Homeowner Blog

Solar panels perform best when they are clean. Any dirt or growth on the modules can block out sunlight and have a substantial impact on power output. Perhaps the hardest form of soiling to remove is lichen on solar panels.

But why does it grow on solar arrays and how can we deal with it?

Some of our clients are surprised to learn that there can be limits on the number of solar panels they can get on their roof, beyond the obvious physical and cost limitations. In fact, for solar PV systems over a certain size, grid permission is needed before installation can go ahead.

In this post, we’ll explore how many solar panels you’re allowed to install without prior permission, and how we can help you determine the maximum possible allowance for your property.

As of Wednesday 10th June, the UK hit a huge milestone of going two months without burning any coal for electricity generation. This is due to a combination of the reduced national energy consumption since the start of lockdown and the high investment in renewable energy over the past decade. Approximately 800,000 homes now have solar PV installed, helping to contribute to the decarbonisation of the grid, while also reducing their energy bills.

As electricity generation continues to decarbonise, the next logical step is for the transport sector to shift away from fossil fuels and towards electric vehicles. Over the past couple of months, the number of vehicles sold has dropped considerably. Electric and hybrid vehicles, however, feature more heavily than usual in the ‘top 10 models sold’ and more Tesla Model 3s have been sold over the past two months than any other car.

With the number of homes generating their own clean energy via solar PV and the number of electric vehicles on the road growing, we thought we’d take some time to analyse the benefits of pairing a domestic solar PV system with an electric car to quantify the potential financial savings.

Today we’re going to answer some common questions around sizing solar PV systems, including the conditions that affect ‘clipping’ and achieving the maximum rated output.

Whether you’re looking to buy a house with solar panels or it’s come time to sell your property and its PV system, you may have some questions. We’ve gathered the common queries to answer based on our years of experience supporting solar PV owners.

Image source: Joseph Brent.

The government has plans to phase out petrol and diesel cars, with sales of new combustion engine models to be banned by 2030 and a desire for almost every van and car to be zero emission by 2050. At the end of 2018, electric vehicles accounted for only 0.5% of the vehicles on the road. A lot therefore needs to be done if the government’s targets are to be reached.

We’re regularly contacted by customers, who have received an unsolicited call or letter from another company, offering them a ‘free solar panel health check’ or warning about their solar PV system being at risk of failing. This is a common scam.

Is now the time to buy an electric car?

How is COVID-19 impacting our energy demand?

The world is currently going through unprecedented times, with the majority of the population confined to their own homes, practicing social distancing to help curb the spread of COVID-19. This has had a significant impact on our day to day lives, with most working from home, and as a result there has been an increase in daytime energy usage. In a study by Octopus Energy, almost a third of households have noticeably changed their usage patterns, with a daytime electricity usage increase of up to 32%, resulting in an average electricity bill rise of £1.34 - £2.85 per week.

While there has been an increase in domestic energy usage, the national energy demand has decreased due to the number of industries and factories temporarily closing their doors to comply with the government’s regulations. The UK’s total energy requirement is down by about 20%, with the electricity demand on the first day of lockdown (24^th March 2020) showing a decrease of about 8% from the monthly average.

In light of the recent news, the idea of being grid independent with your own power cut protection has become a lot more attractive. 

We have had a number of customers interested in upgrading their solar PV or battery systems to protect them from power cuts. As we mentioned in a previous blog, a solar PV system alone will not protect you from an outage. With no batteries, if the power goes out, your PV system will switch off. This is a safety mechanism so that you do not discharge any excess PV energy to the grid and seriously injure someone if they are working to repair the grid near your house!

Even if you have a battery, some of them will not be able to island your property from the grid, which is the crucial step needed to have a backup system. Batteries need to follow strict DNO regulations to operate during a power outage as well, and will always need prior grid permission before installing.