Find a Renewable Energy Specialist you can trust in Dungannon.

If you’re looking to purchase and install a solar system for your home or property, then knowing the amount of energy a solar panel can produce can go a long way to help you determine just how much solar panels that’ll be needed to power your entire house. In this article, we’ll give you an idea of the amount of energy that can be generated by a solar panel to help you make informed decisions going ahead.

First and foremost, you should note that each and every solar panel is rated by how much direct current power they’re able to generate under standard testing conditions. The output of a solar panel is given in watts units (W) and it stands for the theoretical power generation of the panel under direct sunlight as well as temperature conditions. Generally, several domestic solar panels possesses power output ratings which ranges from 250 watts to 400 watts. And as you would have expected, the higher power ratings are preferable when compared to the lower power ratings. What’s more? The total wattage of your solar panels will greatly influence a major part of your overall solar system cost.

Assuming you’re able to get just about 5 hours of direct sunlight every day, you can determine the output of your solar panel in this way - 5 hours x 290 watts ( wattage example of a premium solar panel) = 1450 watts-hours or approximately 1.5 kilowatts per hour (kWh). hence, the individual solar panel output in your array should be able to generate about 500 to 550 kWh of energy every year. This is sufficient energy to power some small appliances without problems.

The importance of selecting the right size battery for your home simply cannot be overemphasized. A lot of home and property owners are facing this challenge and understandably so. Selecting the right battery size for your needs depend on a number of factors which includes your motive for adding a battery, your electricity usage, your budget as well as your panel array size, be it new or existing. In this post, we’re going to take you through some of these factors to help you determine the right battery size for your home or property. Let’s take a look!

• Your motive for getting a battery. While most people purchase a battery to wipe out their need to purchase electricity from the grid with the hope of making some savings, others add a battery so as to enjoy backup power. There are also some who just needs it to power their home with solar energy. It’ll not be economical to size a battery to effectively take you off the grid, but if your motive is to make savings, then you’ll should expect to purchase some electricity from the grid during the year.
• Electricity usage. The average household uses about 16kWh of electricity on a daily basis. During the daylight hours, most of these household will use a third of their electricity when the solar panels are still generating electricity, while the remaining two third are purchased from the grid. In other words, you’ll require a minimum of 10kWh battery capacity if you were to use a battery to power the electricity you purchase from the grid.

For a typical British household, you’ll most likely need a 5kWh solar power system which normally generates about 17 to 21 kWh on a daily basis depending on your location in the UK.

If you’re interested in getting a new air source heat pump, then you’d probably want to know if they’re really advantageous, cost effective and efficient. The fact is, there are a plethora of benefits that comes with using heat pumps which is a renewable alternative to warm up your home in the UK.

An air source heat pump can help you save money on energy bills while also minimizing your carbon footprint as compared to a gas or electric heating system. Another important benefit that comes with air source heat pump is the fact that they’re quire versatile and yet affordable. Generally, they can function either for heating or cooling purposes and they can also be incorporated for either heating of space or water. In fact, in order to achieve the target Net Zero by 2050, the UK government are looking to fit 19 million heat pumps in new builds. With significant rise in the deployment of heat pumps, the grants by the UK government enables this renewable energy source to become a lot more affordable to run while also helping to minimize the burden of the air source heat pump cost.

As perfect as it seems, this renewable source of energy also comes with a number of disadvantage which we’re going to list out. Let’s take a look!

• There must be sufficient space in your garden to accommodate the external condenser unit.
• The condenser unit can make a lot of noise and even blow colder air into their immediate area.
• Since they consume electricity to operate, this also means they’re not zero carbon unless the electricity is produced from a renewable source like solar panels etc.

If you’re thinking about installing ground source heat pumps for your home, you’ll definitely want to know whether or not its worth the money. In this article, we’re going to look at the various benefits and drawbacks of the heat pump to enable you make an informed purchase decision.

As a result of their high efficiency rate and low running cost, ground source heat pumps are incredibly low carbon heating system which are presently experiencing a rapid increase in popularity, therefore they can actually be a valuable investment. This type of heat pump utilizes the constant temperature of the ground to provide warmth to your home - either for a space or for water heating purposes. Upon installation, the cost of running ground source heat pump is relatively low. What’s more? This type of heating system is eligible for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which means you can also earn an extra income on the side as well. However, what makes most homeowners think twice before installing a ground source heat pump is the high cost of installation.

Heat pumps are greatly essential especially when it comes to minimizing the UK’s total carbon emissions. At present, there about 240,000 units of the heat pump installed and to help attain the UK’s 2050 Net Zero goals, an extra 19 million heat pumps will have to be installed. If you wish to help in the achievement of this goal, you can start by investing in a ground source heat pump. So let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the heat pump.

