Tag Archives: solar cells
Government Prioritize Home Owners For Solar Energy
The government has announced that it is going to make changes to the Feed in Tariff scheme (FITS) in order to make sure that the maximum number of home owners are able to take advantage of it. The problem has been that, with FITS being such a good deal, business owners have recognised this and have made steps to profit from it by building large solar energy plants. Since the scheme was only introduced last April, as of yet none have been built yet, but there are several in the works and more seeking permission from councils for the go ahead. The scheme was intended, however, to encourage ordinary people to have solar panels put up on their roofs, with the feed in tariff a financial incentive to do so. It was not created as a way for businesses to make profits.
Solar energy farms often take up farmland.
What’s Wrong With Businesses Profiting from Feed in Tariffs?
But with the economy still trying to recover, what would be so wrong with businesses profiting from feed in tariffs? After all, the environment doesn’t care whether the solar energy is being created by businesses for a profit or by individuals and families to power their home directly. And the solar farms will create employment to build and maintain, benefiting the economy.
- The Economy
Actually, though, those arguments do not hold up very well. The economy is helped just as much by having solar panels installed on lots of different roofs, as it is by having them all built in one place. This creates just as much employment. Also, instead of people having to pay for the energy produced by companies supplying solar energy, if the solar panels are installed themselves, they are actually getting paid for it. This gives the recipient extra spending power which can be used to create extra demand for further products in the economy. In fact then, as well as being better for individuals financially, it is probably also better for the economy if the feed in tariff is mainly used by home owners.
- The Environment
The second point is about the environment. While it is true that in terms of pollution, and its reduction, it does not matter whether the solar energy is produced by individuals or businesses, it does matter to the environment. The environment is more than just the air of course, it is also the ground. When solar cells are put on roofs, they are completely unobtrusive, using space that is not being used for anything else. This is not the case with solar energy farms though. In many cases it is quite appropriate that they are called “farms” because they take up farmland space. This is space that could be used to grow crops, and would instead be used to create solar energy. This may lead to more food being imported from abroad, which could increase the amount of pollution created to do so, and therefore be counter productive.
Precisely what measures the government is going to introduce to make sure that businesses to not use a disproportionate amount of the funds meant for the feed in tariff has not been confirmed, but it is probably a good idea that something is going to be done. If you would like to take advantage of FITS yourself, you can contact Solar Energy UK for a free quote regarding having solar panels installed.
Most Efficient Solar Panels In The World Now Available In UK
One of the points made against solar energy has been that it is not very efficient. That is, for all the energy it receives from the sun, it only converts a small percentage of it into useful electrical energy. This has meant that to create a significant amount of electricity from solar panels, you need quite a few of them. Hence the large solar arrays in the desert. Of course, if all you own is a house (not a desert) then you can’t fit lots of solar panels on there, so you really need each one to be creating a significant amount of energy. While the ones currently available do a pretty good job, next month, what are considered to be the most energy efficient solar cells in the world will be commercially available in the UK.
Energy efficient solar panels are very important for roofs, as the limited space must be maximised.
Energy Efficient Solar Panels
These energy efficient solar panels are produced by SANYO, and are part of their HIT series. The new ones to the UK market are the N series, which includes the N 220SE10, the most efficient of solar cells. To those not familiar with the typical energy efficiency conversion rates of solar cells, it might not seem impressive that these new solar panels will have an energy efficiency of 21.6%. But for a commercial product, that is actually very high. Clearly there is much room for improvement in the future, but at the current time this is the best possible, and is quite a bit better than the standard solar panels at present.
Energy Efficiency Benefits
Everybody knows that being efficient is good. Whether in terms of energy, finances or sports, being efficient is always a good thing. But what are the specific benefits of having solar panels that are energy efficient? Put simply, it means that more energy is being produced per square footage of solar panel than before. If you are having solar panels installed on your roof, where space is of course limited, this is of particular advantage. It means that when you are using a lot of energy in your home, the solar panels will be able to take care of more of it. It also means that when you are not using the energy, you will be getting more money from the feed in tariff because you will be providing more money.
Feed in Tariff
The big news about the new energy efficient solar panels is that they have recently been approved, and have been give MCS accreditation. This means that they can be used in conjunction with the feed in tariff system. This is the government scheme which has made solar energy so popular recently, as it means it takes a lot less time to pay off the initial investment, and after that you are actually profiting financially from your solar panels.
