Renewing Energy with Solar Panel Installation

The rising levels of CO2 being released into the atmosphere each day across the world have led to a big push from governments to get people to try to lead a greener lifestyle. Taking steps to cut back on your own carbon production can help the environment as well as saving you money in the process. A big part of the solution is to cut down on the reliance of fossil fuels, renewable energy is helping to do just that. Renewing energy with solar panel installation is one of the best ways to save tonnes of CO2, half energy bills and earn some money in the process.

What is renewable energy?

Renewing energy with solar panel installation is one of the most popular ways to generate free power for your home and business. Wind turbines and water generator are also popular renewable energy producers but do not have the potential to be used in small residential areas and villages in the same way as solar panels.

Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural sources such as sunlight, wind, water (rain and tides) and geothermal heat. It is given its name due to the fact that it is friendly to the environment and can be used to replace energy which is non-renewable such as coal and oil.

Rising prices and the scarcity of oil and coal, as well as the dangerous pollutants which these sources release into the atmosphere, have led to a shift to wind, sun and tidal energy sources across the world.

What types of solar panels are available?

Renewing energy with solar panel installation can be done in two ways: solar photovoltaic and solar thermal.

Solar photovoltaic (also referred to as solar PV) is the production of electricity from sunlight. Electricity is generated when sunlight hits the solar cells which make up a panel; these cells are made up of two layers of semi-conducting material such as silicon which release electrons upon contact with sunlight. The electrons move through the cell and create an electrical current which can be used to power appliances.

Solar thermal (also referred to as solar heating) uses sunlight to produce heated water which can be used for various tasks throughout the home or for use in production processes. Solar thermal comes in two forms: flat plate and evacuated tubes. Flat plate systems are the cheaper of the two options and consist of a flat radiator absorber which is insulated and covered with glass. This method is also the less efficient of the two.

Evacuated tubes allow water to be passed through tubes which contain an absorber plate. This allows the water to be heated a greater rate than the flat plate method and remain effective on days when sunlight is at a premium.

Renewing energy with solar panel installation can save you around £70-£200 per year depending on the type of system used and can also earn you money through feed-in tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive which allows you to sell your unused energy.