Solar Roof Panels and Solar Tiles

It is becoming increasingly important for households and businesses to review their energy consumption partly to save money but also to help reduce CO2 emissions. Great options for homes and businesses to generate their own energy are solar roof panels and solar roof tiles.

Photovoltaic solar roof panels, also known as PV Solar panels, are panels made from an aluminium frame that contains photovoltaic cells in a grid-like formation. The PV cells within the panel are able to convert energy from the sun into electrical energy that can be used in the home or workplace. A solar cell is made most commonly from silicon, which is a semi-conducting material. When daylight hits the solar panel a field of electricity is created across the cell, depending on the strength of light it will affect the amount of electricity created. Contained within the solar roof panel is an inverter, which is able to convert the DC current that is created from the sunlight into an AC current which can be used by the property.

Solar roof panels must be placed in a position on the roof where they are exposed to sunlight for most of the day. It is recommended the position of the roof be within 90 degrees of south and not shaded by other buildings or trees. Depending on the building, in most cases solar roof panels do not require planning permission. Buildings that are listed or within a conservation area will generally require planning permission for solar roof panels.

Another option of solar energy production for homes and businesses is solar roof tiles. These are becoming more popular in new build developments and are also able to be retrofitted to houses and workplaces. Solar roof tiles can be used to cover part or all of a roof space. The reason solar roof panels tend to be more popular for retrofitting properties is because solar roof tiles can cost considerably more for an equivalent panel system. This is partly due to the tiles costing more to produce, they have not been around as long as panels therefore the technology is relatively new, but also the installation takes longer as it is more intricate because of the number of tiles required.

Solar roof tiles are often used for installations where the aesthetics and planning requirements deem solar panels to not be a viable option. Solar roof tiles are far less noticeable than solar panels.

Both systems; solar roof panels and tiles work brilliantly at reducing a household or workplace’s CO2 emissions. Over time the investment can be re-cooped by the savings in energy bills and by taking advantage of the government backed schemes such as the feed-in tariff*. The feed-in tariff scheme rewards homeowners and businesses with payments for every kWh of energy they produce from solar panels and also pays a bonus payment for any energy that the property exports to the national grid. This scheme and other similar schemes have helped to fuel the rapid growth of the solar panel industry within the UK.

*Feed in Tariff (FIT) Rates - Part of the UK Solar PV Incentive.

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