Solar PV - Photovoltaic Systems

The sun produces a massive amount of energy – both heat and light that sustains us, keeping our planet Earth alive.

Amazingly, in less than one hour the Earth receives enough energy from the Sun to supply the entire worlds’ power needs for a whole year.

Solar energy offers a reliable, unlimited and, above all emission-free solution thanks to the enormous amount of energy radiated by the Sun. Sunlight can be easily converted into electricity to help power our homes, schools and places of work. Power from the Sun can help us while protecting our environment.

How Solar Photovoltaic’s work.

The Solar PV panels on the roof contain photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into DC electricity. This DC current is then converted into useable AC electricity by the inverter and is then fed directly into the buildings existing mains electricity supply. On a sunny day, the power generated by the PV system reduces the amount of electricity that needs to be purchased from the electricity company. When the electricity production is greater than the demand in the building the surplus will be exported out to the grid and sold.

Feed in Tariff - The Basics

The Feed in Tariff (FiT) is a government incentive, to encourage both commercial and domestic customers to generate electricity from renewable sources, and rewarded them for doing so. The FiT came into force on April 1st 2010, however the amount paid to the consumer depends on a number of factors, detailed in the table below. This type of scheme has been running successfully in Germany for several years.

To provide an initial boost to the industry the government has launched the FiT on a very generous basis. The FiT rewards the system owner by paying them for every unit of electricity generated. The electricity generated also supplements the use in the property so the bill payer saves again through needing to purchase less electricity. Over the coming years, as installation volumes increase and costs reduce, the government intends to reduce the tariff to new entrants to maintain a constant return on investment.

The table below outlines the relevant generation tariff for the type of installation and also outlines the period for which the tariff is guaranteed.

 

For more information, call us for a chat on 01432 358261