solar energy in kent Going Solar - My Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Kentish Flats seen from top of North Downs near Lenham. Turbines are about 30 miles away - see map

 



Headlines

Property prices soar in the desert
India's thirst for SOLAR energy has transformed Mr Singh's property from a dry, dusty inhospitable environment into a sun-drenched power socket that promises much, both for energy companies and for a country that still suffers black-outs.
Renewable Heat Incentive
This document sets out the responses of the SOLAR Trade Association (“the STA”) to the SOLAR related sections of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) consultation.
SOLAR Scammers still going strong
Which? has done an exposé which includes Everest Double Glazing’s sales techniques and prices, Which? state that Everest came close to breaking the law if not actually breaking it.
SOLAR Trade Association expresses concern to Chancellor
We, the relevant trade bodies representing the renewable heat industry, are writing to express our very significant concerns over the looming funding gap for our sector. We are aware that the funds currently supporting the two grants schemes the Low Carbon Phase 1 and 2 are about to run short and that the programmes will almost certainly have to be closed.

energy saving trust

Clear Skies

 

Feed in tariffs

Solar Photovoltaic (Electric)

My Solar Electric installation was installed during a new build of a roof extension. Though when I did it, it was difficult to justify in a very hard nosed financial sense, installing solar electric panels as part of a new build is now starting to make financial sense as the cost of solar panels comes down and energy goes up.

In particular, commercial buildings that might have otherwise expensive cladding, might consider lower cost but equally attractive solar panels which both generate electricity and add to the company's environmental credentials.

My costings were based on: The installtion was going to be about £17,000 of which half was covered by a Government grant. The area covered by solar electric panels was going to be about 35 m2 which would save me some £4,000 in roofing costs. ie the total additional cost to me would be £4,500 which represented a lot less than 10% of the overall build cost of my extension.

The return is about 1,500 units per year which at current costs represents about £150 of savings. In addition, as a family we are now more careful with electricity, as we generate a portion of it ourselves and have actually seen our bill go down by about £250 a year! Its still a long time to pay back the installation cost but with electricity prices set to keep going up, my investment might turn out to have been more cost effective than I 1st thought.

The image above is of my house during the construction. The roof has been completed and the solar panels blend in well with the reclaimed slates, which in turn were selected to match the existing roof. From a distance, the solar panels virtually disappear.

Making my free electricity go further

Though we are part of the demonstration export meter scheme, we do not actually sell our electricity preferring to purchase at the lowest cost - we're already practically doing more than most so do not see an moral problems here!

So, we want to make the most of any electricity that we do generate, to do this we:

  • have put timers on our freezers so that they only run during daylight hours
  • aim to run the dishwasher and washing machine at the optimum time to use our solar heated water and solar generated electricity, usually between 10:00 and 15:00.

The freezers have extra expanded polystyrene cladding to make them extra A++ rated so they are virtually free to run and they will easily last extended periods without the compressor running.

Using Solar PV as a cladding Material

Many buildings use cladding materials which cost £1000 per square metre. The bronze façade to the new Westminster parliament office complex cost over £7000 per square metre. By contrast, solar PV cladding - which can look every bit as attractive as marble or bronze - costs as little as £500 per square metre. It would also have provided clean and indeed free power for the building.

Government backflip on solar panel policy

The Government seem to be in the process of anouncing a complete backflip on domestically generated electricity, clearly a change that is a reaction to earlier Torie promises and pressure from the EU, effectively the Govt has at last taken renewables seriously!

So what does it all mean. There will be a commitment that people who generate and export electricity to the grid will receive a guaranteed payment.

But - there doesn't seem to have been a statement on what these payments are going to be. At the moment I get 8.5p per exported unit from E.on though that is limited to solar PV generated electricity. In Germany the feed in tariffs are set at about 45p per unit, that is a level which will generate a real boom in the UK's solar PV industry.

What also needs considering is the cost and availability of export meters, and the willingness of energy suppliers to install. The ability to grid connect domestic generation kit.

But! My 30 square metres of Soalr PV generates about 1.5kW on a good day. My 6 square meters of solar thermal generates about 6kW equivalent on a good day! The solar thermal is cheaper and easier to install, it saves far more carbon and grants are virtually impossible to get!

Clearly electric generation is sexy and headline grabbing, actually reducing CO2 is very much a secondary matter!

see: climate ark ; Telegraph ;