SOLAR BLOG
Becoming carbon neutral gains momentum
With a recommendation from the Climate Change Committee to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by 60% within 20 years, solar panel installers could be in for a hectic period.
As the need to live a greener life becomes ever more important, it appears that residents across the UK are really beginning to take things more seriously.
Since the government announced that its popular Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme will not affect smaller solar panel installations, momentum in household projects seems to be building. As families begin to realise that the positive effects can be seen financially as well as environmentally, whole communities are coming together.
Across the UK, meetings are being held to ascertain how communities can come together to maximise the opportunities that solar PV could provide. Local community leaders leading the campaigns for a greener lifestyle, are also urging potential investors that solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will also see an increase in property prices.
Under the FIT scheme, which is directly index linked, households get paid for every unit of electricity their panels produce. Guaranteed for 25 years, the cost of initial investment will soon pay itself out. As the nation becomes increasingly environmentally aware, such installations could also increase the attractiveness of a property.
As with a lot of new technologies, it is early investors who are most likely to benefit the most. For those like minded families who are both environmentally conscious, and have an eye on both saving money and turning a profit, it could provide the perfect solution.
Keeping up with the Jones’ goes green
A Stanford University study reveals even solar panel installation is contagious.
All around the globe neighbours historically compete to have the best of everything from houses to cars, holidays to careers and even to their kids education. It could be argued that it is almost the way of the world.
Things go further than this though, as a recently completed study from Stanford University reveals.
The study by economics and marketing researchers indicates that, where a postcode has a one percent increase in the number of solar panel installations, so the time lag between the next installation shortens; by another one percent.
In the study, its authors suggest the most likely reasons for this. It is clear that there are a number of contributory factors but key amongst these is the power exerted over peer pressure.
The California study is clearly suggesting that when one neighbour is seen to be going green, it is of greater importance that others follow suit, in order that they too are shown to be environmentally friendly.
The study also concludes that influences such as local marketing by solar panel suppliers, collective learning of the benefits of the technology, and simple word of mouth recommendations may also have an affect.
In many countries, those wanting to live a greener lifestyle are likely to gather in certain areas. In the UK, it is likely that such trends can be equated to this vein of thinking too.
With further financial encouragement from the government’s Feed in Tariff, which sees investors paid for their electricity at an index rate linked mechanism, neighbours rivalry could finally be doing something positive.
UK homeowners urged to reach for the sun
Although there has been some uncertainty over the government’s Feed in Tariff (FIT), home solar panel installations are still on the increase. The reasons for this are clear, as whilst changes to FIT will limit the uptake of solar PV on a commercial scale, homeowners remain largely unaffected.
It is clear that families looking for a cost effective way to become greener have no better choice than looking towards solar cells. With a reduction in bills, and a typical return of between 7 and 14 percent year on year from the initial investment, embracing solar power has never made more sense.
Improved technology, which is improving all the time, also makes it viable in parts of the country not necessarily associated with sunny days. Increasingly, it is possible to convert the sun’s power on partially cloudy days, whilst panels themselves are now able to track the sun as it moves across the sky.
A south facing roof is always preferred to capture the sun but, for those not having this, installations are still possible. Whilst more noticeable of course, those with the space to accommodate such an installation are likely to be able to hide the panels from view if required.
Already, more than 28,000 homes have been fitted with the technology which, when combined, equates to more than 77MW of energy produced. With homeowners increasingly urged to get involved now whilst the going is so good, the trend looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Underpinning all of this is the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and a reduction in the reliance on fossil fuels, which is an ever more important issues for the British family. For both financial and environmental reasons therefore, a solar panel installation for the home is a choice that many are electing to have.
BSOLAR install new cutting edge SANYO solar panels
On Monday this week BSOLAR installed one of the first SANYO HIT panel installations in the UK.
The panels arrived on Friday after being on order for over 2 months.
The latest Sanyo solar panels are the highest efficiency panels yet produced and are really 2 panels in one combining both thin-film and conventional solar cells in one frame.
Latest solar power innovation could attract more users
A recently announced innovation in solar panel installation may mean that many people who have reservations about altering the ‘look’ of their home can enjoy the benefits of solar power without changing the its appearance.
An innovative photo-voltaic roof slate has been unveiled, which looks like a regular slate and offers the same level of protection, whilst providing a means to harness solar power. As the drive to become greener gains momentum, families are looking to reduce their carbon footprint. From recycling waste to cutting back on the use of plastic bags, there are many ways this can be done. Increasingly, alternative power sources to help heat the home and generate electricity are on the agenda.
For many, the solution can be found in solar panel installations, but despite incentives such as the government’s Feed In Tariff scheme, many still have reservations. These reservations often surround the perceived aesthetic qualities that solar panels give to a building once they have been installed. However, the latest developments are helping to resolve this issue.
The latest panels are becoming ever slimmer and more lightweight, and so blend in with their surroundings more. However, photo-voltaic roof slates take this a step further. It is anticipated that they will gain popularity with many homeowners, and will provide an attractive alternative to traditional solar panels for buildings in conservation areas.
Another exciting development has seen the creation of a solar greenhouse. The glazing is embedded with PV cells but, through the arrangement, still allows enough light to pass through for plants.
Solar Thermal advice
BSOLAR Managing Director Peter Bladen is an established and qualified renewable energy consultant whose company BSOLAR endeavours to maintain an ethical position on the solutions that they will offer to the UK market. His open advice in the Liverpool. Daily Post on 30th March has recently been dismissed by a Director of a competitor company.
Peter would like to reaffirm his statement that Solar Thermal hot water systems are only ever financially viable in very limited/exceptional circumstances in the UK*.
The only domestic customers are people wishing to be ‘green’ despite the financial penalty or people badly advised, usually by people with a financial interest in advising poorly. The maths is relatively simple to understand. Solar thermal can only provide hot water. The average UK home spends £600 pa on gas for heating and hot water. £200 at most goes on hot water. Even assuming that the solar thermal system provides 75% of hot water (optimistic) the best they can do is save £150 pa. The installed system needs maintenance with fluid changes and this costs a significant portion of the savings resulting in a saving of less than £100 pa. At an installation price of £5000 the best a customer can hope for is a 50 year payback which is beyond the expected system lifetime.
BSOLAR are only MCS accredited for Solar Photovoltaics because this remains the only technology that currently has widespread application and is financially rewarding for those that invest in it. BSOLAR will not seek MCS accreditation for any technology that it feels cannot be ethically provided economically.
*References RICS publication ‘The Greener House Price Guide’ & Energy Saving Trust guidance.
