Many brits might be forgiven in thinking we are a wet and grey place to live yet the UK enjoys 60 percent of the solar radiation found at the equator and receives similar levels of sunshine as Germany which is one of the worlds biggest markets for solar panels. All of our solar customers are generating significant amount of energy resulting in lowering their energy bills.
The simple answer is no. In the northern hemisphere we advise against northern facing installations but fitting panels on east or westerly facing roofs could see a 20% decrease in the energy they provide. Even with a 20% decrease you could still save many £1000s on your energy costs over the panel’s lifetime.
Yes, they do, solar panels also work in the rain, snow and even hail, obviously settled snow will impact the energy production more than rain. Solar panels work through capturing solar radiation rather than actual sunlight so they will even work in the cold and cloudy days.
Most solar panels are made to withstand winds of 140 mph, the current wind record for the UK at low levels is currently 142 mph and this was set in 1989 so it is extremely rare for this to happen.
The best time for solar energy output could actually be spring this is due to power temperature coefficient. Solar panel efficiency is impacted by the heat, however the longer summer days reduce this impact.
Years ago, with lower energy prices solar installs relied on selling power back to the grid, with these schemes being closed and new ones not being as profitable this has been replaced with the high energy price increases which has seen solar return on investment reducing from 15 to 20 years to 7 to 10 years or even less.
Many of the government solar panel installation grants have been closed due to the lower returns on the feed in tariffs. These grants entailed ‘renting your roof’ to the provider so they could take the unused energy which was fed back to the grid.
There is no evidence to suggest solar panels reduce the value of your home. With the increase in energy costs and the reduction on these costs associated with solar panels this added value could help increase your home’s value. The reduced energy bills could also help affordability requirements for mortgage applications.
The reduced energy costs enjoyed by solar installations could help speed up your house sale as solar panels go higher up a house buyers wish list.
This is has never been the case with an outright purchase of solar panels provided by Wil-Lec.
Solar panels have significantly reduced in cost over the last decade and you may be surprised to hear that solar and wind are now the cheapest forms of energy.
With no moving parts solar panels require very little in maintenance apart from a brush once in a whilst to keep the surface clean.
Solar Panels are attached to clips that are screwed to the rafters below the tiles. Usually a single tile is removed to enable fitting of the clip and the tile then refitted.
Apart from maybe having to have scaffolding built a few days before and removed after installation we will only need to be in your home to install the inverter and attach to your mains supply.
Solar panel installations usually come under ‘permitted development’ but we would always advise speaking to your Local Planning Authority for guidance to ensure you comply with local legislation.
A study over 10 years old by Dutch researcher Erik Alsema showed it took 2 years to generate the energy used to construct them.
The French have been working on solar panel recycling for a number of years and its worth remembering solar panels are made from plastic, glass and aluminium and all these can be easily recycled.
The old blue and silver panels used to stand out like a sore thumb admittedly but the new black glass and framed panels look smart and modern when added to the roof.
Many solar panel manufacturers now include a 25-year generation guarantee with some now announcing 40 year generation guarantees. However, this doesn’t mean they are going to stop working when they meet these milestones. Usually, the panels will still be working at 80% capacity so many years could still be available.
In the days of high feed in tariffs many installers advised fitting as many panels as possible but now we advise installing capacity to match your energy consumption.
Yes it can but this would be dependent on when the power outage happens, for example at night this may not be the case, however the installation of a battery will continue to supply energy to the home if an outage happened.
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