Solar Installers | Solar PV | Solar Thermal

Photovoltaic Systems

Welcome to our web site. We are an independent team of professional solar installers with hundreds of install's experience. Fully MCS accredited in both solar thermal and solar PV.

We are highly experienced solar installers, professionals focused on installing solar pv / photovoltaic systems, or solar thermal: (evacuated tubes or flat plate systems) for either commercial or residential customers.

Please note, we are professional solar installers who provide a wealth of experience and advice and sales and NOT a sales company looking for installations; there’s a very big difference…

We are not tied to any company, we are able to offer a range of services to both private and corporate bodies, ranging from advising on which type of solar panel to choose, the system specification, the installation, to the upgrading of your existing system to obtain the greatest benefit. We also provide a comprehensive solar maintenance service.

That was the year that was!

The introduction of the higher than predicted 'feed in' tariff for pv solar installations, has led to the largest ever expansion of this market. Solar PV now represents a truly cost effective way of turning green, reducing Carbon, and obtaining a 10% return on investment! For more information on this exciting opportunity simply complete the form.

A Word of warning....

The industry is growing rapidly, and you might come across some solar pv installers, using aggressive direct sales techniques to sell their overpriced systems. Please take care, take your time, and research the market. We are happy to talk, to visit, and above all assist in you achieving the best solution for installing solar panels for home use.

It’s not surprising that there are so many new solar panel installers; Companies never before associated with the business getting involved, even Tesco, M&S and the Utility companies see this as a profit opportunity.

For our part we as well established solar pv installers and installers of evacuated tubes and all other associated systems, have been directly involved in renewables for nearly 10 years, and we don't plan to start selling clothing or sandwiches!

Our goal as highly experienced solar pv installers, is to maintain the highest standards of this turbulent industry, We strive to provide the best possible advise, to search out the best solar panels for home use, together with all other associated pv solar products available, and to offer the most competitive prices available.

So, why PV solar power? We are all no doubt aware that nuclear energy is clean air energy; however solar energy is very appealing especially in a world of constantly rising energy costs, since it is free energy. Solar Energy is the Biggest Source of Energy for people, and photovoltaic or commonly known as PV solar energy is a very eco-friendly and a completely renewable source of energy, apart from being very clean, safe and efficient, and due to ever growing demand, there is a wide range of solar panels for home use available.

PV Solar energy (photo-voltaic) is generated when sunlight comes into contact with silicon cells which are specially treated and formed into cells which, when compiled in series, form a solar panel. The solar panel generates electricity in the form of direct current, which is then converted into alternating current which can then be used in the home, or business for various uses. PV Solar energy is abundant and free and reduces our dependence on foreign oil and coal-fired power plants.

Photovoltaic panels (PV) generate electricity for you to use directly, either store d in batteries (off grid) or connected to the electricity network (Grid Connect); a task that can only be undertaken by properly qualified solar pv installers.

Interest in them is growing rapidly due to the introduction last year (April 2010) of a feed in tariff FIT, which rewards owners for the electricity they produce, the result is a massive growth in the opportunity, causing an upsurge of new and inexperienced solar panel installers now trying to capitalize.

Solar PV Installers - Solar Panel Installers - Evacuated Tubes - Solar Panels for Home Use

The UK Feed In Tariff

This feed-in tariff, as far as PV (photo-voltaic) pv solar panels are concerned, will result in a tax free and index linked payment of £0.413p paid for each unit of electricity your home system is capable of generating, plus an additional £0.03p per unit for energy fed back into the national grid.

Because of the current (pardon the pun) inability to accurately measure exactly how much energy is being exported back to the national grid; it has been agreed that 50% of the maximum capacity of your system will be deemed to be exported back to the grid.

What does this mean? For example, say you have a 4KWh system installed, which will produce an absolute maximum of 4KW of electricity per hour in perfect conditions; You will be paid 4 x £0.413 p per unit = £1.652p PLUS a further £0.06p (50% of the maximum) in payment for units 'deemed' to have been exported back to the national grid.

Why is this feed-in-tariff so good? For people signing up to the scheme within the first 2 years from April 2010, the sum of £0.413 plus £0.03p on 50% is payable tax free and index linked to the retail price index (RPI) for 25 years.

It is also expected to include solar thermal generation system later on in 2011, although the rates are not yet known; which brings us on to solar thermal systems for producing hot water in the home.

Solar Water Heating Panels use the suns radiation to heat water or other suitable 'medium' which circulates round tubes within the panels. Each of the panels is connected to a heat exchanger and from there; the heated water is delivered to your hot water storage tank. There are two types of thermal panel, the Evacuated Tube and the Flat Plate.

Solar panels for home use, vary in size and construction, but a typical roof installation will be based on panels of around 1.5m by 1m generating up to 200watts .It is usual in a domestic installation to fit between 10 and 20 panels enabling between 2kw and 4kw peak electricity to be produced.

How do photovoltaic systems (PV) cells work?

Solar pv - photovoltaic cells are panels you can attach to the roof or walls of your property.