Get Involved
If you want to get involved with solar energy, you can do so by having solar panels put on your roof. From March 2011 you will have the possibility of having these new, energy efficient solar panels installed to take full advantage of the space you have available. For more information and to get a free quote, please feel free to contact Solar Energy UK.
Solar Cells: Cloudy Weather
One of the considerations about solar energy in the UK has to be how well it will work, considering the fact that it is not the sunniest region of the world. Fortunately, then, solar cells in cloudy weather still work. In fact the only time that solar cells are not generating electricity is at night. That is not to say that the intensity of sunlight does not have any effect on the solar panels, they do work better when the sun is out and it is shining brightly. That is why Cornwall is a particularly popular site for solar energy, it has the most amount of sunshine annually in the UK.
Solar panels even work in cloudy weather.
How Solar Panels Work
Solar panels are made out of a number of solar cells, and they work by converting solar energy into electrical energy. The solar energy comes in the form of photons, particles of light. So just as it is still light during the day even when there is cloud cover, solar panels are still getting the photons. The photons might not have as much energy in them as they would when there is a clear sky but the solar cells can still use them. This means that solar panels are creating energy all day, every day.
Good Investment?
The question which arises, though, is whether solar panels are a good investment considering the fact that it is cloudy much of the time in the UK. As has already been stated, it doesn’t matter if it is cloudy, solar cells still generate electricity. In fact, so much energy is created that you won’t end up using it all. The energy that is not used on your property is transferred to the national grid, and for this you are paid by the government by way of the feed in tariff. This means that you are not making money just from the savings on your electric bill, but you are also getting money for the energy that you don’t use. Instead of taking two decades to pay off the initial investment, with the feed in tariff it takes under a decade. This is still a somewhat long term investment, therefore, but the feed in tariff is guaranteed for at least 25 years, and the rate stays the same as it is first offered at. Having solar panels installed is quite expensive, but the investment more than pays for itself over time.
Get Involved
If you own a house, then in all likelihood you will be able to get solar panels installed. Sometimes there are planning permission issues if you live in a conservation area, but for most people there is no problem with having solar panels installed. If you would like to do this, and get involved in saving the earth and saving money, you can contact Solar Energy for UK for more information and a free quote. We can take you through everything that needs to be done, and if you decide to have the work carried out, we install the solar panels, as well as the whole system throughout your house. Please feel free to get in touch, and get involved with solar energy today.
Solar Energy Ipswich
Just to go to show that you don’t have to live in a sunny climate to make effective use of solar energy, Ipswich is soon to have a great many solar panels installed on roofs. To be more precise, there will be two thousand two hundred solar panels put on the roofs of warehouses in the area. It is due to cost about £1 million.
Solar panels work even in cloudy conditions.
Why Ipswich?
Is there any particular reason that Ipswich should be having a large investment in solar energy, over other places? Not at all. But Ipswich is no less suited than other places either. Even though we hardly think of a tropical paradise when we think of Ipswich, solar energy will work perfectly well there. Solar panels even work if the sun is behind clouds so they will be in operation all through the day.
Why Solar Panels?
Why is the investment being made in solar panels? That is something which only those companies making the investment can answer, but we can be quite sure of one thing: it is a good financial investment. It is quite possible that the owner of a company wished to be able to “go green” and do their bit for the environment by using environmentally friendly energy sources. However this would be impossible to do unless the financial side made sense as well, otherwise they would not have a business on which to put the solar panels.
What makes solar energy a good investment is largely down to the feed in tariff. This is a way of generating money, rather than just making savings off electricity bills. As already mentioned, solar panels are creating energy all day, and not all of that energy will be used. Whatever is not used for the house (or warehouse) that they are stationed on, that energy is fed in to the national grid, and that energy is paid for by the government through the feed-in tariff. This makes solar energy an attractive proposition financially speaking. You will still have to wait several years until it actually pays off the initial investment amount, however after that point there will be many more years of profit making. Over the course of the feed in tariff, therefore, you should more than double the amount of money you put in as an initial investment.
Buy Solar Panels
So whether you live in Ipswich or not, it may well be an excellent investment for you to buy solar panels, which you can do with Solar Energy UK. We will also install the solar cells and set up everything so that you can start making money, and energy of course!
The only question that you have to answer, really, is whether or not you can afford the initial outlay of money. If that would make your finances too tight, then of course you can’t really afford to do it. If you could make some adjustments so that you could afford it though, then it would be well worth it in the long run.
Is Solar Energy A Good Investment?
