PV Solar Panels

Photovoltaic installations, known as PV solar panels, can and do provide electricity for homes, agricultural and commercial buildings in the United Kingdom.

At a simple level, PV solar panels convert sunlight directly into electricity by the interaction of photons and electrons within a semiconductor material. PV solar panels are made up of photovoltaic cells. To create a photovoltaic cell a material such as silicon is doped with atoms from an element with one more or less electrons than occurs in its matching substrate (e.g., silicon). A thin layer of each material is joined to form a junction. Photons, striking the cell, cause this mismatched electron to be dislodged, creating a current as it moves across the junction. Through a grid of physical connections, the current is gathered. Various currents and voltages can be supplied through series and parallel arrays of cells.
PV solar panel systems are quite fragile due to the need to expose large surface areas to the sun.

One of the primary considerations for installing PV solar panels on a site is the security of the location against vandalism and damage by debris from trees and birds.

 

 

Quick Quick Facts about PV solar Panels

Fact 1 Unless you intend to own your home for at least 15 years PV solar panels for electricity generation will not save enough energy to repay your investment.  

Fact 2 You can install electrical PV solar panel systems on roofs, walls, balconies and as canopies above windows and doors.   

Fact 3 If you wish to install PV solar panels to support your desire to make a difference to your carbon footprint then you can make an effective difference with typical sunlight levels in the United Kingdom.

Fact 4 The ideal location to install a pv solar panel system is on a south facing roof that is not in the shadow of other buildings or trees.

Fact 5 When you buy pv solar panels you must look for an stated operational lifetime and a warranty of at least 25 years.

Fact 6 You may have difficulty hooking your pv solar panel system into the Electricity Suppliers systems to feedback spare electricity. If you manage to arrange this, the money your supplier will pay you is almost negligible.