There are many reasons why property owners are choosing to have solar installed on their roofs, including:
- to save money and protect against energy price rises
- the potential to earn money through Government-backed schemes (FITS and RHI)
- reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the property.
Whatever the reasons for deciding to install solar, there are a number of checks that NFRC recommends property owners should do before going ahead, which is why NFRC have produced the following free downloadable leaflet that guides you through the process.
Simply click on the image below to download a free copy
Click here to search for a trained solar installer in your area.
There are two main forms of solar energy system for buildings – Solar Heating and Solar Photovoltaics (PV):
Solar Heating
A solar heating panel is very simply a black surface in an insulated container that absorbs light and heats up. The heat is then transferred into a working fluid that in turn moves the heat to a place where it is useful – perhaps a hot water store, swimming pool or space heating for a building.
Higher-performing solar heating panels do not require direct sunshine and will collect heat on a cloudy day. Typically, the energy is used to provide hot water for washing, which is relatively constant throughout the year and better matches the availability of solar energy than space heating.
Solar PV
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert light directly into electricity, and have become commonplace on devices such as calculators and watches. Costs have continued to fall as efficiencies of PV materials have risen, so the technology is becoming more and more cost-effective for generation of energy on buildings.
The most common technology uses thin wafers of silicon semiconductor materials connected together in a photovoltaic panel or module.
The panels themselves are then electrically connected together into an array. The direct current (DC) electricity they produce needs to be converted to alternating current (AC) to use in the building. A piece of electrical equipment called a solar inverter does this. Any excess energy which cannot be used in the building at the time it is generated can be exported to the electricity Grid to be used elsewhere.