Author Archives: Sunhive

Community Project in Lewes Installs 445 Solar Panels on Roof of Brewery

By Sunhive | January 8th, 2012

The Transition initiativein Lewes raised more than £350,000 in July to build their own community-owned solar power station, the first of its kind. The 98 kW solar array consists of 445 solar PV panels and was fitted to the top of a local brewery, Harvey’s. The money was raised in just two months by local [...]

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Listed Cinema to be Knocked Down for Eco-Office Buildings

By Sunhive | January 6th, 2012

Councillors in Brighton and Hove have recently announced that the grade II listed Astoria cinema at Gloucester Place will be demolished in order to build the most energy efficient offices in Brighton. The new building will score ‘excellent’ on the national eco-rating and will maximise the use of passive solar heating, like the Jubilee Library. [...]

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The Solar Boom is Here

By Sunhive | January 4th, 2012

2011 has seen a massive rise in the solar PV markets, both in the UK and globally. There are now 2,400 MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme)registered installers in the UK and 50,000 PV installations. The installation rate is now increasing by an average of 5000 (12%) per month. In June 2010 there were just 2,708 [...]

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Blackfriars Bridge to Have a Solar Makeover

By Sunhive | January 4th, 2012

New plans have been approved for Blackfriars Bridge in London to fit 4,400 solar panels across the roof of the station. The panels cover in total, will be 6000 m2 London’s largest solar array and the world’s largest solar bridge. The bridge is estimated by the company overseeing it, Solarcentury, to produce 900,000kWh per year [...]

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Alternatives to installing solar panels

By Sunhive | June 15th, 2011

Is it not possible to fit solar panels to your home? Fortunately there are still options for using renewable energy. These include using green energy companies such as Good Energy and Ecotricity or taking advantage of the green tariffs offered by companies such as British Gas. Good Energy is the UK’s only electricity company that [...]

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How to get the most value out of your solar panels?

By Sunhive | June 10th, 2011

Once you have had your solar panels fitted, what will be the next thing you will need to start thinking about? An important thing, especially if you have opted for free solar panels scheme, is to match up your household’s demand for electricity when the supply is most abundant, i.e. during sunlight hours. This is [...]

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Energy consumed vs energy produced by solar PV panels

By Sunhive | June 4th, 2011

It is commonly believed that a major problem with solar panels is that they consume such a significant amount of energy in their manufacture that the energy they produce is negligible in comparison. So how much energy does it take to make a solar panel and is it still worth it considering how much energy [...]

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Thermal or Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels

By Sunhive | May 30th, 2011

Of the two different types of solar panel on the market, thermal (for hot water) and photovoltaic or PV (for electricity) how can a householder choose which is best? Currently a feed-in tariff (FIT) exists in the UK for PV panels where the government will pay up to 43.3p per kWh of electricity produced, depending [...]

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Impact of solar panels on house values

By Sunhive | May 26th, 2011

How do solar panels affect the value of your house? An assumption made by some is that they might reduce the price of a property due to their appearance. This is, however, far from the truth. Philip Sellwood, the chief executive of the Energy Savings Trust has suggested that renewable energy devices fitted to a [...]

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Myths about solar panels

By Sunhive | May 22nd, 2011

Some of the most commonly held misconceptions about solar energy are that solar panels are too expensive, do not work in cloudy weather and that they are unreliable. However, it will now be explained why this is not in fact the case. Cost: The issue of cost speaks for itself as it is now possible [...]

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