Solar PV (Photovoltaic Systems) Explained

General information on solar photovoltaic systems and solar energy.

Photovoltaic systems (Solar PV) use cells to convert solar radiation into electricity. The cell consists of one or two layers of a semi-conducting material. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers, causing electricity to flow. The greater the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity is.

The most common semi conductor material used in photovoltaic cells is silicon, an element most commonly found in sand. There is no limitation to its availability as a raw material as silicon is the second most abundant material in the Earth’s mass.

A photovoltaic (PV) system therefore does not need bright sunlight in order to operate. It can also generate electricity on cloudy days. Due to the reflection of sunlight, slightly cloudy days can even result in higher energy yields than days with a completely cloudless sky.

The solar PV system is easy to install with minimum disturbance, has a 25 year guarantee and the best part – there is a government grant currently available (in Scotland). We are also able to provide a very attractive finance package – arrange to have your home surveyed today and start to get “ELECTRICITY FOR FREE” Electricity.

Plug into the Sun with Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Solar PV panels convert daylight directly into electricity. They do work when it’s cloudy, but, prefer direct sunlight. When you add lots of PV panels together then that’s normally referred to as a solar array or solar PV array.

Each photovoltaic panel in the array is connected to it’s neighbour in series to form a long string of PV panels. One or more strings are then connected together and all the power from the whole array is fed into just two wires. Solar PV panels create DC current. Houses and the national grid run on AC current, so, these two wires connect to an inverter which changes DC to AC.

In most cases the solar PV array will be grid connected. To connect to the grid the inverter is connected to the consumer unit via a spare circuit breaker. This then allows you to either use all that you generate yourself and feed surplus back into the national grid.

Solar PV arrays need more space than solar hot water. Typically an average solar PV array on a house would take up about 12 square metres (the minimum required is 12sqm). Also solar PV arrays are more affected by shading. If just a few panels are affected by shade it will not just affect the power output of those panels but will reduce the power output of all the other panels in that string. Therefore it is important that panels are positioned in an area that is unshaded where they will be in full sunlight for the majority of the day.

In order to benefit from the maximum amount of sunlight available, arrays need to be positioned in a southerly aspect (south west through to south east). For a roof sited array a mounting system is attached to the existing roof on top of the roof tiles. This is referred to as a roof mounted system.

The solar panels will typically protrude above the roof no more than 14 – 18cm which is within planning guidelines of 20cm. A panel array can be flush with the existing roof which is known as an in roof system. This involves a section of the existing roof tiles being removed and the solar panels fitted in their place.

Please Contact Us so we can assess your requirements for Solar panels, solar energy, solar heating and photovoltaic systems