Solar Heating Contractor

The sun is one of the most powerful sources of energy we can use and it is constant and renewable. Solar panel heating and photovoltaics are becoming a popular means for home owners to source their own energy supply. Not only is it a good way of reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere but it also reduces the amount of money house owners have to spend on fuel.

There are two types of system you can use to source energy from the sun:

Solar Thermal Panels
Solar panels generate heat which is used to heat water in your domestic hot water system. Typically these systems are only used for domestic hot water as the temperatures tend to be lower than that needed for space heating. Solar panels also will usually need to be supported by a traditional heating system to reach the temperatures required even for hot water. There are two types of solar heating; a flat panel system and evacuated tubes, both use the sun to heat water in the panels or tubes which is then transferred to the hot water system.

Costs typically range from £3-6,000.

Photovoltaic panels
Photovoltaic panels generate electricity from the sun. Depending on the location of your house and how much sunlight you can take advantage will significantly affect how much electricity you generate. Photovoltaic panels are also quite expensive ranging from £10-20,000 depending on how many panels you can install. It is also likely that you will still need to use electricity from national suppliers to provide enough electricity for your needs. Payback on a photovoltaic system is about 20-40 years although this is reduced by Feed-in Tariffs introduced in April 2010 Link to info on Feed-in Tariffs

One of the other benefits to photovoltaic power generation is that if you have too much electricity it is possible to connect your system to the national grid and sell the electricity you have back to the grid.

Many companies have included solar panel and photovoltaic installations to their services but as with double glazing there are significant differences in the quality of the products and standards of service. Cheaper doesn't always mean better. It is important that you carefully research local installation companies and also look at the governments recommended installer directory.

If you have secured a grant you will be obliged to use one of the governments preferred companies to do the work for you.

For a recommended contractor give us a call on 01789 842898 or download a copy of our installer network leaflet on our download page to the right.