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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Most houses in the UK are connected to the national grid which supplies the house with electricity. PV systems installed on these houses will also be connected to the grid. When they are producing more electricity than is needed the excess will be fed back into the grid, and when the demand is greater than [...]
There are many ways to mount solar panels and the method used will depend on where you are situating them. Most domestic solar panels are mounted on top of the existing roof, but they can also form part of the roof itself, be mounted on the side of a building or on a flat roof, [...]
To transform energy from the sun into electricity to run your appliances there are three components of a PV system that need to be installed. The solar panels (or PV modules) are usually attached to your roof but can also be ground-mounted (see mounting options) and generate electricity in the form of direct current (DC). [...]
Note: Since this article was written, Sunhive has launched a scheme to offer free solar power to home owners in Sussex. So far there are 3 companies offering free solar panels in the UK. This is such a straight forward proposition for both home owners and investors, that we are sure to see a few [...]
