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Free solar panels: is it too good to be true?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 11th August 2010 at 8:54 am
Solar PV panels worth £10-12,000, installed on your roof, free of charge - it sounds too good to be true, but is it really? The 'rent a roof' model, as it is known, is proving attractive to installers and investors. A Shade Greener, Homesun and Isis Solar are just three of companies offering the…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar PV across different facing roofs
Posted by Chris Rudge on 3rd September 2010 at 12:59 pm
Q: I'm thinking of installing solar PV panels on two roof aspects, one south facing the other east. Can you please explain in layman's language what is meant by 'series' and 'parallel'. Different installers are recommending one or the other or both! A: Unlike battery charging PV systems, a…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Are your PV panels keeping up with the Jones'?
Posted by Lisa Hall on 19th September 2010 at 5:45 pm
Ten years ago, awkward dinner conversations focused on one-upmanship around mobile technology. Nowadays, conversations might turn to how much power your neighbour's solar PV panels are generating compared to your own. One might start quoting panel specifications, IV curves and inverter e…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar PV: check whether it's suitable for your house
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 18th October 2010 at 2:10 pm
With the feed-in tariff, solar PV panels are more accessible than they have ever been, but you still need to make sure you've got a suitable site before you install them. In this video, Stuart Houghton of Abacus Renewable Energy talks through the key things to check: …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Windmills everywhere, but Mallorcan renewable energy potential seems untapped
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 13th April 2011 at 9:03 am
One of the first things that struck me as we arrived in Mallorca was the number of windmills everywhere. Sadly they are mostly derelict, with a few tarted up to promote restaurants or other tourist attractions. Modern wind turbines, generating electricity, are surprisingly few and far between - w…
Posted in: General
Micro inverters vs string inverters - which works best?
Posted by Paul Hutchens on 19th April 2011 at 8:45 am
The yield and efficiency of solar PV panels is a constant topic of debate. Talk of kWp and kWh as well as percentage efficiencies of solar PV modules rings out at energy clubs across the land. This is just the headline information though. Just as an obsession with a car's top speed or the time it…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Import and export meters and the feed-in tariff
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 29th March 2011 at 9:59 am
I've been a bit confused about export meters for the feed-in tariff. When my solar PV panels were installed my installer put in two meters. One measures the total amount of electricity generated. The other measures the amount I export. The meters are identical. So identical that they even have co…
Posted in: General, Green Electricity
Solar PV may add premium to house price
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 9th May 2011 at 10:20 am
There is strong evidence that homes with solar PV systems have sold for a premium over comparable homes without solar PV. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that a 3.1kW PV system added an average premium of $17,000 (just over £10,000) to house prices. A study done in Sa…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Solar PV has quartered school's electricity bills
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th July 2011 at 9:39 am
Solar PV panels have made a 'huge difference financially to Shute Community Primary School, a small school in rural East Devon. Based in an old draughty building, and with a portacabin heated solely by electricity, the school's bills were 'horrific' says administrator Jenny Hardiman. Much to…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity
Which energy company is the most helpful about the feed-in tariff
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th April 2011 at 9:44 am
Choosing your feed-in tariff supplier is important. Their efficiency, or lack of it, will affect how quickly and accurately you get paid for the electricity you generate, and you don't have to use the same supplier as you use to buy electricity. A recent blog outlined the questions you should as…
Posted in: Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines, Green Electricity
How to get a grant for solar panels: tips from a community shop
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 25th July 2011 at 9:46 am
Solar PV panels have cut energy bills by around 15% at Dalwood Community Shop in Devon. With four freezers to run, energy bills are its largest outgoing, so the long and involved process of seeking grants to install them was worthwhile according to co-ordinator Shelagh Beak. As well as lower bill…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity
Solar PV plus air source heat pumps: a case study of Donyatt village hall
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 5th August 2011 at 9:34 am
South east facing solar PV panels on a nearby roof got David Willis thinking that they might be an option for Donyatt Village Hall in Somerset. "They were facing a bit east of south east, and yet the performance is better than my solar pv panels on a south facing roof with slight shade first thi…
Posted in: Heat pumps, Solar electricity
Solar PV, conservation area and planning permission: a case study
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 26th September 2011 at 8:28 am
Steve Plater's, story has a happy ending, but it perfectly illustrates that despite being a "permitted development" the path of a solar pv panel installation doesn't always run smoothly: Our house is metres inside a conservation area (CA) boundary, only because it is built on land which used to …
Posted in: Solar electricity
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