Solar Bros

10/12/2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63834755

The head of energy giant Enel says renewables are key to getting prices back to pre-Ukraine war levels.

09/12/2022

Energy firms in the UK have reportedly been sending engineers to investigate customers who have reduced their gas and electricity use in an effort to save money on their bills. The industry body Energy UK, which represents the majority of providers, has defended the practice, saying that companies are justified in investigating potential theft. A spokesperson for Energy UK said: "Suppliers do have a duty to investigate suspicions of energy theft and an apparent big drop in usage might be an indication of this. Meter tampering is not only illegal but can also be extremely dangerous. Such investigations do need to follow appropriate guidelines but it's worth stressing that the costs of energy theft are ultimately met by other customers and at a time when millions of households are struggling to pay their bills, it's only right that suppliers try to prevent it."

This follows reports that EDF sent members of its ‘Revenue Protection’ team to investigate a vulnerable woman who had cut back on her energy usage due to rising bills. The woman, Victoria Whiteman, said that she felt "humiliated" by the investigation. EDF confirmed that no tampering had taken place. Dozens of other energy customers have come forward claiming to have had similar experiences with various firms. One disabled woman in Cornwall said that an engineer from her energy supplier turned up unannounced and initially told her it was because it appeared she had an "intermittent supply". She said: "When I showed him my meter he sighed and said it was fine. I was puzzled by his visit, and then it dawned on me that they thought I was tampering with the meter. I asked him if that's why he'd come and he confirmed it. He could see I was too disabled to do such a thing, even had I been so inclined. He apologised for troubling me, and said he was getting sent on lots of such visits. He didn't seem happy about it."

Another customer, Andrew Walpole, from London, said that his energy firm E Gas and Electricity sent engineers to his door after he built up several hundred points in credit on his prepayment meter. Mr Walpole said that he was falsely accused of having "tampered" with the meter by engineers who entered his property. He said: "They didn't explain their intentions or display ID. Of note, I was surprised by how aggressive they were. Physically, I'm a big guy and I'm articulate and I thought 'other people would crumble facing them'." E Gas and Electricity has been contacted for comment.

Ofgem, the industry regulator, has said that it "will not tolerate sharp practice or aggressive debt collection" by energy firms or third-party operators acting on their behalf. An Ofgem spokesperson said: "Ofgem's priority is to protect consumers and we know that people are currently under huge pressure as bills continue to rise. Suppliers must treat their customers fairly, particularly those who are in vulnerable circumstances. We have clear rules in place to protect consumers and will take action if we find that these rules have been broken." Labour is urging the government to take action on the issue, with MP Rachael Maskell saying that she is "shocked and appalled" at the situation.

06/12/2022

Harnessing solar energy via PV and a battery energy storage system (BESS) in a mid-terrace home, compliant with the Future Homes Standard 2025, could see savings of around £40,000 over their lifetime, Solar Energy UK has said.

Solar PV and a co-located BESS could help increase savings across the board in the UK, proving its value in both using renewable energy and reducing the cost of energy, according to the Value of New Build Solar report.

This has become more apparent amid the energy crisis. Due to volatility in the wholesale gas market, households across the UK have been particularly susceptible to high energy bills, causing more concern transitioning into the bleak winter months. For example, 8.4 million UK households will be in fuel poverty from April when the current support schemes either end or change to a higher rate, National Energy Action has said.

Under the Future Homes Standard 2025, the carbon emissions emitted from new buildings are to be slashed by at least 70% to 80% on current levels. To achieve this, several technologies have been touted as potential paths to decarbonisation, most notably solar and BESS. Heat pumps could also be integrated to reduce carbon emissions.

The £40,000 savings in a mid-terrace home is in comparison to one which has no energy efficiency measures set in place. These savings could be increased should technologies such as heat pumps be deployed.

It is not only mid-terraced buildings that could see significant savings and cost reductions due to the utilisation of solar energy. Detached homes, semi-detached homes and a housing association end-of-terrace home were all modeled by Solar Energy UK, to determine the savings that could be made by usingsolar energy and batteries.

According to the modelling, a best case scenario for a detached home compliant with the housing standard as well as having solar thermal, solar PV and BESS would see savings between £2,000 and £3,000 a year. Solar Energy UK confirmed this would equate to lifetime savings from between £202,000 and £242,000.

A semi-detached house situated in Scotland would also see savings of between £3,000 and £4,000 depending on which source of heat is utilised. This case study had been used to be sub-optimal with panels facing east-west rather than towards the sun to the south.

“Harnessing the power of the sun can address many of the questions raised by the energy crisis – how do we keep warm without breaking the bank, reach net zero, cut bills and bolster energy security?” said Dr Richard Hauxwell-Baldwin, research and campaigns manager for MCS Charitable Foundation.

“On top of the obvious environmental benefits of installing solar, this timely report illustrates why it makes financial sense to make solar standard for the new homes that the country needs.”

For a housing association end-of-terrace home situated in London, which is additional a socially rented home, the savings would be split across the housing association and the residents. Both would benefit from excess power exported to the grid and greater confidence that the tenant can afford to pay rent, Solar Energy UK said.

In total, residents of this building would see estimated savings of around £496 and £772 in the first year. These saving estimations have been welcomed by industry.

