Solar Photovoltaic (Electricity)
Installing a Photovoltaic system is a simple way to bring down the cost of your electricity bills. Systems require little to no
maintenance and have very long life spans. Since we are MCS accredited you are eligible for the 'feed in tariff' of nominally 43.3p per unit.
For an estimate or a quotation please contact us from the details on the right or fill out the online self assessment form.
Our quotations and estimates are for a fully installed system with no extra hidden charges.
How it Works
Sunlight is converted into electrical current by a layer of semi-conducting material called a photovoltaic cell. A single solar cell is
small and produces a tiny DC current. Many solar cells are combined into a module (or solar panel) and in turn modules are combined together
in an array that can collectively output many kilowatts of energy in ideal conditions. For example a popular domestic array consists of
11 panels and usually has a peak output of 2 kilowatts.
The array is usually mounted as south facing as possible on the roof using an aluminium frame, however ground mounting or roof integration
is also an option. Electricity generated is then fed into an 'inverter' which converts the DC electricity into AC current suitable for your home appliances.
Typical Output
PV is sized per Kilowatt Peak. This is a measure of the output when receiving the maximum 1000w per square metre solar radiation. For every 1 kWp of PV installed, we would expect to produce 800 kWhrs (units of electricity) per year. You can have as many kWp's installed as your budget allows or roof space determines. It pays to buy the biggest system possible as the return on investment is so much better.
Making your PV system pay it's way
CO2
The average household uses around 3300kWh of electricity a year. A typical 2kWp system facing south at an angle of 30 degrees should be able to generate half of this electricity. This calculates to a carbon footprint reduction of 947kg per year.
Cost
In April 2010, the government introduced a 'Feed-In-Tariff' (FITS) for all MCS certified PV installations. This is a guaranteed fixed payment for all the electricity they generate, including what is used, for a period of 25 years. Combine this with the additional payment for any surplus electricity, the reduction in your standard electricity bill and suddenly solar PV offers an 8% return on investment.
Although FIT's are a Government incentive, they are actually paid by electricity suppliers. They are paid as a direct payment into your bank account or put as a credit towards your electricity bill.
Savings Example
To make it easy, we will presume your paying the average 13p per unit for your electricity and that you will be using all the electricity produced.
A 4.00kWp Solar PV system costing around £14,000 would produce roughly 3,200kWh/year.
| 3,200kWh X £0.413 (feed in tariff) | = £1321.60 |
| + 3,200kWh of energy @ £13p per unit | = £416.00 |
| = £1,737.60 per year! |
News
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18th July, 2011
Solar Utilities now not only install in South Yorkshire but Nation Wide.
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2nd June, 2011
Solar Utilities are please to annouce we are now working closley with Rotherham Borough Coucil on a test house.
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2nd June, 2011
Apologies for inconvience for our website being down for the last few days.The problem was caused by a break down at our host server,we are now back online.
Contact Us
Name:Solar Utilities Ltd
Phone:01709 371144
Fax:01709 829815
Email:info@solarutilities.co.uk
Address:
Northfield Rd
Rotherham
South Yorkshire
S60 1RR