Solar panels and solar energy solutions are becoming more and more popular with homeowners due the sharp rise in energy prices over the last few months. Homeowners are wanting to free themselves from the restrictions and reliance on the nation grid by harvesting and storing their own energy.

Whether you’re considering using solar power to run your home, charge an electric vehicle or make money selling energy to the grid, we will cover the basics and a few FAQs for you in this article.

Many people are investing in solar panels now to save them money in the long run on their energy bills, reduce their carbo footprint and to increase the value of their home: These are just a few of the benefits of solar which is a truly renewable energy source that will help you obtain independence from the national grid and protect you from the rising energy costs.  

Contrary to some beliefs, you don’t need to have a south facing roof on a constantly sunny climate for solar panels to work, they work just as effectively when cloudy. You also do not need to have a large roof space as a general 8 panel system will be more then enough for a normal family living in a 3-bed semi: You could also have them place on your land if you have the room and do not want them on the roof. A basic solar panel installation may have safety features installed that cuts out in the event of a general power cut to protect people who may be working on the grid: However, you can have back up systems installed so that your solar power will continue to work in the event of a power cut.

One misconception about having solar panels installed is that you will be able to go off grid and stop paying your energy supplier, But solar panels alone only work during daylight hours, so if you want to be totally energy independent, you would need either an alternative energy source for overnight hours or a battery storage solution to store surplus energy to be used out of daylight hours. Most customers who go for a solar panel installation opt for a battery storage back up to go with it. Battery storage is also something to consider if you’re wanting to use solar panels to charge your electric vehicle, if you’re charging your electric car during daylight hours then you won’t need battery storage, but if you would like to plug in and charge overnight, you will ne to use the surplus energy stored in your batteries from daylight hours to do this.

Solar panel installation isn’t as intrusive as you may think and a standard solar panel installation can take as little as a day or two and will cause minimal disruption.

Would you like a quote for solar panels, battery storage or electric vehicle chargers? Click here and get in touch.