Wondering what solar panels are, how solar panels work and the benefits to you as a homeowner.
The term solar panel is used quite broadly to cover a variety of different systems – some heat your water like solar thermal or solar thermodynamic and others like solar PV (photovoltaic panels) produce electricity.
For this blog post we will be focusing on Solar PV.
Solar PV (photovoltaic) produces its energy from the photons and radiation levels in the sun not the direct sun rays. These panels absorb the energy from the sun to produce DC current.
This is then passed to the invertor which converts DC power (direct current) to AC power (alternating current) and is fed directly into your fuseboard. The invertor is installed in the attic and is about the size of a cornflake box.
Your fuseboard has several different circuits in it – for example the kitchen socket, lights, cooker etc. The power from the Solar PV feeds into those circuits and in turn, reduces the electricity consumption of the house.
Once your usage/needs are met, any surplus energy produced will be used to charge your battery or heat your water using a hot water diverter.
Thereafter, if there is any excess energy produced, it will be sent back to the national grid.
To make things even more exciting, you get paid for any excess sent back to the grid in with the microgeneration scheme – each utility supplier varies on their rates but generally, it is around 15c-20c per unit!
One more big thing that happened 2023 is that the VAT for solar panel installation was reduced from 13.5% to 0% , this brings the average installation costs down by €1000 on average and reduces the average return on investment from 7 years to 6 years.
Check out our handy infographic breaking down the step by step of solar PV
Let take a kettle as an example!
The consumption of a kettle is approx. 3000w.
Let’s say the PV panels are producing 2000w and you turn on the kettle at 3000w.
2000w goes to the kettle from your panels and 1000w comes from the national grid.
If your panels are generating 3000w and you turn on the kettle then, 100% of the energy will come from the panels and none from the national grid.
If you are over producing – Let’s say the house is using 1500w and your panels are generating 2000w. 1500w will go to the house (your appliances) and the other 500w will go to the battery or hot water divertor if you have one installed, otherwise it will go back to the national grid.
Installing solar panels on your roof doesn’t mean that you’re off the grid. Most solar systems can’t consistently generate enough electricity to be a home’s only power source, which is why the vast majority of solar homeowners maintain a connection with their utility company.
You can increase the efficiency of your solar panels by being smart about how you use your electricity throughout the day – i.e. stagger high consumption household items like washing machines / showers.
Why Choose NRG Panel For Your Solar Panel Installation in 2023
Choosing the right solar energy partner is really important, you want a company that is established, customer focused and passionate about what they do.
This is an investment, make it a pleasurable one. Luckily, NRG panel have all the below, which is rare in this industry.
Over 20 years’ experience in renewable energy.
Triple ISO accreditation.
Over 8000 installations nationwide.
PCI compliant so your details are safe.
Grant assistance through our in house grant co-ordinator.
Excellent after sales service.
24/7 helpdesk
Free consultations educating the customer – no pushy sales
