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Energy crunch for UK power in seven years

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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We are certified installers as part of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme and our installations are elegible for the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme (also known as the Feed-in Tariff or FIT) and the Renewable Heat Incentive when available in April 2011

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

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 Panel light 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.

We can supply and install the following MCS accredited panels

Manufacturer and model	Peak output	MCS Certification Reference	Price (exc VAT)
Schüco MPE 170 MS 05 monocrystalline	170 Wp	MCS PV0021/06	£404.60
Schüco MPE 175 MS 05 monocrystalline	175 Wp	MCS PV0021/07	£416.50
Schüco MPE 180 MS 05 monocrystalline	180 Wp	MCS PV0021/08	£428.40
Schüco MPE 190 MS 05 polycrystalline	190 Wp	MCS PV0021/01	£452.20
Schüco MPE 195 MS 05 polycrystalline	195 Wp	MCS PV0021/02	£464.10
Schüco MPE 200 MS 05 polycrystalline	200 Wp	MCS PV0021/03	£476.00
Schüco MPE 205 MS 05 polycrystalline	205 Wp	MCS PV0021/04	£487.90
Schüco MPE 210 MS 05 polycrystalline	210 Wp	MCS PV0021/05	£499.80
Yingli Solar YL175 polycrystalline	175Wp	MCS PV0022/06	£404.69
Yingli Solar YL180 polycrystalline	180Wp	MCS PV0022/07	£412.50
Yingli Solar YL210 polycrystalline	210Wp	MCS PV0022/23	£485.63
Yingli Solar YL230 polycrystalline	230Wp	MCS PV0022/31	£531.88
SunGrid SG-215M6 monocrystalline	215Wp	MCS BBA 0004	£541.80
SunGrid SG-260M6 monocrystalline	260Wp	MCS BBA 0004	£655.20

What can I do with my electricity?

There are several options here.

You can power DC equipment (garden lights, pond pumps etc) directly from the panels or store the electricity in a number of batteries for use later. See DC solutions for further information.

Off Grid - This is where your PV panels store their output into a number of batteries which in turn is converted to AC electricity by an inverter ready for use via standard 3-pin sockets. As these systems are not connected to the national electricity grid they often have an associated backup generator in the event of there not being enough solar energy available to supply all the power requirements. See AC solutions for further details. These systems are elegible for the Clean Energy Cash Back Scheme (also known as a feed-in tariff or FIT)

On Grid - With this option the DC electricity produced is immediately converted to AC via an inverter and is fed to your existing mains consumer unit. The inverter syncronises its output with the incoming mains allowing you to use your generated electricity in preference to grid generated power. If you are in the good position of producing more electricity than you are using then this electricity is 'exported' back to the national electricity grid and you will receive a payment for each kWh exported. See AC solutions for further details. These systems are elegible for the Clean Energy Cash Back Scheme (also known as a feed-in tariff or FIT)

How long will a system last?

The average lifetime of a PV panel is in excess of 25 years and require virtually no maintenance.

Schüco panels are guaranteed for 5 years at 100% of rated output with further guarantees of 90% after 12 years and 80% at 25 years. They also have a manufacturing output tolerance of +5/-0% i.e. the initial output of a 200Wp rated panel will be between 210Wp (200 + 5%) and 200Wp (200 - 0%). Click on the links to view the speciifcation sheets. Monocrystalline range Polycrystalline range

Yingli panels are guaranteed for 5 years at 100% of rated output with further guarantees of 90% after 10 years and 80% at 25 years. The output manufacturing tolerance is +3/-3% i.e. the initial output of a 200Wp rated panel will be between 206Wp (200 + 3%) and 194Wp (200 - 3%). Click on the links to view the specification sheets. YL165 YL175

The other parts of a system have varied lifetimes for example batteries last between 2 & 15 years and inverters around 15 to 20 years.