As everyone’s financial situation is different there is no way to answer definitively whether solar energy is a good investment opportunity for you. What it is possible to say, however, is that over a long period of time, solar panels will make you money. Whether the short term losses are worth these long term gains, however, is a question that each individual has to answer for themselves.
Solar panels can make your house into a cash generator over the long term.
Why are Solar Panels Good a Good Investment in the Long Term?
Why is it that we can say that solar panels are a good investment in the long term? There are two reasons.
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Save Money on Electricity Bills. The first reasons that solar cells are a financial benefit in the long run are that they are constantly saving you money on your electricity bills. As soon as the solar panels are installed on your roof this will be the case. Of course you also have to weigh this against the cost of installation, which is quite high, so it takes time for the savings on electric bills actually make the solar panels worthwhile. However there is now another way that solar panels generate money.
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The Feed in Tariff. If you are just counting on the saving made from electrical bills it can take two decades or more to pay off the initial installation costs. That is why the UK government introduced the feed in tariff last year. The feed in tariff pays you for all the electricity you generate for the national grid. The solar panels will be generating solar energy all the time that the sun is shining on them (even through clouds) and you won’t end up using all of that energy yourself. The electricity you do not use is redirected along electrical wires so that other people can use it. You are then paid for this electricity. The upshot of this is instead of taking two decades to pay off the installation costs, it should take less than ten years. After that, you will actually be making profits from your solar panels. This is why, since the introduction of the feed in tariff, that has been a huge increase in the uptake of solar energy across the country.
Those are the reasons that solar energy makes good sense financially in the long term. But why choose solar energy over other forms of investment?
Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy
Although the feed in tariff makes solar energy more financially viable, that is not the main reason that most people choose to invest in solar energy. In fact, most people would like to be able to take advantage of solar energy, and it is only the costs that stop them. The main reason for this is that solar energy benefits the environment. It is a totally clean and safe form of energy production, and reduces the amount of electricity that has to be created by using polluting fossil fuels.
So whether you are just looking to make some money in the future, or you want to be a part of improving the Earth’s environment as well, solar energy is now a good investment for many people. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, contact Solar Energy UK for more information on getting solar panels installed on your roof.
Feed In Tariff News
It was recently reported on this blog that a large proportion of the UK had never heard of the feed in tariff. It was speculated that this was probably one of the main reasons that so many people still thought that having solar panels installed was not a financially viable option. At the same time, however, the feed in tariff has been the driving force which has made it so that solar energy has become a lot more popular in this country, directly because it makes solar panels a better financial investment. However there are still some concerns that the feed in tariff is leading to a certain type of investment in solar energy which was not intended. So we’ll now explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of feed in tariffs.
How the feed in tariff works.
Feed in Tariffs: The Good
Since the introduction of the feed in Tariff in April last year there has been a huge uptake of solar energy. In fact the rate for 2009 was doubled in 2010 within six months of it being brought in. What is the reason behind this? Simply put, the feed in tariff makes your solar panels make you money. How it works is this: solar panels are producing solar energy whenever the sun is shining on them, and while you will use much of this energy in your house, you will not use all of it. With the feed in tariff though, for all of the energy which you do not use, and which is fed back to the national grid, you will be earning money. At the moment the feed in tariff is at the rate that it was introduced at, around 43p per unit of energy. This might not sound very much but it adds up quickly, and significantly cuts down the amount of time that it takes for the solar panels to pay for themselves, and start making you profits.
This government scheme was brought in particularly to assist home owners, but also applies to businesses (and now, local government). But why might that be bad?
Feed in Tariffs: The Bad
The feed in tariff scheme is so good that there have been plenty of companies looking to cash in on it by building solar energy farms. Of course there is nothing particularly wrong with this, the UK could do with some solar energy plants as well. The problem the government has with it, however, is that they will not be able to keep the feed in tariffs at the rates they have them at for very long if companies are installing lots of solar panels at solar energy plants. This means that home owners will end up missing out. There is also a concern that this will lead to the misuse of farmland, which could be being used to grow food, but will be used to produce solar energy instead because of the feed in tariff.
Feed in Tariffs: The Ugly
Solar energy helps to save the Earth’s environment by reducing the amount of energy that has to be produced in less clean ways. Nevertheless, some people still complain that solar panels make houses look ugly, and of course with the feed in tariff there have been even more installations of solar cells, making more houses “ugly”. So perhaps the feed in tariff is making more houses ugly, but it is also helping to keep the Earth beautiful.
