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  • Energy crunch for UK power in seven years

    • Steve Holliday, chief executive of National Grid told the Times newspaper that Britain could face regular blackouts within seven years if the Government does not intervene to prevent an energy gap that will be created by future power station closures. The warning came after Ofgem, the energy industry regulator, said it was to consider fresh incentives to encourage the development of renewable energy schemes in Britain.
Worried about planning Permission?

Residential - From the 6th April 2008 homeowners will be able to install Solar Panels on their property without the need for planning permission as long as the following is adhered to:-

1) Roof mounted panels must not protude more than 200mm from the roof slope
2) Freestanding panels must not exceed 4 meters above ground level

See here for more details.

Commercial - In most cases this is yes however, a phone call to your local planning department will confirm the exact requirements. We can provide this as a service if required.

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The We Support Solar Campaign

We are backing the We Support Solar campaign who are working to highlight the value of solar PV in the UK and to ensure the Government sets an appropriate rate for the solar Feed-in Tariff to ensure a clean, renewable future for generations to come.

The Renewable Energy Assurance Scheme
We are members of the Renewable Energy Assurance Scheme (REAL) and abide by the high standards set out in their code of practice


The Greater manchester Chamber of Commerce

We are members of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce who actively promote and support North West Businesses.

Solar Electricity

 

Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Solar Photovoltaic panels (or PV for short) convert sunlight directly into electricity weithout any need for moving parts and produces no noise or emissions.

A PV cell is made up from 2 or more thin layers of semiconducting silicon which when exposed to A PV Panellight generates an DC electrical charge. The charge produced by a single cell is small so multiple cells are connected together to produce a larger, useful output - generally 12 or 24 volts. Multiple panels can be connected together to further increase the output.

The electrical output of a PV cell is dependent upon the intensity of the light to which it is exposed. So PV cells will tend to generate more electricity on bright days than when skies are overcast. However, photovoltaics do not need to be in direct sunlight to work, so even on overcast days a PV cell will be generating some electricity.

Prices: exc VAT

  • Schüco S 170 SP-4 polycrystalline 170 Wp   £729.21
  • Schüco S 175 SP-4 polycrystalline 175 Wp   £750.66
  • Schüco S 180 SP-4 polycrystalline 180 Wp   £772.11

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    What can I do with my electricity?

    There are two options here.

    Firstly you can power DC equipment (garden lights, pond pumps etc) directly from the panels or store the electricity in a leisure battery (similar to a car battery) for use later. See DC solutions for further information.

    The second option is to convert the DC electricity to AC (this is what you get from your household power sockets) and connect to the national electricity grid. See AC solutions for further details.

    How long will a system last?

    The average lifetime of a PV panel is in excess of 20 years and require very little maintenance. The other parts of a system have varied lifetimes for example batteries last between 2 & 15 years.