Each cell is made from one or two layers of semiconducting material, usually silicon. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers. The stronger the sunshine, the more electricity is produced.

Solar pv cells come in a variety of shapes and colours. The most cost effective panels are rectangular and a 200 watt panel will have a dimension of around 1.6m by 1m. The panels weigh approximately 25 - 30kilogrammes each. Panels can be integrated into the roof, fastened on top or even used as decorative panels (clear glass is used)

It is also possible to obtain roof tiles which incorporate solar pv cells, but these are the most expensive solution; proper consultation with experienced solar pv installers will however provide you with the best solution for your particular requirement.

The strength of a solar pv cell is measured in kilowatt peak (kWp) - that's the amount of energy the cell generates in full sunlight.

Solar pv panels for home use are usually effective even after 25 years. For instance, some solar panels are warranted to produce at least 80 percent of their full-rated power after twenty-five years. Residential solar power or panels are maintenance free and upkeep costs are generally low.

Solar panels are a great place to start saving our planet, as well as your hard earned money. Solar pv panels are simply shallow boxes constructed from various materials that house an array of solar cells. The panels are composed of the photovoltaic cells we mentioned above. There are 2 x of solar panel, those made with poly-crystalline and those made with mono-crystalline cells.

Poly or Multicrystalline solar pv panels are made of cells cut from multiple crystals that are grown together in an ingot. These type of panels are generally less efficient than those made with mono-crystalline cells.

A 'typical' home uses approximately 2 kwh in a normal daytime period and so 10ff panels would expect to offset around 60% of the total energy demand.

Allowing for daylight, sunshine and location it is possible to expect 2000 -2500 kwh of energy.

Using this free energy over energy that you have to pay for of course saves you money. Solar energy although now over a hundred years old, is becoming one of the fastest growing industries and of absolute importance in the battle against climate change.

Solar energy can definitely lower or even eliminate your monthly electricity bills. And don’t forget that installing a solar panel energy system, can significantly add value to your home too.

Solar pv panels for home use, when properly fitted by qualified solar installers, are usually installed onto building roofs or ground-based purpose-built racks, they can also be arranged into strings on property roofs or in free standing groups or ‘arrays’. Installing PV systems angled between 20 and 30 degrees, pointing as near south as is practical, will ensure their yield is as high as possible.

Whilst the panels are an important component of those systems, but they are by no means the only component; the inverter unit, which takes the dc electricity, generated by the panels and converts it in to usable ac alternating current, is perhaps the most vital component of all.

We use the very best combination of inverter and panel so as to maximise the power output that your roof can produce. Remember, we are professional solar installers, with many years’ experience in this industry who providing the best quality solar panels and other equipment, sales and top quality service; we are not a sales company now looking for solar installations!

Solar PV - Solar Installers - Solar Thermal

Solar Thermal systems - Solar panels for home use - Either evacuated tubes or flat plate systems, provide hot water to either an existing or more typically a hot water cylinder with an additional solar coil

Many manufacturers are on the market, and they are now becoming widely available from trade plumber merchants, as well as specialist solar panel suppliers and direct sales organisations.

There are two main types of systems, flat plate and evacuate d tubes.

Both solar thermal systems absorb energy from the sun in their collectors, and this is transferred via a pump station and a solar control station to a solar cylinder.

The principal is that whenever there is a temperature differential between the collectors and the bottom of the cylinder, then the pump starts and transfers this energy into the cylinder.

A well designed solar thermal system (evacuated tubes or flat plate), will be able to provide up to 70% of the annual hot water requirement of a household.

The system monitors the temperature in your water tank and typically, when it is lower than that of the panel on your roof the water is pumped out of the roof panel through a heating coil in your hot water tank (the heat exchanger). This, in turn, heats the water in your storage tank. When the weather is cold and or it is dull outside, the pumps remains switched off leaving the your storage tank to be heated by your conventional immersion heater or boiler.

Solar PV - Solar Installers - Solar Thermal

Evacuated Tubes

Evacuated tubes consists of a doubled walled glass tube, rather like a thermos flask, with a vacuum in the space between the walls. The inner tube has a special dark coating on it. The solar energy passes through the vacuum as radiation, and the energy is absorbed by the coating on the inner tube. This causes the temperature inside the inner tube to increase. Inside the tube there is a copper tube which itself has a vacuum in it, together with a small quantity of a fluid which because of the vacuum, boils at a low temperature.

How evacuated tubes actually work: As the sun warms the tube, the liquid situated in the heat pipe evaporates (turns into a gas) and the heat rises to the top. The top end of the heat pipe is fitted in a special manifold and is completely surrounded by water.

This extracts the heat and causes the gas to condense and return down the heat pipe and the cycle recommences. The phase changes (liquid to gas and vice versa) actually enhance the efficiency of the heat transfer considerably. A number of tubes are fitted to a manifold, and a number of manifolds can be joined together to provide the expected energy requirements of the installation.

Solar PV - Solar Installers - Solar Thermal