Benefits of Solar Panel Installation

Recent years have seen a change in attitude in people with regards to how to tackle rising carbon emissions and cut down on the reliance on fossil fuels, and solar energy has become the most popular way to move towards a greener planet.

The chance to create renewable energy has led to homeowners and businesses across the UK choosing solar panel installation. The benefits of solar panels have given dramatic rise to their popularity in recent years with both electricity generating and water heating solar panels becoming a common sight on roofs and walls.

Types of solar panel

Before we get into the many benefits of solar panel installation, it is important to know what options are available. The two main types of solar panels are solar photovoltaic or solar PV and solar thermal (also known as solar water heating). Solar PV panels are the more popular of the two and are used to generate electricity from daylight; this is done by semiconducting layers of silicon creating an electric field. Solar thermal works in much the same way but requires sunlight to work as opposed to just daylight. Solar thermal panels are connected up to a water tank and will heat water for general use, a boiler or immersion can then be used to further heat the water to a desired temperature.

Benefits of solar panel installation- Photovoltaic

PV solar panel installation has many benefits and can be considered an excellent investment for anyone choosing to install them. The first benefit is the chance to produce your own renewable energy; this can save both money and help the environment.

Electricity bills are higher than ever at the moment and having solar panels can help you cut back massively on what you pay out to the major energy companies. A typical solar PV system will provide up to 50% of your electric which equates to hundreds of pounds off energy bills. Carbon emissions are also significantly reduced with an average household system able to save over one tonne of CO2.

An incentive known as the feed-in tariff (FIT) is was introduced by the government in 2010 as a way to reward people for acting now to install solar PV panels. The FIT scheme allows solar PV panel owners to sell any of their unused electricity back to the national grid. Payments in the FIT are in place for 25 years are designed to repay the costs of the initial installation fee.

Benefits of solar panel installation- Thermal

There are also benefits to solar panel installation when choosing a thermal system. Similar to the PV panels, installing a solar thermal system will help to save money on water heating bills. The average savings per year can be up to £100. A scheme being introduced in 2012 also adds to the benefits of solar panel installation, this is known as the Renewable Heat Incentive (RIH). The RIH is set up in the same way as the FIT scheme and design to provide payments to people for unused energy.