With the advent of smart metering, time of use tariffs are coming into their own. The traditional Economy 7 tariff has now been extended to full time-of-day tariff differentiation.

As solar energy storage batteries have become more prevalently installed so have some energy providers adapted by introducing time-of-day import tariffs - plus time-of-day export tariffs. This puts those using battery storage in a position to export their own energy back during peak times (from 4-8pm)when National Grid demand is higher, and so having the potential to earn even comparatively higher tariffs from the export.

A well designed residential solar storage system should provide around 70% of an annual electricity requirement, with National grid top up usually only required online between November to March.The less you rely on the National Grid for your electricity, the more you protect yourself from rising prices and sizeable bills.

Emergency power supply / backup

Spare capacity within the National Grid has now fallen as low as 1.2%. (Even as long ago as November 2015, the National Grid actually had to pay major factories to down tools and cut demand between 4pm and 8pm). The risk of blackouts is therefore increasing; as this risk increases, it makes sense for householders and businesses to start looking at installing backup power supplies. Not all solar batteries enable you to use solar electricity during a power cut, so if this is a priority for you make sure you explain to us so that we can specify a battery which has this functionality. Dependent on type of battery used - and arrangement with your energy provider - electrical power back-up may also be an option.

If you decide to sell your property to include the solar panels with solar energy storage (or any other renewable energy technologies installed), you may be interested to know that multiple estate agent and bank surveys are consistently showing now that properties with a higher EPC rating and renewable energy technologies - such as solar panels and air source heat pumps - are increasing being more sought after, achieveing quicker sales and often commanding higher prices.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme was designed to ensure small-scale generators are paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid and requires energy suppliers with 150,000+ customers to offer 'tariffs' to households in England, Scotland and Wales, which pay a set rate for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity you generate from solar panels (but DON'T use).

There are no set or minimum tariffs for the SEG – the only requirement is that the tariff must be greater than zero at all times. In practice, this means that it is up to energy suppliers to decide what tariffs to offer their customers. They may choose to offer multiple tariffs or just one.

SEG tariffs can be fixed or variable. A fixed SEG tariff will pay a determined rate per kWh of electricity exported over the length of the contract. A variable SEG tariff will vary the price based on market demand, with the only requisite that prices never fall below zero - so make sure you go for the best-paying tariff you can. (Money Saving Expert website reviews these frequently and tends to publish the most updated comparison table). Also note - it doesn't have to be the same firm that supplies your energy, but with some, it helps you get a better rate if you are a customer already. And keep an eye on the rate you're getting as many are variable.

If you had solar panels installed before 31 March 2019, it's likely you'll be on a feed-in tariff (FIT). if you already receive payments under the FIT scheme. You cannot receive both FIT export and SEG payments, although you can choose to opt out of your FIT (export) payments and receive SEG payments instead, while continuing to receive FIT generation payments.

Also note - If you’ve included an battery energy storage system in your renewables installation, you can still apply for SEG, but there might be a few rules, depending on your SEG contract. Your battery could store electricity from the grid (known as brown electricity) before exporting it later on.

Energy suppliers do not have to pay you for brown electricity exported to the grid but they may choose to do so. Some suppliers may only pay the SEG for green electricity, ie the electricity your solar panels specifically generate. If this is the case, the supplier may ask you to show how you separate out the 'green electricity' from any imported 'brown electricity'.

It's even more profitable to use your solar energy than to sell it for Smart Export Guarantee payments – and that's where solar batteries come in.

Home energy storage systems store generated electricity or heat, so that you can use the energy when you need it. Electricity can be stored in electrical batteries, or it can be converted into heat and stored in a heat battery. (Heat can also be stored in heat batteries or in thermal storage, such as a hot water cylinders - which we can also assist with - but are out of the scope of this page)

As well as storing the electricity generated by your solar panels, a battery can also be used to store electricity bought from the grid at cheaper times of the day, with new smart dynamic tariffs that vary in price throughout the day. This can reduce your reliance on more expensive electricity during peak periods, with some SEG tariffs even allowing you to ‘sell back’ during those periods. 

