Benefits of converting to Solar PV in your property
- Generate your own electricity and reduce your reliance on the grid.
- Consume green energy instead of gas/coal/nuclear energy.
- Receive payments for any power exported to the grid*
- Free charging for electric vehicles (EV).
Domestic Solar PV has been popular in the UK since 2010 and is a very cost-effective way of lowering your energy consumption and bills.
Solar PV generates clean renewable energy, which significantly reduces your carbon footprint. You can also be compensated for exporting power to the national grid!
As of 2022 over a million properties in the UK have had Solar PV panels installed. Simple, tailor-made installation with little ongoing maintenance. Just worry-free bill reduction for your home.
Battery Storage – Waste nothing
Battery storage combined with Solar power is the most efficient way of generating and consuming electricity from the sun.
Although maximum efficiency is reached when the sun is shining, electricity is still produced on cloudy days and during winter. On the other hand, no electricity can be produced at night, but a storage system can solve this problem.
By installing battery storage in your property, all electricity generated while the sun is shining during the day, will be stored ready for use when the sun is no longer shining. In addition to this, any excess power not consumed can be sold back to the grid which can help towards the initial installation costs!
Solar panels are a simple, dependable technology that converts the sun’s energy into electricity.
If you generate more energy than your home requires, you are self-sufficient and will not draw power from the grid. The excess energy produced is used to charge a solar battery. When the sun goes down and the solar panels can no longer provide power, the battery kicks in and keeps you in power off-grid until it runs out.
Maintenance packages
Blue Electric offers installation and maintenance services for all types of solar PV and battery storage systems, including domestic and large commercial systems.
- Efficiency tests
- Cleaning
- Bird proofing
- Upgrades
Over time dirt and grime will build up on the surface of your solar PV panels. Although Solar PV panels are pretty weather and dirt resistant, over time each panel’s efficiency will decrease if it’s not cleaned. Solar efficiency can increase by as much as 10% once cleaned!
Is solar battery storage right for my home?
If you have solar PV panels, or are planning to install them, then using home batteries to store electricity you’ve generated will help you to maximise the amount of renewable energy you use. In fact, 60% of people who have, or would consider, a home battery told us the reason was so they could use more of the electricity generated by their solar panels. Home-energy storage will also reduce the electricity you use from the grid, and cut your bill. If your home is off-grid, it can help to reduce your use of fossil fuel back-up generators. In the near future, time-of-use tariffs will let you store up electricity while it’s cheap (overnight, for example) so you can use it during peak times. A few energy companies have launched these already.
If you do have a smart metre, your export payments will be based on actual export data. However, if you also have a home battery installed, your export payments will be estimated at 50% of what you generate. This is because your export metre cannot determine whether electricity exported from your battery was originally generated by your panels or taken from the grid. If you are looking to install solar panels and a solar battery, new Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariffs will pay you for any excess renewable electricity you have generated and exported to the grid. Very few of these exist now but all companies with more than 150,000 customers have to offer them by the end of the year. Compare rates to find the best for you – but check that you’re eligible if you have storage installed.
Smart Export Guarantee
The Smart Export Guarantee pays households for the excess renewable electricity they generate but don’t use themselves. The electricity can be produced by the following renewable technologies:
- solar panels (PV)
- wind
- hydro
- micro combined heat and power -anaerobic digestion
The government said that homes putting excess renewable electricity into the grid are guaranteed payment for it under the new scheme. But you have to sign up for an SEG tariff with a company, otherwise, you won’t get paid for your electricity and will export any you generate but don’t use to the National Grid for free.
The average medium use household uses 2,900kWh electricity over a year. On top of this, you would expect to save money on your electricity bill as you’d be using renewable power generated at home and therefore buying less from the grid. As illustrated below, you may even save more from having to buy less from the grid than you could earn from exporting the excess electricity you generate.
Solar facts
Solar energy produces no pollution when generating electricity.
Solar panels don’t need direct sunlight to generate electricity.
Solar power plants can last more than 40 years.
At around 1,000 acres, the world’s largest solar power plant is located in the Mojave Desert.
Solar energy is the cheapest source of energy in the world as of 2017.
Solar energy is cheaper than fossil fuels as of 2019.
All Stock photos have been used for illustration purposes only.