Solar PV

Saving you money on your energy bills


It isn’t difficult to notice the number of solar panels appearing on all manner of buildings over recent years. From domestic to commercial,  to ground mount and field arrays.

From 2010 to 2021, the use of solar generated electricity has increased in capacity from 95 megawatts to 13,800MW, giving the UK over 1 million solar PV installations. Solar generated electricity has contributed more than 10% of the total renewable generation, and more than 4% of the total electricity generation in the UK.*
*Source Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

At Total Renewables UK LTD, we specialise in the design and installation of Solar PV and Battery Storage systems for domestic, commercial, and agricultural properties. We are passionate about renewables and the evolving technologies which help improve energy efficiency, reducing on our dependence on fossil fuels, and reducing energy costs.

Our Solar Work

All of our Solar PV systems are individually designed, in house, by our design team, utilising products from some of the largest global players in the industry. We work with suppliers where we are able to identify products best suited to your individual needs, and from there we develop a bespoke design that will meet your expectations and budget.

Our experienced and knowledgeable installation team will carry this design forward, installing your system with the highest degree of workmanship and care. We are well versed in a wide range of installation processes, weather they be In-roof, On-roof, or ground mounted systems. All of our installation personnel undertake continuous training on new product lines and installation methods, utilising training and webinars from all the leading manufactures.

Being specialists in the PV industry with a number of years of experience, we are also highly suited to fault diagnosis. With many existing systems now being over ten years old, inverter failures are starting to appear. Our maintenance team is able to diagnose faults and generation failures quickly and efficiently. In many cases, we are able to get a system back up and running the exact same day. We carry a number of inverters for “free loan” to keep a system running, whilst a replacement inverter is ordered, keeping loss of revenue to a minimum once diagnosis has been undertaken. Our free loan program is open to all of our existing clients, and new customers on acceptance of a quotation.

Maintenance

Maintenance of Solar PV is minimal, however some good house keeping is recommended. Keeping the inverter clean and clear of debris to ensure good air flow for cooling and keeping a record of generation level are two of the basic requirements. While we would never condone panel cleaning, due to the height involved much of the time, a good soak with a hose in the spring or autumn months help loosen stubborn soiling and helps the next rain clean the panels. If maintenance is a problem, then our installation team is here to help.

While PV helps improve energy efficiency, there are additional energy products on the market that help deliver further savings. Monitoring your Solar PV system gives the end user the ability understand their energy use, and consumption over generation, identifying import and export energy, or the condition and storage of the battery. We can even introduce monitoring of electric vehicle charging into the same portal, bringing all your energy use into one easy to use smartphone app.

Diverters

Power Diverters area great way of utilising “Spare” energy from Solar PV. The generated energy can be diverted into your hot water cylinder to heat your water for free. Instead of surplus power going back to the grid, it gets re-routed to the immersion heater in your hot water cylinder. The cylinder is charged from your PV rather than your boiler, which saves on fuel for your boiler by utilising energy that would normally be lost to the grid.

Devices such as the Solar iBoost can be installed for a much lower cost than solar thermal, and offers a quick solution for existing systems too. Where a combination of systems requires control of an electric vehicle charge point, the Zappi, Eddi and Harvi are a great product combo. For systems who have opted for the SolarEdge family of products, SolarEdge also have an Immersion Controller and up coming EVC charge point.

Smart Export Guarantee

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which launched on January 1st 2020, is a government-backed initiative. The SEG requires some electricity suppliers, known as SEG Licensees, to pay for small-scale generators (SEG Generators) for low-carbon electricity which they export back to the National Grid, providing that certain criteria are met.

Anyone with one of the following technology types could benefit from the SEG (provided they meet the rest of the eligibility criteria) up to a capacity of 5MW, or up to 50kW for micro-CHP:

• Solar photovoltaic (solar PV)

• Wind

• Micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP)

• Hydro

• Anaerobic digestion (AD)

These installations must be located in Great Britain.

SEG Licensees determine the rate which they will pay SEG Generators, the contract length and other terms. Generators thinking of applying for a SEG tariff should therefore shop around to see which tariff is best for their individual circumstances. SEG tariff rates must always be above zero. SEG payments are calculated by using export meter readings. SEG Generators are paid by their chosen SEG Licensee for the electricity which they export back to the National Grid.

Source ofgem.gov.uk