The Alternative Energy blog – green renewable alternative energy

Installing solar panels or a wind turbine can be a very good investment in the UK thanks to the feed in tariffs which pay householders a tax-free, index linked income for the energy they produce, providing over a 10% annual return. The tariffs pay up to 41.3p for every 1kWh of electricity produced using solar panels and an extra 3p per unit on top for any surplus electricity sold back to the grid. The average cost of home solar panel installation is £14,000. From this outlay, Ownenergy, Read more [...]

Panasonic is making a big move into the domestic solar panel business. Next month The Panasonic Group will launch in Japan its HIT(R) 215 Series* household solar power generation systems. Panasonic will be able to provide overall energy-saving systems for homes that will include rechargeable batteries, heating and air conditioning, security systems and Net-linking gadgets besides solar panels, which will all be hooked up to each other, he said. Homes will be able to save on utility costs Read more [...]

Wind energy is both green and fun, so the idea of building one's own wind turbine is a good one. The following will give you an idea of what is involved. Wind energy on a large scale is now competitive with other sources of electricity on a commercial scale. However, small domestic-sized wind turbines have not yet reached this point. The wind is free, but small wind turbines are expensive in relation to what they produce, and cannot realistically compete with mains electricity. Building your own Read more [...]

The UK  can achieve grid parity for households by 2013, seven years sooner than expected says Jeremy Leggett, founder of Britain’s Solar Century. 

Its is believed that south-facing roofs and facades in Britain could one day provide a third of UK electricity needs.

Householders convinced that the UK does not have enough sunshine to effectively use solar panels are 'wrong', according to a domestic solar panel advisor. The UK energy advisor Heat my Home has explained that the panels operate on solar radiation not sun rays and the UK gets enough of this to run solar. Stuart Lovatt of Heat my Home said: "One unique selling point with solar is the longevity. A good quality system will easily last 30 years, so the long-term benefits of solar are obvious. "How Read more [...]

Regardless of whether you choose clunky roof panels or integrated tiles, the basic principle of solar panels is the same. Solar panels are made up of a series of photovoltaic cells, consisting of layers of a semi-conducting material, usually silicon. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers causing electricity to flow. The more intense the light, the more electricity you generate - but remember, it's light and not heat that matters, so you're not totally at Read more [...]

Great article in the UK's Guardian newspaper proving that even in rainy Britain home solar panels are a great investment. The Rewards of Solar Panels by Ashley Seager We live in an old terraced house on a cloudy, rainy island. Yet the solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on our roof, put up two years ago, are supplying around 90% of all the electricity used by my family. The initial cost is high, but don't let that put you off. Two key developments in recent months have made it worth considering Read more [...]