Photovoltaic cells can be used to provide your home or business with solar electric power. The sun’s energy is harnessed and turned into electricity which can then be used within the building to provide power for appliances and lighting. Solar electric power is an ideal way of utilising a renewable energy source and minimising your use of other, less environmentally friendly fuels.
Most buildings are suitable for solar electric power providing 10m² to 15 m² of the roof faces southeast to southwest and is not overshadowed by trees or other obstructions. The photovoltaic tiles are available in a variety of styles from those which blend in with existing roof tiles to transparent cells which can be used on conservatories or glass to provide shading as well as generate power.
The cost of solar electric power is about £12,000 for a fairly typical domestic 2.7kW system, and the power harnessed could cover about 40% of your annual electricity consumption. The new electricity feed-in tariffs also mean that consumers will be paid for each kilowatt hour of electricity their system generates even when this is used in their own home. There is also an additional payment for electricity which is not used and then fed back into the national grid. The feed-in tariff rates are set each year and fixed from installation for 25 years (rates are index linked). For more information visit our electricity feed-in tariff page.
Connection of your solar electric power system to the national grid also has the advantage of requiring negligible maintenance. Simply ensuring that panels are kept clean should be sufficient. Solar electric power systems not connected to the national grid will require additional maintenance on other system components such as batteries. Planning permission is not usually needed in England, Wales and Scotland (this may differ in Northern Ireland) for the installation of solar panels; see our planning permission for Renewable Energy page for more information.
Low Carbon Building Programme homeowner grants are no longer available for solar electric power PV applications.
Source: www.est.org.uk 2011
For further information on Solar Power click on the links below
