• What is Solar Photovoltaic?
• Government Grants
• Microgeneration Certification (MCS Certified)
• Fastest Growing Renewable Technology
• Feed-in Tariffs
• How it Works
• Photovoltaics In Operation
• What Can You Do With a kWh of Electricity?
• How Environmentally Friendly are Photovoltaics?
• Location of The Photovoltaic Collectors
• What’s Required?
• Photovoltaic Wireless Data Monitors
• The Advantages of Photovoltaic Solar Power

What is Solar Photovoltaic?

Our electricians can install Photovoltaics (PV) which is a technology related to the use of solar cells for generating energy. The process concerns the conversion of solar energy directly into electricity for use in residential and commercial applications. The growth in demand for renewable energy has lead to a big increase in the manufacture of solar cells. Mr Electric electricians have installed photovoltaic panels in a number of locations so we are ideally suited to assist you with your electrical requirements. Photovoltaic solar power is part of the widerMicrogeneration Technologies, which are a big part of energy conservation objectives.

What other Energy Saving Electrical Installations could I have installed?

Government Grants

Government grants, combined with an increased demand for renewable technology are driving the market at present. For more information on the grants available visit the Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) website www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk. The UK Government's programme of low carbon objectives offer grants of up to £2,500 for each property as your electrician will confirm. The Government grant is available to a selection of properties such as housing, community organisations, the public sector, private companies and also the not for profit sectors. For each of these sectors our electricians will provide Photovoltaic solutions that suit the building and its requirements.

Energy Saving Grants, Carbon Trust Loans and Enhanced Capital Allowance schemes are all encouraging the installation of Photovoltaic Solar Power systems.

Microgeneration Certification (MCS Certified)

Photovoltaic technology as your electrician will describe is one of the microgeneration technologies in the low carbon government programme. For Mr Electric electricians to install Photovoltaic technology we require microgeneration certification, which is also known as MCS certification. For more information on microgeneration certification contact us or request an energy saving installation.

Fastest Growing Renewable Technology

Photovoltaic technology is the world’s fastest growing renewable technology with production doubling every 2 years. Mr Electric and our network of electricians are part of the large global PV installation market which is rated at 15,200 megawatts. Currently around 90% of this output is a form of grid-tied electrical system, which feeds excess energy back to the electrical grid.

Our electricians may install these type of Photovoltaics on a ground location and can be incorporated with farming or large area ground applications. Photovoltaics may also be installed by our electricians on roofs or walls of a building. This type of Photovoltaics installation is known as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).

Feed-in Tariffs

As well as Government grants there are other financial incentives to encourage the installation of Photovoltaic technology. Our electricians will talk in more detail about the UK feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity. Feed-in tariffs for Photovoltaic power is where the generator of the electricity is paid a guaranteed, above-market price for any electricity that is fed into the electrical grid.

The design of a Photovoltaic installation by a Mr. Electric electrician can offer returns close to 10%. This is significant for customers who have an installation by our electricians as the payback period can be substantially reduced. Feed-in tariffs are set for more changes in 2010 which means the payback periods will be very impressive. For more information on Feed-in tariffs visit the low carbon economy website.

How it Works

Mr Electric electricians install photovoltaic collectors to exploit free energy from the sun in order to generate electricity. The installation of photovoltaic collectors by our electricians will be an addition to a dwelling’s electricity supply. They will be compliant with current Building Regulations, which insist upon at least 10% renewable energy generation. Photovoltaic collectors are reliant on daylight to generate electricity through the integrated cells within the collectors as your local electrician will confirm.

Photovoltaic collectors are fixed to a roof with cables that the Mr Electric electrician will connect to an inverter. This converts the DC electricity produced by the Photovoltaic collectors to AC electricity. The conversion takes place because AC electricity is the form of electricity that is sent from the national grid. In this format the AC electricity is either used or sold back to the national grid under the feed in tariff as your local electrician will confirm. If you were to combine Solar Photovoltaics and Solar Thermal technologies together, a substantial proportion of the properties energy needs would be met. Click here for more information on Solar Thermal technologies.

