Are solar panels right for my home or office?
With energy bills on the rise, many of us are looking for cheaper and more eco-friendly ways to power our homes and offices.
Solar panels – also known as ‘photovoltaic panels’ or ‘PV panels’ – offer a cleaner, renewable and essentially free source of energy (minus the PV installation costs, of course).
But are solar panels right for you?
We’ve collected answers to some of the top questions surrounding solar panels in the UK, so you can judge for yourself…
If you’ve already decided Solar panels may be right for you but need just a little more info visit our Solar panel installation page for more information.
How are solar panels wired to bring electricity into my home/office?
It’s actually fairly simple! Your solar panels will be connected up to an inverter, which converts the ‘direct current’ (DC) electricity generated by the panels into ‘alternating current’ (AC) electricity.
The inverter is then connected up to your fusebox, which transfers the AC electricity into your home or office.
What happens to the energy generated by solar panels?
Can you store energy for later?
The power generated by your solar panels will go into powering any appliances you’re currently using in your home or office.
But what happens to any excess power? If you’re producing more power than you’re using, or if you’re not at home or in the office to use the power your panels are generating, where does that excess power go?
It depends on the way you’ve set up your PV system:
- If you’re using a solar-plus-storage system that incorporates solar batteries, any excess power gets stored in those batteries and can be used later to power your home.
- If you’re not using solar batteries, any excess power gets sent to the national grid to power homes elsewhere.
When you get your PV system installed, you can choose to stay on the grid or move off-grid (although the costs of going off-grid will often outweigh the benefits).
Solar batteries are required for off-grid power, since you’ll be unable to access the national grid’s power and will therefore need to store energy as a backup. This lack of access also means your home won’t send any excess power to the grid.
On-grid homes and offices can rely on the national grid for backup power and therefore don’t need solar batteries, but it can be a good idea to have them anyway.
You can actually get paid for the power you send to the grid, but you’ll need to be signed up with an energy company’s Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff scheme in order to receive payments.
In theory, if you have a solar-plus-storage system hooked up to the grid, you can also earn money through SEG by transferring power stored in your batteries to the grid; but each energy company has different rules on this.
How large is a typical solar PV panel?
Sizes for residential solar panels can vary quite a bit, but they’re generally around 2 metres long by 1 metre wide.
How many solar panels will I need?
It largely depends on the amount of power your home consumes from day to day, and how much sun your area typically gets.
To give you a general idea, a typical three-bedroom home in the UK would require 10 to 12 panels; which would take up a roof space of around 20m2 to 24m2.
How long do solar panels last?
A typical modern solar PV panel will last around 25 to 30 years. After this point, the panel may still work to generate energy, but its performance will be noticeably poorer.
Meanwhile, the inverter that brings the power from the panels into your home will likely need replacing every 10 to 15 years.
Are solar panels suitable for any building?
You’ll need a roof which is:
- large enough to fit all the panels you’ll need to power your home,
- strong enough to support the weight of the PV panels, and
- ideally south-facing, in order to capture the most sunlight (although east-facing and west-facing rooves can work too)
Commercial PV installations often require planning permission; whereas for most domestic properties, solar panels fall under ‘permitted development’ with no planning permission required.
Let’s discuss your Solar Panel Installation project today
Do solar panels still work on cloudy days and/or winter months?
Believe it or not, the UK’s often gloomy weather won’t be a problem for generating solar power. PV panels work in all levels of sunlight; and while they produce less energy overall during the shorter winter days, they’ll still produce more than enough to keep the lights on.
Do solar panels work at night?
No; PV panels need the sun in order to generate solar energy.
However, this doesn’t mean you’ll lose power as soon as the sun goes down. If you’ve installed solar batteries, at night your home or office will utilise the power that gets stored up in them throughout the day.
Plus, as long as you’re still on the grid, you can use power from the grid as a backup if your batteries run low or you don’t have solar batteries to rely on.
Do solar panels need cleaning and/or maintenance?
It’s a good idea to give your solar panels a clean at least once a year. Rainwater goes some way to removing dust and dirt, but more extensive grime and debris can block the sun’s rays and hamper the effectiveness of your PV system.
As for maintenance, solar panels don’t need much. Just be sure to check for any signs of damage after heavy weather conditions.
Looking to go solar with your home or office?
JC Electrical UK can provide fast, efficient installations through our trusted PV installer partners.
Call us on 0208 839 9561 or email info@jcelectric.co.uk to find out more.
More than just a London based electrician
With JC Electrical (UK) Ltd, electrical contractors in London you can expect a professional service tailored to your individual needs. Not only do we offer Testing Maintenance, & Certification and test and inspection. We also provide commercial Emergency callouts.
We can supply, install, test and repair everything from safety and security systems to smart lighting, specialist Lighting and emergency lighting , air conditioning and bespoke commercial solutions including network cabling, fire alarms and door entry & access control installers.
Our professional NICEIC-approved electricians can install modern, reliable EV charger (Electric vehicle charging) points across West London and the rest of the capital.
Our services for homeowners include
Audio Visual, Burglar Alarm / Home security installations, home Smart Lighting and Solar Panel Installation.
Additional reading
Our site also includes some really great articles and answers some faqs.
For more details, or for a free quote, call JC Electrical (UK) Ltd on 0208 839 9561 today or get in touch via our contact form.
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