How to Run Your House on Solar Power
Many of our customers are keen to use the greenest energy possible in their home. There are substantial benefits (whether you have solar power or not), from cutting your carbon footprint to maximising bill savings and energy independence.
Solar power arrives here in the form of light and heat. We use technology to capture, magnify and convert it into useful purposes. As far as a house is concerned, there are three ways to do that:
- Photovoltaic (PV) uses silicon to convert light to electricity.
- Solar thermal uses the greenhouse principle to produce useful amounts of hot water.
- Passive solar energy is light energy gathered by the house without the use of technology. That is, sunlight passing through a window and warming the air within.
But the best way to run your house on renewables depends on your needs and circumstances. We’ve broken things down by how much time you spend at home and which technologies are relevant to help guide you through your options.
How Much Energy is Enough to Power a Home?
This is a very good question, and an essential piece of information to feed into the design process. We need to know how much energy the house requires before deciding how much we can or want to generate.
There are plenty of ‘UK average’ figures:
- the average three-bedroom house uses 4,800kWh of electricity per year;
- a four-person household uses 3,000kWh on hot water each year;
- a flat-screen TV uses 0.1kWh/hr (hour);
- a fridge uses 1.6kWh/day
However, at best these are only a starting point. What is wanted is a detailed and accurate calculation of the energy demand based on the building and the people in it. This ideally needs to be completed by a specialist, as working out how much electricity is needed for lighting, appliances, etc, and so on is a tricky process.
These will be largely fixed amounts: we can choose to have LED lighting rather than tungsten filament and A+, A++ and A+++ rated appliances, but that is about as far as we can go.
It is the fabric of the building where we can have the greatest influence. The insulation and airtightness are important, but glazing, shading and orientation are also key issues that need to be looked at.
And then there is the question of balance: how much of the budget can be spent on renewable energy technology, how much on extra insulation and airtightness, and what are the rewards?
There are a number of ways of solving this problem and the three examples on the following pages give some idea of what is possible. Regardless of the route taken, the following projects all demonstrate that a solar-powered home is a practical option for self-builders, regardless of budget or project size.
1. You’re at home during the day
Consider solar PV! If you’re retired or work from home then you’ll be around during daylight hours, when the solar panels are generating electricity. You can power your lights and appliances straight from the sun and get up to 70% of your annual electric demand from solar.
2. You’re out during the day – Save the sunshine for later
It’s still worth considering solar panels, but to maximise on-site usage of your PV energy you’ll need to store some of the power for after the sun goes down. it’s still worth considering solar panels, but to maximise on-site usage of your PV energy.
Solar panels produce most of their power during the day when many of us are at work, then little or none in the evening when our power usage tends to be heaviest. This means the power you generate will usually be exported to the grid and you will need to take energy back from the grid later to run your home.
Battery storage, such as the Solarwatt, means you can generate energy when the sun is shining and save it to use later after the sun has gone to bed. This means you are using the power you produce which can be more cost-effective as well as allowing you to be independent of the grid.
3. EV Charging – Made Easy with zappi
The zappi is a smart EV charger, created by myenergi, which is designed to utilise energy in the most cost-efficient ways possible to charge electric vehicles. The zappi charger can work with an existing solar PV system, harnessing excess energy produced by your solar panels to charge your EV as well as your home. Using a zappi charger, you can essentially run your electric vehicle on sunshine!
A zappi EV charger helps you get the best economics from your solar roof because instead of exporting excess electricity to the grid for 5p/kWh, you don’t have to import electricity at 15p/kWh to charge your car. It can also work in conjunction with a home battery storage system, so if your car isn’t there whilst the solar energy is being harvested, this electricity can be stored in the battery until you’re ready to charge the vehicle, even at night.
A zappi EV charger helps you get the best economic from your solar roof because instead of exporting excess elec
If you don’t have a solar PV system at the moment, the zappi can still work exactly as other EV chargers do, using energy from the grid to charge your vehicle. However, you will be future-proofed, should you want to add solar at a later date.
4. Cut your electricity needs
If you want to rely entirely on solar panels for your power then it makes sense to reduce the amount of power you need so you can get away with generating less. Energy-efficient measures, such as adding extra insulation, making good use of natural light and choosing eco-friendly appliances will allow you to cut your energy consumption and make it much easier to become energy independent.
5. Get a house that runs on the sun with Solar Power NI
Solar Power’s NI range of lightweight photovoltaic roof tiles allows you to generate power from your roof without creating an eyesore. Our photovoltaics are integrated into your roof, giving them a much more subtle and aesthetically pleasing profile, meaning you can add more generating capacity without ruining the look of your home.
All of our photovoltaics comes with the standard 30-year product and performance warranty + 5 years insurance! Making them a long-term investment that should keep powering your home for decades to come.
To find out more or to ask for a quote, call Solar Power NI today on 028 207 88530 or use our contact form for a swift response.