PROS

✓ Low running costs

✓ Low carbon heating

✓ Energy efficient

✓ Eligible for grants

✓ Increases property value

✓ Provides both cooling and heating

✓ Inexhaustible

CONS

✓ High installation costs.

✓ The soil type impact its level of efficiency.

✓ It can be hard to install in retrofits.

Air source heat pumps can be a really efficient way to generate heat. Although they require electricity to run, they generate much more heat than an electric heater that uses the same amount.

Air source heat pumps provide heat at a lower temperature than most other types of space heating. This means they’re most efficient when they’re left on for longer periods of time, and distribute heat through wet heating systems with large surface areas, like underfloor heating or big radiators.

Air source heat pumps can be much more efficient than oil and LPG boilers, and older electric heating systems. However, they’re only usually the most efficient option if your property is very well insulated.

If you’re thinking about the possibility of installing a ground source heat pump in your home, then it’s normal to consider how efficient they’re in heating up a house before going ahead to make a purchase decision. In this article, we are going to address this question to help you make an informed purchase decision.

We know you’d prefer a single, accurate answer to this question, but the fact is, there are several influencing factors that can play a key role in the efficiency of a ground source heat pump installation. These factors include whether or not the property is well insulated, the fitting of a well designed system and the quality of its installation, the heat source that’s being used as well as the heating distribution system and its size ( under floor heating or radiators ).

The Coefficient of Performance ( CoP) measurement is used to imply the efficiency of a heat pump. This is basically the ratio between the amount of heat energy generated by the ground source heat pump and the amount of electrical energy or fuel it consumes. Therefore, the Seasonal Coefficient of Performance ( SCoP) is usually taken as a realistic measurement to cover throughout the year as its based on CoP at varying conditions as well as a standardized climate.

You must, however, note that there is no established Coefficient of Performance for ground source heat pumps as they can be influenced by a lot of factors as well as testing conditions. When they’re properly fitted, ground source heat pumps can achieve a quite high Coefficient of Performance.

Generally, a ground source heat pump can generate about 3 to 4 kilowatts (kW) of heat for every 1 kilowatt to electricity or fuel it consumes. It’s able to achieve a higher efficiency when compared to its counterparts by using the freely available heat energy from the ground.

Solar cells , also referred to as photovoltaic cells (PV), absorbs energy from the sun and converts it to generate electricity. This, however, should not be confused with photovoltaic thermal cells or PVT which operates to generate heat for water in homes. Solar cells are linked electrically and also carefully organized into a large frame which is popularly called solar panels. Generally, solar cells are produced or made of silicon semi conductors which works to absorb sunlight and then turn it into electricity for use at a home. A solar panel comprises of either 60 or 72 solar cells which are electrically interconnected in series and parallel and also positioned in between glass and plastic which is then framed.

At present, solar panels incorporated for residential or domestic purposes only possesses the capacity to make use of only about 20 percent of the sunlight they’re able to absorb and convert it to electricity - also called solar efficiency. Available in the market are also a wide range of solar cell available for both industrial and commercial purposes. This type of solar panels have an efficiency rating of about 40 percent which will also automatically make them more costly than the domestic types.

One great thing about the solar industry is the fact that it keeps improving in such a way that raises both its efficiency as well as overall quality. And with further research and development, this is expected to even increase as the years go by. What’s more? As these aspects keep rising, it’s also expected that the solar panels price should be on a decrease. That way, they’ll become available to a wider range of individuals who’ll also like to save money on electricity bills and go greener.

If you’re considering getting a solar thermal system, one of the first things that comes to mind is the possibility of the system functioning properly during the cold months. The short and simple answer to this question is yes, a solar thermal system works in the winter. However, the downside here is that it’ll be a lot less efficient when compared to how it operates during the warmer months or summer. As a result of this fact, you’ll likely need to rely more on your boiler, immersion heater or any other backup heating system during this period as your solar thermal system will fail to contribute as much as it does during the warmer months. So what exactly is the reason why solar thermal is less effective and less efficient in the winter period? Let’s have a look!

As you know, solar thermal system banks on the sun’s energy to heat the water for your home’s use. During the cold months or winter, the sunlight becomes a lot less available when compared to the warmer months, as a result, there’s less sunlight that’s available to be used for its solar energy. And even more so at the periods when the days are shorter or skies are clearly overcast.

Also having a great impact on a solar thermal system’s output is heavy snow. Flat plate collectors normally have the capacity to cope better during snowy conditions as the light that’s able to travel through the snow will heat up the absorber plate - thereby making the snow slide off more quickly. However, the case is contrary with evacuated tube collectors which possesses a form of vacuum insulation that’s crafted to minimize the loss of heat, meaning they can’t generate heat to melt and cause the snow to slide off in a similar way.