Solar panels on roof of house

Photo-voltaic Panels (PV Panels) have been in use for over 40 years to convert light energy from the sun, photons, into electricity.

PV panels have a wide range of uses, they are used for powering emergency telephones on motorways, lighting bus shelters, power for speeding warning signs, and you may have seen systems powering satellites and spacecraft!

You can take advantage of the power from the sun, there are two main alternatives:

Prices are in the region of £7,000 per kilowatt, domestic installations normally have a 2 kilowatt system installed. Costs will vary depending on whether it is connected to the grid or has battery storage.

At present over 2% of electricity produced in the UK comes from a renewable source. By the year 2010 the Government's target is to exceed 10%. Various predictions suggest we will achieve 50% by the year 2050.

Solar Power uses the sun's energy either to directly heat water (solar thermal system) or generates electricity (Photo-voltaics or Solar electricity).

Solar power is the technology of obtaining usable energy from the light of the sun.

When sunlight falls on a surface, some of the sunlight’s energy is absorbed and the surface warms up. 

Paint the surface matt black and more of the energy is absorbed – the tubes get hotter.  If you put glazing over the surface and insulation behind it and less of this heat is lost to the air and it gets hotter still.  If water flows through pipes attached to a metal surface, then that water will get hot, in fact very hot!

If the surface is evacuated tubes this constitutes a basic solar water heating collector.  The hot water produced by it can be used to heat domestic hot water system in your house.

This simple method can also be used for heating swimming pools or other low-temperature loads. 

It’s not yet really effective at replacing radiators not can it produce all the hot water we need in winter, however it is still one of the most significant changes a household can make toward reducing global warming an preserving fossil fuel resources.

These top-of-the-range solar panel heat collectors are suitable for heating domestic hot water swimming pools etc. - even in winter!  One unit (20 tubes) is adequate for an average household (3-4 people) and it is modular, so you can add more if required.  A single panel is sufficient for a 200 litre cylinder but you can fit 2 or more for high water usage, or for heating swimming pools or underfloor heating. 

Swimming pools are an ideal application for solar water heating as the termperature required is quite low. The use of high efficiency evacuated tube solar panels is the best as you can enjoy a heated pool all year round rather than just in July and August.

Currently the costs of heating a swimming pool are approximately £600 p.a. for gas, £2500 p.a. for electricity, £900 p.a. for oil and £1500 p.a. for propane gas.

Although the cost of any system will vary with each property and the type and size of aolar panel you have chose, average installation costs for a house are between £2500 to £4000. It would take between 2 or 3 days to install (costs include solar panel, fixings, pumps, electric controllers, pipes and alterations/installation of the hot water cylinder).

The so called 'payback' would be 10 to 15 years, depending on amount of sunshine (if global warming continues it could have a quicker payback!) The system is expected to last 25 years and if fitted well may not requrie maintenance expense, therefore reducing your energy consumption and helping to save the planet, then it is a wise spending decision.