What are the advantages to Solar Energy?
Are you considering purchasing Solar Panels? In this article we will look at the obvious advantages of Solar Panels, but also some of the less well-known advantages that just might tip you over the edge.
1. Free Electricity.
I know. Solar Panels generate electricity from the UV rays from the sun. (It is a bit more sciencey than that, but let’s keep this simple.) So even on a cloudy day, a Solar Panel can work, but less effectively as a sunny day. This generates DC Electricity. You then have an invertor that converts the DC electricity into AC electricity. AC Electricity is what the electrical items in your house use. The idea is to use as much of that free electricity during the day as possible. So, get that washing machine, dishwasher, and tumble dryer on during the day. They are by far your most expensive items to run. But what if you’re not home during the day?
2. Battery Storage.
Lithium ion batteries have changed the world. Your mobile phone has them. The laptop I am typing on now has one. My electric car has a massive one. Combine Battery Storage with Solar and boom; you have a winning combination. Most of the day, the energy in your house is only running at about 0.3Kwh. All that free electricity you paid for is going back into the grid. You can be happy with your 5.5p return for every unit. Wait, slow down, I get 5.5 per unit, but they charging me 28p per unit? Exactly, it is time for you to take control and store that electricity to use at a later date.
That’s exactly what a battery does; stores the electricity so come the evening when the Solar is no longer generating, your electricity is still free from the Solar Energy you saved in your Battery during the day. When the Battery is full, you still sell what’s left to the grid.
3. Heat your hot water.
If you have a hot water tank, there is a little magic box that has several different names: iboost, Eddi, and so on. What this wonder gadget does is take your excess Solar energy and heats your hot water tank. It is by far the best investment you will ever buy. This will save you money on your gas/oil/LPG bill, as they will not need to work so hard to heat your hot water. Just remember that the export tariff is 5.5p per unit, and a unit of gas currently costs 8p. A Solar hot water heating device will heat your hot water with Solar Energy.
4. Heat your home.
There are many ways of heating your home, and the main reason we use gas/oil/LPG is that up to now it has been cheaper than electricity. But it’s well documented and talked about that if we keep burning stuff to produce heat, we will end up burning ourselves. If we are generating our own electricity from the sun, that is free. Free has got be cheaper than gas, right? Let’s start considering forms of electrical heating. I am not going to go into detail, but here is a list of your options.
A. Air Source Heat Pumps
B. Ground Source Heat Pumps
C. Infrared Heating
D. Oil Radiators
E. Heat Batteries
Solar makes all the above options far more cost effective, as it reduces the cost of running these items.
5. Charge your car
If you have not started looking at electric cars, then I strongly advise you start. Just go and test drive one; it will blow your mind. But the reality is your car spends most of the day sat in one place. Most electric chargers (EV Chargers) will have an option to charge your car using your excess solar. Is it going to be quick? NO. Is it FREE? YES.
6. Economy 7
Depending on your age this reference will mean something to you. But we used to heat our homes with oil radiators. Electricity is cheaper at night. So, we would have an economy 7 tarriff that would heat the radiators at night (when electricity was cheaper) and the heat would be released through the day. Companies like Octopus Energy have a tarriff called Octopus Go. If you have an EV Charger, you can charge your car between 12.30 and 4.30am for just 7.50p (at time of writing). But you can also charge your Solar Battery at this time.
In the evening, you use the electricity from the Solar Battery. You go to bed, and the Battery charges with cheaper electricity. In the morning when you wake up and the Solar hasn’t begun to charge, you use the cheaper electricity from the house to boil the kettle and heat the home.
7. Less Pollution.
We only have one planet. I for one enjoy living on it! If we keep burning fossil fuels, we won’t have that option very much longer. Becoming a father has made me think about the world in a different way. I wonder how car fumes are affecting my family. I think about all the conflicts that have been fought over control of oil and gas. Power stations are no longer engineering wonders, but producers of poisonous fumes affecting me and my family’s health. I remember when I used to drive down a motorway and the car windscreen would be splattered by bugs. Not so much now. Where have all those insects gone? How does Solar help stop us from polluting our families?
When we provide our customers with a quote, the software we use gives us good figures on this. Here is an example of a 4KW Solar Energy system on my house:
A 4KW Solar Energy system would save 894KG of Co2 every year. Over 20 years, this is the equivalent of driving 26,362 less miles, of taking 19 long haul flights less. It is the equivalent of planting 169 trees.
Does you having Solar cut down on pollution? Yes, it does. Does cutting down on pollution mean that your family can live a healthier life? Yes, it does.
If you would like a free consultation and quote on how Solar can help you, please get in touch with us at EDC Renewables.