And now is a great time for everyone to get involved, especially with the feed in tariff being offered at what will probably be its maximum rate.
Solar Energy Wales
The Welsh government is set to invest heavily in solar energy. Solar energy providers are now being given the opportunity to bid for projects which will reach £100 in total. This will include installing solar panels on council houses as well as larger projects. Wrexham council is also getting involved in solar energy, planning to have solar panels put on schools and leisure centres, as well one in three council houses. The aims of these investments are to generate income over the longer term, and also cut pollution.
The Sun over Wales.
£100m Over Four Years
The Welsh government’s plans to spend £100 million over a four year period is set to create business for 22 different firms. The work will vary from the large, creating an estimated 5MW of power, to the small, installing solar cells on roofs. This is of course good news for energy production in Wales as solar energy is the most popular form of renewable energy available today. And although initially quite expensive to set up, the savings made through reductions in energy costs will end up saving money.
Wrexham Council
Wrexham council also intends to save money at the same time as saving the planet from the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. They estimate that the schemes they are intending to impliment should reduce bills by 40% and make a significant reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. The amount of money that they expect to make, over 25 years, is over £25 million.
Feed-in Tariff
The UK government is already offering a feed-in tariff for all renewable energy produced, which is available to everyone. This means that, whether you live in Wales or not, there is no need to wait for another government scheme, everybody can already take advantage of the feed-in tariff.
The feed-in tariff works by giving you money for all of the energy you produce through renewable means, solar energy included of course, which is subsequently fed back into the national grid. This has been, and continues to be, a very successful scheme. So much so that the government is talking about having to cut back rates at the next spending review in 2012 because there has been such a large uptake. This means that if you are able to have solar panels installed on your roof, and you want to take advantage of the best rate, then the sooner you can have them installed the better. Whatever rate you start at will be guaranteed for 25 years, so you are sure to make money on the investment over time.
Save Money, Save the Earth
The Welsh government is getting involved with saving money and saving the Earth, and you can as well by having solar panels installed on your roof. You will be helping to stave off the effects of global warming and making a sound financial investment for the future at the same time.
Solar Cells Advantages
Solar energy is an innovative form of renewable energy produced by solar cells. The solar cells are arranged into solar panels which can then be installed onto roofs or joined together into an array to form a solar energy plant. But what exactly are the advantages of solar cells?
One of the advantages of solar cells is that they are versatile, able to operate on small and large scales.
What are the Advantages of Solar Cells?
For something to have advantages, it must of course be in comparison to something else. As solar cells produce electrical energy, they can be compared to other forms of electrical energy production. These can be classified into two main groups, renewable energy and non-renewable energy. We will look at each in turn, analysing the advantages of using solar cells.
1) Non-Renewable Energy
Everyone is pretty familiar with the problems of using non-renewable energy by now. Those are, generally, that they pollute the environment and that one day it will run out. When it comes to pollution there are the local, short term effects and global, long term effects. The short term effects include, for instance, the smoke that is produced when burning fossil fuels, which degrades air quality and can have a detrimental effect on land and water sources as well. The long term effects are those caused by global warming, due to the emission of carbon dioxide when these non-renewable energy sources are burned. Neither should be taken lightly. But what about the advantages of using solar cells instead?
Quite simply, once the solar cells have been constructed, their use does not create any more pollution. Since they do not encourage extra energy use, this also means that the energy they produce does not need to be produced by non-renewable energy sources, so that the amount of pollution produced is actually cut.
As for non-renewable energy running out, solar cells have the advantage that they never will. They do have a life span and have to be replaced after several decades of use, but beyond that they will last as long as the Sun is in the sky.
So far however, all of the advantages cited for solar cells could equally well be applied to any other forms of renewable energy. Wind turbines will last as long as there is wind, tidal energy production can continue as long as there are tides and so on. So what are the advantages of solar cells over other forms of renewable energy?
2) Renewable Energy
Solar cells, and the solar panels they are arranged into, are relatively small. They can fit on roofs. They can also be put together for solar energy farms. In fact, smaller solar cells can power calculators and soon a whole host of other portable electronic devices. With the use of spray-on, nano sized solar cells which are in development, they could power just about anything. The main advantage solar cells have over other forms of renewable energy is therefore their versatility.
Wind turbines, tidal energy producers and other forms of renewable energy generally require a lot of work in construction and a lot of space. It is unlikely that a mini wind turbine will ever power a watch, for instance. They are also, for some, an eye-sore whereas solar cells can be integrated into the environment much easier.
