIT, the rate that you receive will remain constant for the tariff’s lifetime.

All you need to know about Condensing Boilers

All you need to know about Combi Boilers

According to The Center for Alternative Energy installing a new or replacement high efficiency boiler typically has a greater environmental benefit than swapping a gas-guzzling 4×4 large family car for a modern Hybrid car or, to use another example, is equivalent to planting 120 trees in your garden.

The rising cost of energy and the need to limit the impact of energy usage on the climate has raised the need for all of us to be efficient in our energy consumption. Another advantage of energy efficient appliances is that they cost less to run!

The sooner you buy a new A rated energy efficient boiler, the sooner you can start saving money on your heating bills.

Installing the best boiler brands

We and our partners only installs energy efficient A rated boilers from the best names in central heating: Baxi, Ideal, Potterton and Worcester Bosch.

If you have an older boiler, every time it starts up it is wasting you money. And that wasted energy also results in CO2 emissions, which are harmful to the environment. That’s why we are committed to helping you install only the best ‘A‘ rated condensing boilers, which convert more fuel into energy. This typically means a reduction of up to 25% on your heating bills and a reduction in emissions from your heating.

• Once the water in the storage cylinder runs out you have to wait for it to reheat
• You’ll need to find space for the cylinder (usually in an airing cupboard)
• More prone to air entering the system
• Space taken up with geed and expansion tanks sited in the loft.