Putting you in charge of your energy.
GH Installations Ltd.
Qualified, Professional & Reliable
Electrical Contractors
01285 703817
Solar Panel Systems
A brief introduction to Solar Energy
Solar energy is one of the biggest and most effective kinds of renewable energy in the world. The natural power of the sun is harvested to create electricity which is the used to heat and light homes and businesses. Your system can either produce electricity or heat your water whilst reducing the amount of carbon dioxide you produce.
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Solar panels give us a greener alternative to other forms of power, such as central heating, as they do not pollute or emit greenhouse gases whilst operating. There have been many advancements over the years into the technology of pv modules and more recently battery storage. They are now more than ever accessible and affordable. Solar can save your home or business hundreds of pounds per year on electricity bills.
Historically solar power was limited to the fact that it produced energy throughout the day when most people were at work, inversely most people use energy from 6-8 in the morning and from 5-9 in the evening exactly when solar is off grid.
There has now been a fundamental shift in the development of battery storage meaning energy produced during daylight hours can be stored and used by the homeowner throughout the day and night time.
Lithium-Ion batteries allow electrical energy from your solar panels to be stored. This means energy can be used at any time, regardless of when it's generated.
Photo-voltaic (PV) Panels on the roof of your property convert sunlight into electrical energy. These generate electricity continuously throughout the day (even if its cloudy).
Inverter/ Power Module manages where your electricity is drawn from and, if there is a surplus of generated electricity, will feed this into the grid (or charge your batteries).
How a typical system works
Make money from your Solar Installation with the new Smart Export Guarantee
The Feed-In Tariff scheme which was launched in April 2010 closed for new customers at the end of March 2019. Those with existing contracts are not affected and continue to be paid. Under the Feed-In Tariff scheme there were two payments, a “generation tariff” and an “export tariff”.
Though the Feed-In tariff has come to an end, some of the excess electric generated by your solar energy will inevitably go back to the grid and as under current legislation it would be illegal not to be paid for this a new system had to be devised. This is where the Smart Export Guarantee comes in to play
So, what is the Smart Export Guarantee?
Final proposals for the Smart Export Guarantee were published by the government on Monday, 10 June 2019. The Smart Export Guarantee requires medium – large electricity supply companies including SSE, EDF Energy, British Gas, npower, EON UK and ScottishPower (those with more than 150,000 electricity customers) to offer a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Smaller suppliers can do so on a voluntary basis.
Suppliers are already starting to offer SEGs, but all qualifying suppliers will have to offer you terms of payment for your solar power, wind power & other renewable energy exports by January 1st, 2020 at the latest. This is good news for solar panel owners, because most likely the scheme will naturally become marketised, rather than subsidised. In the past the Feed in Tariff offered a fixed rate determined by government. Now, instead of a subsidy, the new guarantee will be a minimum rate (early indications suggest this to be around 6p per kwn)). Once the new system has kicked in, it seems inevitable that there’ll be competition between energy suppliers to offer better tariffs in order to gain your loyalty
The benefits of a Solar Panel System
Backup Power Supply: Even homes which do not rely on solar energy can benefit from the added security of a solar battery. When a power cut strikes a store of this ‘off the grid’ energy could be invaluable to your household!
Energy bill savings: Sunlight is free, and so once you have paid for the installation of your Solar Panels, your electricity costs will be reduced. The new Smart Export Guarantee also allows you to make money from the energy you generate.
Environmentally Friendly Energy: Solar electricity is green renewable energy and doesn't release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants. A typical home solar PV system could save around 1.2 to 1.7 tonnes of carbon per year.
No planning permission: Solar panels don’t require special permission. There are some rules that need to be followed but mostly it’s simple.
To discuss options for Solar Panels on your property, send us a quick message
We'll be happy to provide you with friendly advice, and we also offer free no-obligation quotes to give you an idea of cost.