We tend to recommend the Marlec iboost to help maximise the use of the energy you create from your solar panels. It is an innovative and high tech water heating diversion system, made and backed up by the UK's oldest renewable energy company, (so you know it is based on the experience of a proven renewable technology engineering company).

Note - this can only be added to a central heating system that has a hot water cylinder (tank) and immersion system - and it can be installed with or without a solar energy storage battery.

Overall this will help :

- Cut the cost of your water heating (and electric shower if have one)

- Reducing the use of your boiler

- Maximise the free solar energy generated at your property

Two really useful features of the iboost are : an 'eco-gauge' which lets you know when unused energy is available so you can switch on appliances and its smart controls which enables you to remotely control or monitor usage.

Charging your electric car or motorbike with solar energy is also becoming an increasingly popular option. Although all EV chargers are able to use electricity generated from solar panels, they only consume this after the house has taken all the electricity it needs. So having a solar energy storage battery too will make life easier.

EV charging stations tend to be smart chargers, meaning the homeowner just needs to use an app to choose whether they send electricity from the
panels to their house or car.

It can take anywhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours to charge an electric car with solar panels, depending on the size of the battery and speed of the charging point. As a point of reference a 7 kWh EV point will charge a 60 kWh car battery in just under eight hours.

Finallly - after comparing 1,000 house prices across 50 UK areas, one study revealed that homes with an electric charge point installed typically sold for for more than the local average too - East Anglia fared well in the findings.

Click here for more details on : EV charging points

When investing in renewable energy technology it’s important to take a whole house approach and think about all the elements needed to make an energy efficient property.

Many consumers who have some understanding of how a heat pump works, know that it uses energy from the outside air or the ground to produce heating and hot water for your home and/or business. Air source heat pumps are an excellent low carbon heating solution, but they need electricity to run, so combining them with the benefits of a solar PV panel installation makes absolute sense. A solar panel and battery system can provide more than enough electricity to power your air source heat pump (or ground source heat pump). Not only that, but the benefits we know solar provides – including lower bills and a greener way to power your home – extend to air source heat pumps too. So, combining both into your home will allow you to amplify not only your green impact, but the savings you can make as well.

See our air source heat pump pages for more details

For swimming pool heating, we have seen much success with solar assisted heat pumps

Essentially a solar assisted heat pump is a heat pump combined with a solar collector (a series of panels that convert sunlight into heat). Like other heat pumps, a solar assisted heat pump takes heat from the outside environment, which can be used to provide hot water in your home and may even be able to meet your heating needs if your home has a high level of energy efficiency.

Unlike other types of heat pumps, a solar assisted heat pump can also take heat directly from sunlight. It does this using a solar collector like those used in solar hot water systems. However, unlike the collector used in a solar hot water system, the one used in a solar assisted heat pump can also extract heat from the air. This allows the system to produce hot water even when the sun isn’t shining.

Read more heare : swimming pool heating

Firstly, solar pv panels are a proven technology, used and trusted worldwide, and as our reputation speaks for itself, we see no reason why you should have to deal with a salesperson or a faceless call centre when choosing us for your solar investment. However we fully understand that it is an investment nontheless, and that you may have questions throughout the process. As such, we will provide you with a definite contact and project manager from the onset who will work with you every step of the way until your installation is commissioned and verified working at its optimal efficiency.

We are qualified and certified to install renewable energy systems under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) We were infact among the first UK companies to hold MCS Certification and Registration, which means we are accredited to install renewable energy systems under MCS, which is a quality assurance standard backed by the UK Government. We are also Trustmark Accredited which ensures Government endorsed quality for all works undertaken.

Our engineers hold many further, respected, and often independently assessed industry accreditations which also assure consistent technical competence, safety and and management processes for all work we undertaken.

We use the QualityMark Protection Scheme to back warranties on renewable energy heating systems.

Finally, whether a system is led via a gas boiler, air source heat pump or solar panels - unless the system is set up properly and adapted to your requirements, you can never extract the maximum potential efficiency from the heat source. We work on the principle that every domestic or commercial energy project is individual to a household or business, so no matter what your circumstances, we will adapt the remit and can help you make changes too.

With a combined 75 years of trading history, you are in safe hands and we’re able to look ahead to help plan for the future while also supporting you in your current situation.