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Getting the best out of solar panels
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th December 2008 at 4:20 pm
Get a few people with solar panels together (as happened this weekend) and inevitably there's discussion about how to get the most out of your solar thermal system. This is probably because the amount of hot water generated by solar thermal systems is dependent on how we use the system (as was confi…
Posted in: Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Grants for Solar PV projects on community buildings
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 13th February 2009 at 9:22 am
Grants are in the news again! The tranche of cash recently added to the Low Carbon Building Programme phase 2 looks likely to be exhausted towards the end of this month. If you have a community project that requires funding from this programme, my advice is to make sure that you get the application …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar panels are flexible and easy
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 9th January 2009 at 8:35 am
Solar PV (photovoltaic) is a great technology because it is so flexible and easy to manage. In most cases, once you have fitted it and connected to the grid you can forget about it, and watch your carbon emissions and energy costs fall and stay down for the next 25 years or so. One of the many p…
Posted in: Solar electricity
PV shipments grow as community grants dry up
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 18th March 2009 at 10:29 am
Shipments of photovoltaic (PV) panels (solar electricity) are growing year on year at a rapid rate around the world. Much of this is driven by multi-MW PV farms or so called Solar Parks. These require large areas of land and are best suited to sunnier climes and places where land is more available. …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Support for microgenerators increased this month
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 20th April 2009 at 8:42 am
Financial incentives for people generating electricity with photovoltaic solar panels (PV) are provided though the system of renewable obligations certificates, (commonly referred to as ROCs). All electricity providers have to buy these certificates each year, in proportion to the amount o…
Posted in: Combined heat & power, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
PV systems need an efficient inverter
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 15th May 2009 at 11:07 am
Photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules are only part of the picture when you consider the efficiency of a solar electricity generating station. Key to an effective PV system is an efficient inverter, which converts the direct current (DC) electricity produced to AC (alternating current or mains equiv…
Posted in: Solar electricity
BBC's Freefall points to solar sales danger
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th July 2009 at 12:37 pm
Dodgy salesmen, and the terrible impact they can have on their victim’s lives, was one aspect of last night’s powerful BBC drama Freefall (catch it here for a week). It took a look at the financial disaster we’re all in from three points of view: a City trader packaging up sub prime mor…
Posted in: General, Solar heat & hot water
What the renewable energy strategy and low carbon transition plan mean for your home
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th July 2009 at 3:01 pm
Households are expected to make cuts in their carbon emissions of 29% by 2020 according to the Government's Low Carbon Transition Plan, announced by Ed Miliband last week (houses currently emit more than a third of the UK's carbon). This will be done through a combination of cutting the amount o…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Siting your PV panels
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 3rd August 2009 at 3:58 pm
When buying photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity for their home, most people put them on the roof. However, this isn't the only place, and may not be the one that gives the best results. Below is John Smith's story about his decision to site his solar panels in the corner of a field…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar panels have never been so attractive
Posted by Chris Rudge on 10th August 2009 at 10:50 am
With the feed-in tariff due to start in April 2010 (after a short consultation period to October) the benefits of installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system on our houses before the end of the 2009 are probably better than we will ever have again. Simply put, if you have a PV installation befor…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Feed-in tariffs are not fair to renewable energy pioneers
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th August 2009 at 9:17 am
Renewable energy pioneers have been dealt a dismal hand by DECC's proposed rates for the feed-in tariff. Existing microgenerators (whose installation has been accredited under the Renewable Obligation) will be automatically transferred to the feed-in tariff on a rate of 9p per kWh (kilowatt hours)…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Existing generators angry at feed-in cuts to income
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th September 2009 at 8:32 am
Feed-in tariffs are designed to incentivise people to invest in renewable sources of energy generation. Yet, the government's proposals will give much lower rates to existing microgenerators, leading to a cut in income for many. This seems a perverse move from government. The numbers of micro wi…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Solar PV: how to tell the difference between panel types
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 25th September 2009 at 9:50 am
Solar PV (photovoltaic) panels come in lots of different types - mostly with long and complicated names - so it's not easy to know what the difference is. Last night I went to an excellent evening organised by the Sid Valley Energy Action Group - a group of enthusiastic volunteers who promote ene…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar PV industry uncertainty as grants pot runs out
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 4th December 2009 at 9:23 am
The solar industry faces another phase of uncertainty as the grants money to support installation of photovoltaic panels in public sector buildings and charities has run out again. The Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 grant pot was topped up with £35m earlier this year, of which £13m was …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar panels fall in price
Posted by Chris Rudge on 11th November 2009 at 10:30 am
There is both good news and bad news in the solar PV (photovoltaic) installation world. Over the last few months, the cost of solar electricity modules has fallen by anything up to 10%. This is due to an early year slump in demand throughout Europe in caused by the credit crisis. There had also b…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Is my roof too shaded for solar PV panels?
Posted by Chris Rudge on 14th January 2010 at 7:10 am
If you are thinking of having a solar electricity system installed in 2010 to take advantage of the last chances of getting a lump sum grant before the Feed In Tariff starts in April, the first thing to do is look for a good location to install it. Traditionally for domestic Solar PV (photo…
Posted in: Solar electricity
What's the best mounting for solar panels?
Posted by Chris Rudge on 10th February 2010 at 9:07 am
Flush fitting of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system to generate electricity has both benefits and downsides over the more popular 'on roof' mounting. The benefit is a PV array that is more integrated-looking, although to keep that essential cooling airflow to ensure the system works at maximum effi…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Generating my own electricity
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 10th March 2010 at 9:05 pm
Our new photovoltaic solar panels started generating electricity a month ago today. It was dusk on a cold February day when system was all ready to go, so it was exciting to see the light flashing on the generation meter and the inverter showing that even in poor light it was making a little bit of…
Posted in: Solar electricity
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