Dramatically reduce the cost of your electricity bills, make money and help the environment. Find out how Solar PV can help save you money.
Solar panels, or to give them their proper name, solar photo-voltaics (solar PV), capture the energy of the sun using photo-voltaic cells. These cells convert sunlight into electricity that you can use to provide part of your domestic or business electricity needs. What’s more, with the Feed In Tarriffs (FITs) available from the government, you could earn money back by selling any electricity you generate using your solar photo-voltaic system. Solar PV systems don’t even need to be in direct sunlight (perfect for cloudy conditions in the UK) in order to generate electricity.
How does solar PV work, and how will it benefit my home or business?
Solar PV panels consist of cells made from layers of a semi-conducting material, such as silicon. When sunlight shines on these cells, it creates an electrical field across the layers within the cell. The strength of the electrical field and therefore the amount of energy that is produced depends on the amount of light falling on the cell. In full sunlight on a summer’s day, a Solar PV panel will usually be operating at peak performance, which is known as the kilowatt peak, abbreviated to kWp. At other times, such as in winter when the sun is at a lower angle in the sky, or on cloudy days, a solar PV panel will only generate a percentage of it’s kWp.
There are many benefits to fitting your home or business with a solar PV energy system aside from the obvious savings on your electricity bill by generating some or all of your own electricity. These include the financial benefits from both the UK government’s Feed In Tarriffs scheme, where you are paid a small amount for each kilowatt hour of renewable energy you generate and also from being able to sell back any surplus electricity to the national grid. Lastly, generating electricity from a solar PV system is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of your business or household.
Financial Benefits of Solar PV
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Typical payback of the capital cost of a system is 10-12 years.
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You can expect to receive a 8-10% return on your investment – that’s up to x6 more than a bank ISA.
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Save money on your electricity bill – you use the electricity you generate from your solar panels so you don’t have to pay your energy supplier for that electricity.
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Feed-in Tariff – you could be paid up to 21p for every unit of electricity (kWh) your solar panels generate for 25 years tax free.
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Export surplus electricity to the national grid – your electricity supplier will pay you 3.1p for every unit of electricity (kWh) you export (sell) to them.
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Low maintenance – a typical system lasts 40 + years.
Environmental Benefits of Solar PV
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100% renewable power
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Reduces carbon footprint – a typical home solar PV system could save over a tonne of CO2 per year
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Silent operation
