Yes, they do.

Ground source is the ideal route where space and land aren’t an issue. As the ground generates so much heat for us to use every day of the year. Where you don’t have space to run pipes externally in the ground or to dig a bore hole, air source is just as good and can work out a lot more cost effective also.

Every heat pump will be scoped and designed for the property you have. What may happen during the survey is we suggest you upgrade some aspects of your home prior to the heat pump being installed to ensure it is at its most thermal efficient.

Believe it or not solar PV has been around for over 100 years! Obviously not in the form it is today but the ‘Photovoltaic Effect’ was discovered way back in 1839. This was discovered by a French scientist Edmond Becquerel.

Solar PV (Photo Voltaic) was then developed based on this discovery and made into the first ‘solar cell’ in 1883 by an New York inventor Charles Fritts. This cell only worked on about a 1 to 2% conversion rate whereas today we are at about 15-20%.

In 1958 Solar PV was first used in space to power to first solar powered satellite. This paved the way for a surge in the use of solar power to fuel space travel and helped to decrease the cost of space exploration.

However back on earth, a surge in solar uptake happened in the UK, mainly down to the government’s Feed in tariff scheme around 2010-2011 causing solar PV installations to pop up all over the UK.

In the present day, the Feed in tariff has been scrapped but the solar industry is strong with prices at the lowest they have ever been.

Put simply a solar panel is made from two layers of silicone divided into individual cells. One layer is negatively charged and the other positively charged. As the sun light passed through the layers, electrons are knocked away from atoms and the metal collectors in the cell collect those electrons and send them into the Solar PV system.

Those electrons are then exported to an Inverter via cabling, that inverter converts the DC (direct current) into AC (alternating current). It does this as AC is the type of current we use in our properties, this means that the solar power can be seamlessly integrated into our homes and businesses. The power from the solar is used before any power is bought in from the grid connection, this means that the more solar you generate the less power is bought from the grid saving you money.

If you are generating more power than is required within the property, then any excess will be sent into the grid to be used by others on the network.

Most inverters can be installed inside or outside. We recommend installing them inside to keep them safe. The most common place to install them is in the loft or garage. However, they can be installed almost anywhere that has good access and ventilation. We recommend that they are not installed within a bedroom. Even though they do not operate during the night, in the summer when the sun rises early the inverter could start working in the early morning which may disrupt anyone sleeping in that room. If the inverter is to be installed in a location that isn’t easy to access, then we strongly suggest connecting the system to the internet so that it can be remotely monitored to ensure it is working correctly. We can offer a monthly monitoring package to make sure it is working as it should.

The payback time is individual to each property, as it depends on the orientation and pitch of the panels along with the property’s energy consumption, although on average the payback time is rarely under 7 years. However, solar does allow you to become more energy independent as you are less reliant on power from the big energy companies. This also means that you are less affected when energy prices rise year on year. It is also an investment in the properties energy future, as we all move to electric vehicles and heating the energy consumption within properties will start to rise, having solar will reduce those rising costs.

Solar PV systems are fairly maintenance free. The main maintenance that is needed is to wash the panels, the frequency of this depends on where you live and where the panels are mounted. If you live next to a main road or on a farm, they may need washing more than someone that lives on a residential street away from a main road. The electrical side of the system is recommended to be checked every 5 years.