ENERGY PRICES HAVE INCREASED - WHAT CAN WE DO!

Energy bills continue to increase year on year.

Cumulatively, you may see your bill spike because of a combination of particularly cold weather, energy inefficiency around the home, and poorly performing insulation.

Do solar panels save money? The short answer is YES, solar panels save money. You save by using less electricity provided by your energy provider.

This means the free electricity your solar PV system generates is much more valuable and at least TWICE more valuable to you when the system was first installed.

As energy prices continue to rise globally, you are already ahead of the curve with a pre-installed renewable energy source in the Solar PV System.  Solar power is arguably the cleanest, most reliable form of renewable energy available.

Providing you use your solar panels efficiently your energy bills will reduce, and you can typically save between £170 and £440 a year according to “Money Saving Expert”. These savings will only increase with rising energy prices.

GET SMART WITH YOUR ENERGY APPLIANCES!

Firstly, you need to reconsider how you and your family use electrical appliances during daylight hours to ensure that you use as much of the available free electricity as possible.  The solar PV system will generate electricity whilst ever there is daylight.

It should be noted that the solar PV system performance will be influenced by weather. You'll still be able to reap the rewards of having a solar photovoltaic (PV) system when it's overcast, it just won't be as effective.

Although your panels may get an average of 7 hours of daylight a day, the average peak sun hours are generally around 5/6. During certain times of the day the PV system will have greater operation performance, typically those times would be between 10am to 4pm in the summer months and between 11am to 2pm in winter months.

All Electrical household items do have an energy demand and will therefore use a lot of electricity, where possible it would be beneficial to try and stagger the use of such items and use them, if possible, at optimum solar energy generating times. Examples of these types of items are below:

  • Immersion Heater

  • Washing Machine

  • Electric Cooker/Hob

  • Tumble Dryer

  • Toasters/Kettles

  • Hairdryer

  • Electric Heaters

If you want to save on electricity costs, with or without solar PV installed, you should try to eliminate or reduce the use of high energy demand appliances such as the ones listed above.

Don’t forget about the hidden energy consumption of the electrical items around your home. You can reduce the amount electricity you are using by switching off any appliances in standby or are not required.

Most common standby energy draining items

  • TV’s [old style]: 18.5W

  • TV’s [LED]: 1.6W

  • Stereo: 5W

  • Smart speakers: 2W

  • DVD player: 10W

  • Satellite box: 20W

  • Games console: 29W

  • Cordless phone: 5W

Not so obvious energy draining items

  • Microwave with clock (not in use): 3W

  • Digital clock: 3W

  • Mobile phone charger not in use: 0.5W

  • Desktop PC (sleeping): 10W

  • Plugged in laptop (sleeping): 10W

  • Plug in air freshener: 4W

  • Printers

  • Doorbells

  • Routers

  • Smart devices

According to government guidelines it is recommended that all charging devices that can be unplugged should be unplugged when not attended.

A recent survey on a typical 3-bedroom property identified that background energy use items consume 380 watts per hour! That’s a whopping 3,328 KW per year at a cost of £946.37, if purchased from your energy provider.

The lower your overall consumption, the more your solar PV system will be able to cover the demand.

HOW CAN I SAVE ENERGY

 

An energy tariff is how an energy provider charges a customer for their electricity use. A fixed rate tariff sets the cost of energy for a certain amount of time, typically one year or more, while prices on a variable tariff can go up or down according to the market. You should review the market on energy prices, based on the circumstances in your property, and only change providers if you are happy that you will either continue to enjoy a lower tariff or if you prefer a fixed price for household budgeting purposes.

Keep the area around the solar PV inverter stored in your loft area clear of stored items. Inverters are sophisticated components that generate at their highest efficiency when they stay cool. (They also have large heat sink radiators that enable them to keep cool in warm locations.)

Keep any trees or foliage that could cause the solar panels to be shaded from the sun trimmed. If the sun light cannot fall on the panels, they cannot produce electricity.

Draught-proofing your home is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy, and money, in any type of building.  Controlled ventilation helps reduce condensation and damp, by letting fresh air in when needed. However, draughts are uncontrolled: they let in too much cold air and waste too much heat.

A quarter of heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home. Insulating your loft, attic or flat roof is an effective way to reduce heat loss and reduce your heating bills.

A solar PV system can provide substantial energy cost savings and it is arguably the cleanest form of renewable clean energy available.

In fact, a typical UK residential solar PV system can reduce carbon emissions by 1.3 to 1.6 tonnes per year. 1.3 tonnes of carbon emissions are the equivalent of using 536 gallons of petrol or charging 607,904 smartphones. Over 30 years this will avoid 39 tonnes of carbon dioxide and is the equivalent of growing 2,365 tree seedlings for 10 years.

It’s time to enjoy the benefits of the installed solar panels! You’ll be generating clean energy and helping to reduce your energy bills.

To view the total electricity generated by the Solar PV system on your property and also the daily generation for the last 31 days, you can login using this link.

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