Our blog
Thoughts from the Smart Solar team
Government cuts.....?
Good news, the Government announced today that there would be no near term reduction in the PV feed-in tariff rates. There had been much speculation that the rates may be reduced earlier and faster than the initial announcement last year, but now that the rates remain unchanged is a significant boost to the PV industry. The rates are still set to regress in April 2012 so if you are considering installing a system, it is ...
One year on....
My PV installation is 1 year old, so what has been the actual generation over the 12 months......? A very worthy 1410kWhs of electricity...and not forgetting that the installation is west facing, so not optimum.....it feels great to have a % of one's electricity generated oneself, not forgetting the feed-in tariff which now means my electricity provider pays me every quarter....that's a good feeling too!
One week to go....
One week tomorrow and the Feed-in Tariff comes into force.....with the starting rates of the tariff confirmed as higher for the first two years, then reducing year on year thereafter, now is the time to take advantage and install a PV system.
We have received a marked increase in enquiries over the last few weeks ahead of this exciting new change and have several installations planned over the coming months. With interest rates still ...
Latest installation
Here are some photos of our latest installation, a 3.36 kW system. Notice that the solar PV panels have been installed alongside solar thermal panels - this customer has fully embraced renewables!
More financial incentive....
Since the Chancellor of the Exchequor announced in his pre-budget report on 9th December that income derived from renewable energy systems will not be taxed, this has created an even more compelling argument for installing a solar pv sustem. The financial incentive is stronger than ever, and helps create an even more favourable payback. With this tax benefit, an average feed-in tariff value of £900 in 2010 would hence save a household paying basic rate ...
Time is running out!!
If you are serious about installing a PV system this year, then you should move quickly to take maximum advantage of the government subsidy. From April, the capital grant system is being replaced by the new feed-in tariff. However if you install a system before then, you can still claim up to he maximum grant of £2500 AND then enjoy the generous feed-in tariff from April. There has never been a better time.......
Property values
At a time when the value of property is perhaps as uncertain as its ever been, and our insticnts are to try and improve ones own property value as a priority, the addition of a solar PV system could help.....
Beyond the calculation of payback in terms of recoupment of outlay, once installed a system will start to generate savings and even income, especially after the feed-in tariff starts next April.
For example, If you ...
Paybacks
When raising the issue of solar systems and its viability in the UK, one of the first questions asked is always "what's the payback"? The answer is usually expected as a number of years, and any number greater than 10 to most people is seen too long. Perhaps this is a feature of the short term society we now live in, the pursuit of short term gain above all else.
The reality is that ...
Head in the sand.....?
There are still many denialists who don't accept that global warming is a dangerous reality and simply part of natural cycles......can anybody really believe today that since the population on this planet has grown from 800 million to nearly 7 billion in three centuries that there is no detrimental impact on our planet.....? Over 25 billions of carbon are being put into the atmosphere every year - surely it is madness to deny that ...
My solar system!
Solar system installed on my garage roof this week-end. This is a 1.8kW system and is successfully generating power. The garage is west facing so I will lose up to 15% efficiency, but still generating significant power.
The Incredible Solar Electric Flight....
Smart Solar provided sponsorship and solar panels for the Incredible Solar Electris Flight during August from Monaco to Morocco.....see picture of the panels installed on top of the support van. The panels charged up replacement battery packs each day which were used to power the electric paramotors....
Feed-in tariffs
Well finally the annouuncement we have been waiting for from the Government regarding the introduction of the feed-in tariff from April 2010. With the rate expected to be around 36p, this creates a better and broader platform for domestic customers to start enjoying the benefits of microgeneration with the bonus of a faster payback. Furthermore it is now most likely that early adopters, including any customer who buys a PV system before April 2010, will ...
Guardian online.....
This week we have teamed up with the Guardian online to answer questions about energy generation and pv solar in particular....check this link for further information.
Garden Centres
We have now started installing Point of Sale display units promoting our Microgeneration system to customers of Garden Centres around the country. The first display was installed at Bents Garden Centre, recently judged Garden Centre of the Year.
We are receiving a large number of enquiries which supports our view that there is a latent interest and demand for a viable PV solution for domestic householders.
Watch this space.....!
PV Microgeneration system goes live...
After 2 years of planning, we're proud to finally launch our PV Microgeneration system.....
We've been wanting to offer a PV solution for general household use for a long time, but it has taken us a while to finalise the detail for a "standard" system so that it is relatively easy for the customer to understand, buy, install and benefit from.
One of our key requirements was to provide a solution that did ...