Photovoltaics In Operation

A 3kW Solar Photovoltaics System, fitted correctly by a Mr Electric electrician on a domestic property roof should produce approximately 3000kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity per annum. To put this in perspective the average domestic property electricity usage is 6kWh per day. Less than 3kWh should operate the lighting in the domestic property for approximately one week when low energy light bulbs are installed.

What Can You Do With a kWh of Electricity?

How Environmentally Friendly are Photovoltaics?

Photovoltaic solar power is the fastest growing renewable energy source, mainly because no fossil fuels are burnt in any part of the process. The only carbon footprint that is left by Photovoltaics is the manufacturing to create the collectors. Other than that as your Mr Electric electrician will confirm Photovoltaics Solar power does not generate any carbon dioxide.

An installation of a photovoltaic solar power system by our electricians has many environmental advantages including:

• No noise
• Pollution free
• No waste
• No fuel is required other than the FREE Energy from the sun.

For each kilowatt hour produced with fossil fuels, 0.68kg of carbon dioxide is released into the environment and put simplistically every person can use on average 600-800 kilowatt hours of energy every month. Your electrician can give you more information when you call Mr Electric.

Location of The Photovoltaic Collectors

Your Mr Electric electrician will confirm how vitally important the location of the Photovoltaic collectors are. They must be positioned in such a way so as to achieve the maximum amount of energy from the sun. Your electrician will install the collectors to achieve the optimum capture of energy from the sun. The collectors should be set at a 30° angle to achieve this.

The electrician will also advise an installation in an area where there are no buildings or trees casting shadows on the collectors. The Mr Electric electrician will suggest that the Photovoltaic solar collector is installed on a south-facing roof or for other circumstances on the side of a building.

What’s Required?

The number of Photovoltaic collectors installed by our electricians depends on the size of the property and how energy-efficient it is. If the electrical appliances within it are not energy efficient this will also affect the level of energy required. With a Photovoltaic system the electricity bills will be reduced as it will provide a proportion of the electricity or even the majority of the power required in the home.

Your electrician will confirm that if the system is connected to the grid, electricity will be taken directly from the grid when the generation of electricity from the Photovoltaic collectors is low.

Photovoltaic Wireless Data Monitors

As part of your installation with Mr Electric, the electrician will make available a wireless device that helps you monitor the performance of the Photovoltaic system. The power output of the Photovoltaic system can be numerically and graphically assessed for a complete system or for up to 4 individual inverter units. The electrician will install the devise anywhere in the house or commercial premises as it is wireless. It can store production data for up to a month, which you can review at your leisure.

The Advantages of Photovoltaic Solar Power

• The amount of sunlight hitting the Earth's surface is plentiful! In fact the 89 petawatts of sunlight is approximately 6,000 times more than the electrical power that humans consume. Furthermore, Photovoltaic Solar Power has the highest power density of the renewable technologies.
• Photovoltaic Solar Power installed by our electricians emits no pollution when in use. The waste at the end of production and associated emissions are controlled within existing pollution laws. Recycling of the systems will be possible at the end of their life cycle.
• Photovoltaic installations are durable with very little maintenance required after the initial install by our electricians. Following the one off capital outlay for a Photovoltaic installation, the operating costs are very low compared to the current operating power technologies.
• This type of installation by our electricians is very economical when the connection to the grid or the transportation of fuel is difficult or unachievable. Some examples of applications with these difficulties include islands, remote areas and satellites.
• hotovoltaic installations installed by Mr Electric electricians will be connected to the grid, however the electricity generated can replace the vast majority of the most expensive electricity. Grid loading can be reduced so there is no requirement for local battery power, which gives electricity when it is dark.
• Feed-in tariffs are a big advantage as you will get money back for excess electricity you give back to the grid. 2010 will see a host of new incentives to encourage the take up of Photovoltaic installations. The payback periods are impressive given the Feed-in tariff opportunities. Visit the low carbon economy website for more information.
• As a low carbon electrical installation you can receive a grant to assist you in the installation costs. Our electricians will discuss this but for more details visit the Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) website www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk.

Photovoltaic installations by Mr Electric electricians will provide you with a near self sufficient solution for the generation of electricity locally. Contact us today or click here to request an energy saving installation.