Solar PV is a wonderful, clean technology, that will dramatically lower your energy bills, reduce your households CO2 emissions, and help save the planet, as part of the inevitable transition to a zero-carbon economy. And the best part of it all? It pays for itself.
How it works
Solar PV works by directly harvesting sunlight using panels made up of special solar cells, and then sending this energy either to be used immediately within the home, or to be stored in a battery for later use.
An inverter converts the Direct Current (DC) produced by the solar modules to the alternating current (AC) required within the property.
What you can expect
In simple terms, the exact amount of power you get from your system will depend on two factors: The peak output of the array after transmission and conversions losses, and the amount of solar irradiation it recieves, which in turn, depends on the amount of sunlight available, as well as the inclanation of the array, how steep it is, its orientation, the nearer to south-facing, the better, and any possible shading-effects. In practical terms, the choice of equipment and the specific system design can have a significant impact on how well a home’s PV system performs.
That said, the amount of solar energy hitting a given location in the UK, depsite having great daily and seasonal variability, is remarkably consistent and predictable over longer timescales, with little variablity in the annual yield, all other things being equal. We use advanced computer programs to simulate our solar PV systems in your own unique location, using postcode-accurate climate data, as well as the specific key system components, in order to ascertain extremely accurate and reliable estimates of your proposed solar PV ́s system performance. It should be noted also, that while SAP does not make any allowance for the quality of the equipment installed, feedback from customers indicates that this can indeed have a signifcant impact, and that better quality panels, generally, will yield more energy in total than cheaper ones (especially in lower light conditions, and better inverters will be more efficient at usilizing that energy). Also, the better the quality of the equipment, the slower the deterioration of the products performance over their lifetime.
The average UK electricity usage is around 3500kwh per year, so a 5kwp system with battery storage would be nearly sufficient to entirely power a customers home, a 5kwp system and may even generate enough power for some to be sold back to the grid.
If domestic use is higher than average, say 4500kwh pa, a 5kwp PV system with battery storage could save a customer around 1500 pounds that they would otherwose have had to pay in bills.
Example based on 80% usage
3600 kwhs @ 34p = 1224
900kwh @ 15p* 135
Of course every customer is in a unique situation with specific requirements. With this in mind, Ecotekk offer to undertake a free site survey on behalf of prospective customers, to ascertain precisely what technology and equipment will best meet their design needs, run a simulation on advanced software to determine the systems performance and how much money it will save them, and of course provide a quotation for completing the work.
Get in touch today, to find out how much a solar Pv installation could benefit you!
Customer Enquiry
What are the benefits?
Reduces households ́ carbon footprint
Saves you money
Future-proofs your energy bills.
Pays for itself in the short-medium term
Little to no maintenance required
Adds value to property
What are the disadvantages?
The short answer is there are no disadvantages to solar PV. Some websites state the up-front costs as a disadvantage, but this seems a rather ridiculous claim in 2023, considering that solar PV is now practically the cheapest form of energy generation that exists.
This does not mean that choosing to invest in solar energy is entirely free of any pitfalls. But while Solar PV as a concept, or a technology, quite likely is indeed the best thing since sliced bread, it can easily be mis-sold, either inadvertently or out of greed, by either an unscrupulous provider, or some one who is just plain incompetent, resulting in a system which ultimately is a waste of money, to a greater or lesser degree.
If however, you have an honest, trustworthy provider, who really knows their stuff, can offer good advice, and is looking out for your best interests, then they will be able to design, install and commission a PV system which works optimally for your specific customer requirements, you cannot fail. You should beware any company looking to push a certain brand of panel or inverter, because you can never say that any particular product is ́the best panel ́, or ́the best inverter ́, perse. There is only the best product for any particular situation or usage, and of course, every customer is unique. A company representative who deals with your design and quotation on this basis will guarantee you the best return on your investment.
The short answer is there are no disadvantages to solar PV. Some websites state the up-front costs as a disadvantage, but this seems a rather ridiculous claim in 2023, considering that solar PV is now practically the cheapest form of energy generation that exists.
This does not mean that choosing to invest in solar energy is entirely free of any pitfalls. But while Solar PV as a concept, or a technology, quite likely is indeed the best thing since sliced bread, it can easily be mis-sold, either inadvertently or out of greed, by either an unscrupulous provider, or some one who is just plain incompetent, resulting in a system which ultimately is a waste of money, to a greater or lesser degree.
If however, you have an honest, trustworthy provider, who really knows their stuff, can offer good advice, and is looking out for your best interests, then they will be able to design, install and commission a PV system which works optimally for your specific customer requirements, you cannot fail. You should beware any company looking to push a certain brand of panel or inverter, because you can never say that any particular product is ́the best panel ́, or ́the best inverter ́, perse. There is only the best product for any particular situation or usage, and of course, every customer is unique. A company representative who deals with your design and quotation on this basis will guarantee you the best return on your investment.
Battery Storage benefits in brief
Greater resilience & independence from grid.
Integrate with smart tariffs to save even more money.
Enjoy low-cost energy day & night.
Maximise return on Solar PV.
Protect energy supply from disruption.
Track spending & savings in real time.
Solar PV With Battery Storage
As the costs of solar battery storage has come down rapidly over the past ten years, while the cost of purchasing energy from the major utility companies has risen just as steeply, most installations of a solar PV system these days will also incorporate some level of battery storage ( in fact, some homeowners are even opting to install a battery bank at home even in properties that are unsuitable for rooftop PV, as they can use off-peak energy to charge their batteries in order to power the household at times when purchasing power off the grid would be many times more expensive, saving themselves hundreds of pounds a year! ).
When installing a PV system with battery storage together, we typically use a hybrid inverter which is capable of sending AC power to the home at the requisite voltage, while any energy in excess of this demand gets sent directly to the battery to be stored for late use, with extremely low conversion losses.
It is also possible to retrofit a battery bank to an exiting solar PV installation. Relatively early adopters of Solar PV technology in the UK faced an entirely different set of financial incentives to people considering installing solar in 2023, as tariffs for generating clean energy (open to new entrants from 2010-19), were much higher (and paid regardless of whether that energy was used at home or exported), while battery technology was much less advanced but significantly more expensive than it is at present. Today of course, energy costs have energy have risen dramatically, while the cost of batteries has dropped precipitously, and the FIT ́s were scrapped for new customers some time ago. This makes the economic case for retrofitting a battery storage system to an exiting PV array absolutely compelling under present conditions.
Battery storage
Battery storage allows you to use more of the energy your solar PV system generates at home, maximizing the earnings from your system (because you will always get paid less for what you sell to the grid than you pay them for the energy which you import from it). If you are out during the daytime, and most of your energy consumption is in the evening when you get home, a substantial amount of electricity will be exported into the grid, and remunerated at 5-15ppwkh, while the energy which you buy will cost at least 34p, which obviously is a terrible deal for home owners.
Solar PV with battery storage – typical installation
For most situations and customers, we would recommend installing a DC coupled system, which uses a hybrid inverter, to send AC power to the home, at the same time as using any surplus energy from the solar array to charge a battery, using direct current.
An alternative configuration for a home PV system with battery storage uses a traditional string inverter to convert the DC produced by the panels into the AC needed to power the home, in the same configuration as you would a sytem without any storage capacity. A second inverter then flips the AC electricity back to DC, in order to charge the battery bank. Because there are inherent losses in converting the energy from AC-DC & vice versa, this type of-set up is used mostly for retro-fitting a PV system with battery storage, although there are some scenarios where you might consider this design for a brand new project -such as where there signifcant shading issues, or if you wanted panel-level performance monitoring, for whatever reason.
Send a message