Super Fitness Health BlogSolar Panel Economics and Latitude
There’s a once in a lifetime chance in the UK to get solar panels free. Solar electricity is a major now even though the weather in the UK is not normally regarded as illuminated enough to deliver an economic rate of electricity generation. Nonetheless, government incentives make the installation of free solar pv panels a commercial financial activity.
Solar PV panels simply essentially turn sunlight into electricity directly and as PV, or photovoltaic, technology improves the efficiency of this process, so does the economics. With each percentage increase in efficiency, the further north you can install panels and get economic advantage.
There are several other factors accelerationg the uptake of solar electricity in the UK. The key one is the increasing cost of existing carbon-based fuels ie oil, coal and gas. These fossil fuels of course come not only with a commercial cost but with a risk too. One only has to see what happened to the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico to see both the impact on the climate and local ecology, but tragically too, the loss of life in the initial explosion.
The second factor is a government incentive scheme which is making the commercial assessment of solar panels favourable for many of the UK’s population. The RHI is motivating the rapid uptake of PV technology by paying electricity generators a premium price for electricity generated in this way. The price is artificially high when compared to the cost per kilowatt hour obtainable from the national grid which skews the cost-benefit analysis sharply in favour of solar panel installation – provided you have a south facing roof!
Technology is now available that converts solar electricity, which is essentially low voltage and DC, into 240v AC current that can be fed back into the grid when electricity production exceeds domestic demand. This electricity generates cash revenues for solar panel owners. Furthermore, even when domestic demand is being met by the panel directly, the renewable heat incentive actually still pays the householder per kilowatt hour consumed – provided it is generated by the panels in the first place. In other words, you get paid for selling electricity and you get paid even when you use it!
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