Solar cells therefore have many advantages over both traditional, non-renewable forms of energy and more modern, renewable energy forms.
Solar Power
Solar power is an important part of the renewable energy field. It can be used on a large scale as well as a small scale for a variety of different purposes. In fact, potentially there is no limit to the purposes to which solar power can be put. Solar energy can be used to power houses with solar panels that are installed on the roof. It can also be used to power multiple houses by way of solar power plants, or objects as small as calculators with small solar cells.
With solar power we can catch the Sun's energies and use it for our advantage.
Solar Power for Houses
One of the most useful aspects of solar power is that it can be used for projects both large and small. It is relatively simple to have solar panels installed on individual houses. Why would anyone want that though? There are two main reasons, which will be of varying importance to different people. The first, and in many people’s eyes, most important reason is that it is good for the environment. For every kWh or energy which is produces by way of solar power, a corresponding amount is saved in terms of fossil fuels. This means we are not using up our planetary resources so quickly, and are also not polluting the environment as much. In terms of the long term at least, this is a very important reason for using solar power. Although it may seem as if one house can make a lot of difference in this regard, as long as enough people do it then it will make a big difference.
However it is not all about the long term, because we also have to live and be prosperous in the short term. This translates to monetary concerns. If solar energy led to a loss financially then very few people would be able to afford it, and it would not really be a sustainable technology, even if it’s use leads to a sustainable environment. Another very important aspect of solar energy then is that it is actually profitable financially. That is, it becomes profitable over time, which is the short term in planetary terms but financially is, again, long term. There is an installation cost for solar cells, but then they immediately start saving you money on your energy bill. On top of that, with the government’s feed-in tariff which pays you for energy which is produced and comes back into the national grid, over time having solar panels installed actually becomes profitable.
Therefore solar power fulfils the two requirements of any renewable energy project, it is good for the environment and it is good financially. It is only when these two work together that there is the possibility of success, which there clearly is with solar energy.
This has led to an expansion of the use of solar power in recent times, with solar power plants being built, and people having solar panels installed at an increased rate. The best thing is, individual people and families have a chance to get involved in saving the planet at the same time as saving, and even making, money with solar power.
Future Uses Of Solar Energy
In a sense solar energy is all about the future. Right now we have the capability to fulfil all of our energy needs from other sources, non-renewable sources like oil, natural gas and coal. But these won’t last forever, so when they run out, or become so scarce that there isn’t enough to go around anymore, we will either need to use a different sort of energy or else drastically change our way of life. Ideally of course we would be able to switch to a different sort of energy. Actually, that is a process which has already started with renewable energy, and solar energy in particular. In the future therefore, the future uses of solar energy will be just about everything that we currently use energy for at the moment, and more!
In the future, just about everything will be able to be powered with solar energy.
Solar Energy for Houses
We are already in a situation in which solar energy can be used to power everything in our houses. Whether that be the computer on which you are likely reading this blog posting, or the kettle you use to make a cup of tea, or the television in the living room. Anything that needs power in your home can get it from solar energy when you have solar panels installed on your roof.
At the moment though it is quite expensive to have solar cells installed, even though they are a good long term investment. As soon as you have the solar cells they start to save you money on your electricity bills, and on top of that, at the moment the government is offering a feed-in tariff which pays you for all of the energy which is produced by the solar panels and subsequently is fed back in to the national grid.
In terms of future uses of solar energy then, the only difference will have to be that solar panels become a good short term investment as well as being good in the long run. They have to become more affordable and efficient so that they become obtainable by the majority of people. These are two of the main goals of the research that is currently being done into solar energy around the world, how to make them cheaper and more efficient.
Mobile Solar Energy
Of course the energy we need for static locations is only one kind of the energy we need. We also need energy on the move, for example for transport and electrical devices which we carry with us. Presently solar energy can be used to power watches and calculators but little else. Future uses of solar energy however should include cars, trains and even planes, as well as mobile phones, laptops and any other electrical devices. This will be possible when solar cells are reduced in size and, again, made more affordable.
Research has already been done into nano sized solar cells which will be able to come in many forms, including a spray. This means that you will be able to literally coat devices in solar cells. Also, there is already an unmanned plane that is powered by solar energy, as well as prototype cars.
The Future
What this means is that we have much of the technology for the future uses of solar energy, all that is necessary now is for it to become cheap enough that it can become widespread.