“This timely analysis from Solar Energy UK clearly demonstrates that solar is a key enabling technology for the transition to electric heating – mitigating the extra running costs for residents. Solar is crucial for the delivery of the Future Homes Standard,” said Stuart Elmes, founder and chief executive of Viridian Solar.

Value of New Build Solar follows the formal opening of a Commons inquiry into solar technologies and associated energy storage in early November. The Environmental Audit Committee revealed it would investigate the role solar technologies and energy storage can play as the UK transitions towards net zero. These technologies have received multiple boosts from the government to spark innovation in the sector.

Alongside this, the Committee will also weigh up the regulatory, technical, development planning and other barriers to expanding both small and large-scale installations, alongside supply chain issues and grid connectivity.

15/11/2022

How many solar panels are needed for a house?
The average one-bedroom house needs six solar panels, a typical three-bedroom house requires 10 panels, and a five-bedroom house will usually need 14 panels.
These solar arrays will generate roughly the same amount of electricity that each household uses in a typical year.
Annual electricity usage is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh).
1 kWh is how much electricity it would take to run a 1,000 watt (1 kW) appliance for an hour – so for example, if you had a 500 watt dishwasher, you would use 0.5 kWh in an hour of use.
In each case, the panels will produce enough electricity to cover around 50% of a household's annual usage – or more, if you don’t leave the house very often.
Without a solar battery or connected immersion heater around half of this energy will go unused by your home, because you won’t always be there to use it when it’s generated.
Not to worry, though – you can sell this extra power back to the National Grid via the Smart Export Guarantee.
The savings you’ll gain from the SEG and from not having to pay for expensive National Grid electricity mean you’ll typically break even in less than 9 years.

14/11/2022

Solar Batteries

A typical house hold ends up wasting around half of this money-saving, renewable energy.
By purchasing a solar battery, you can cut an extra 0.42 tonnes of greenhouse gases from your carbon footprint, and save another £326 per year on your energy bills.

To find out how much a new solar-plus-storage will cost you, simply comment or message us and one of our energy advisors will be in touch.

14/11/2022

People often ask about retrofit battery storage on an existing Solar panel installation. Here we have example of a solar edge battery connected to a solar edge battery. In the second example we have a solar edge inverter connected to a Lux Power ac coupled inverter connected to battery storage.
If you have a hybrid inverter installed: battery adding storage is simple plug and play. If not you have to connect an additional ac coupled inverter and then add storage.
For those people considering solar for the first time our advice is to invest a little more at the start and get a Hybrid inverter ie an inverter that is ready for battery storage, then if you decide to upgrade and add on battery storage to your system at a later date your good to go!

14/11/2022

Scotland set to reform planning rules to incentivise rooftop solar installations. Image: Getty.

Scotland is set to reform its planning rules for solar energy to incentivise rooftop installations across the nation.

The Scottish Government stated that it has pledged to consult on lifting the need to obtain planning permission for larger solar installations on non-domestic buildings early next year, bringing it in line with planning rules in England.

This will be welcome news to the United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) who last month argued that unused roofs on warehouses total 18,500 acres of land meaning the UK is missing out on 15GW of solar energy.

By implementing policy that does not require planning permission for non-domestic solar installations, this could make the process simpler and could rapidly scale the Scottish solar industry much like the rest of the UK.

“We are very happy to hear that the Scottish Government has listened to what the industry and businesses are saying and will consult on removing this unnecessary red tape. It is a recognition that the current planning regime contradicts the pressing need to address the energy price crisis and net zero,” said Emily Rice, policy analyst at Solar Energy Scotland.

Solar Energy Scotland called on the government earlier this year to remove legacy planning barriers for both large and small solar developments.

The call was made as the closing date for the National Planning Framework 4 consultation loomed, with the trade association having identified a number of modifications that were required to truly boost solar in Scotland.

Because of this, news of the recent plans to reform planning rules for rooftop solar will be a welcome addition to the sector.

In October 2021, Solar Energy Scotland also called on the government to set a minimum target of 4GW of installed solar capacity by 2030, as it asked it to raise its game.

The Scottish Government had already been proposing 8-12GW onshore and 11GW offshore wind targets, but there hadn’t been a target for solar. An ambition of up to 6GW of solar would be possible, although at the time, the trade association was calling for 4GW.

14/11/2022

Not your average solar job. A large semi comercial solar panel instalation for a new build extension. When completed these panels are integrated into the roof its self.

04/11/2022

The average solar panel system for a three-bedroom house costs £7,420

✔ Solar panels could reduce your annual energy bill by £722

✔ VAT on solar panels has been cut from 5% to 0% for the next five years

This is the best time in history to get solar panels.

The cost of going solar has dropped by 88% since 2010 (UK Government, 2021) as the price of electricity has soared, meaning solar panels can now cut your energy bills by £722 per year, on average – a huge saving, especially during a recession.

More than 970,000 households have solar panels – and when it takes just 8 years for the average household to break even, you can understand why.

All you have to do is provide a few quick details, and our expert team will be in touch.

02/11/2022

Welcome to the Solar Bros page. We are the UK's solar saving specialists. Our in-house team of energy professionals have over 20 years of experience in the industry. Solar Bros have installed solar across 1000s of UK roofs, cumulatively generating huge amounts of clean energy. Get in touch today to find out how we can help you with all your solar needs.