Solar Energy by region in Britain

Great Britain is no stranger to environmental changes. In fact, the last 50 years have shown and incredible change in both climate and weather patterns. According to British scientists and meteorologists, the planet is indeed getting warmer. This is evident of polar caps melting in the Antarctic, along with wetlands drying up and spreading inland. While this is certainly a major cause of concern, countless citizens and residents are reaping the awards of solar based and renewable energies. With close to 40% of the population now utilizing solar panels, harnessing energy from the sun and other heat sources continues to soar in national popularity.

Sunlight Exposure

In order to understand the growing trend of alternative and renewable energy options, we must first dissect the regions that receive abundant or little to no sunlight. Based on recent reports, London and the South of England have one main thing in common. This is the lack of sunlight due to constant overcast and precipitation. In fact, London and a number of southern-based cities receive 30-40% less sunshine than other parts of the country. It would seem that Blackpool and other resort areas should receive plenty of sun during the summer or scorching months. While this is true, the area is blanketed by clouds during the autumn, winter, and partial spring months. To effectively combat this problem and pocket the heat for homes and business, many owners have installed solar PV panels.

Renewable Energy

In London, there are now 42% of homes and businesses with solar panels installed. Southampton has about 30%, along with Blackpool at 41%. While these numbers are promising, the hope is that every commercial and residential establishment will tap into these cost and energy efficient savings. With expertly installed panels, your property will remain nice and warm during those frigid months. This is because the panels store solar energy and heat that can be utilized in the upcoming months. Now is simply the time to invest in feedin tariff programs and solar energies.


Call us today on 01142 134 610 for a quote or any information you require or visit us on aweenergy.co.uk

How do solar panels work?

Solar panels allow people to convert sunlight, that is solar energy, into electricity that can then be used to power homes and other things. Here’s a brief explanation for how they work as well as why they are important as a renewable energy source.

Solar PV Panels

What happens is that sunlight comes from the sun, through our atmosphere, and then hits a solar panel. Some of the light hits the panel and is reflected off, but some of it is absorbed by the panel. The cells are made of semiconductors including silicon. The light is absorbed by the semiconducting materials.

When the material absorbs the electrons from the sunlight, electrons in the material are knocked loose and begin flowing, which is what creates an electric flow.  So electrons from the sunlight knock into electrons in the cell and everything begins an electric surge, essentially.
  

The efficiency of this process is slowly going up and up over the years so that more of the energy from the sunlight can be absorbed by the panel, allowing less of it to be lost.

This process is important because it allows people to get electricity from something that is nearly infinitely renewable like sunlight. Every morning, we get more sunlight from the sun. While this process won’t last absolutely forever, it will likely last for billions of years to come which is pretty much guaranteed to be long enough for us.

This is not the case for many other energy sources like fossil fuels which we use up and then don’t get any more of ever.

It is this function of solar panels that cause governments to create feedin tariff laws. These laws give long term contracts to anyone producing renewable energy such as through solar panels at a high enough rate to be worth it.

Tariffs such as this one also give other financial benefits to renewable energy producers in order to encourage them to keep doing what they do in the long run.

Call us today on 01142 134 610 for a quote or any information you require or visit us on aweenergy.co.uk