Solar Photovoltaic
Our experience of with installation photovoltaic arrays is wide ranging including residential, commercial and industrial buildings, and also ground and flat roof mounted systems. Our installations include extremely sensitive locations such as listed buildings, including a Grade 1 listed Church. We have also installed off-grid systems, building integrated systems (BIPV) and photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems.
We work with a variety of PV modules, inverters and mounting systems to design an array that is most appropriate to the site taking into account orientation, shading, surface area, point of connection.
In an off-grid system the PV array charges a battery bank from which power is then converted to supply AC loads. The AC loads can also be supplied by a backup generator, but the PV array and the battery capacity are scaled to minimise the need for the generator to switch on.
A BIPV system integrates the PV array into the fabric of the building and replaces the building element itself, e.g. roof, wall or window. As well as the output of the array, its appearance is also important. It is important to match the output voltages for each of the modules, which is a function of their shape and size. This places constraints on the form of the modules. The cables and inverters are also integrated into the building fabric.
Due to falling equipment costs and rising electricity tariffs, it is still possible to generate competitive returns from investments in photovoltaic systems especially if you are diverting the excess electricity to heat hot water or to a battery backup system.