Is it Worth Installing Solar Panels in England?
Solar panels are now installed on 1 in 20 buildings in England, with quick payback times for schools, hospitals, prisons and large offices, that can sell excess energy back to the grid. Read more on which green energy is most wildlife-friendly.
It’s not a slam-dunk fix. Abroad, some creatures have been incinerated by solar panels, although that’s not likely to happen in England. But for the most part, it’s worth installing them on big buildings (you need daylight, not sunshine for them to work) and there are new technologies like batteries that stores energy, so if it rains one day, you will still have energy if you come back home on a dark winter night.
Truthfully, go to the experts above, and ones you can trust. Solar panels have a typical payback period for an average-sized home of up 9 years, but you do get zero VAT and annual savings of £700 to £900. So with rocketing energy bills due to oil and gas, it may be worth it.
And you are rewarded with decades of lower energy bills and increased property value, as a rule. Most are fixed on south-facing homes (though they can work for east-and-west directions, but not really for north).
But remember that the upfront cost is high (over £5000). In some cases, you can sell back excess energy to the national grid (or even your local community) which may make the numbers balance better.
Any installation under 50 kilowatts should be conducted by an installer registered with MSC (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) the standards body for small-scale sustainable energy systems. This ensures installations are safe.
Why does England not have more solar power?
As stated above, there is a massive misconception that we need sun for solar to work (in fact, when it’s daylight that is the sun – if there was no sun, it would be night time! So as long as most panels are not facing north (and with back-up batteries), it works fine.
So why do we not have more use of it? One word – oil.
Solar power is the last energy resource that isn’t owned yet. Nobody taxes the sun. Bonnie Raitt
The oil industry is massive, and has massive vested interests in keeping a dying industry alive. Even if the North Sea is opened up to drilling, it would not only devastate marine wildlife and coastal birds, but would not result in cheaper bills anyway:
There is only around 20 years worth of oil left. And it would be owned by private companies who would sell to the highest bidders, likely abroad. Plus it would mean more climate change. And that leads to more floods and wildfires and heatwaves, which all cost money to clean up afterwards.
It’s mad science that the Conservatives and Reform UK wish to start more drilling, they would kill the planet, and keep local people locked up in high energy prices for decades to come.
All experts (apart from the 3% of climate scientists funded by the oil industry) say that one of the main 9 ways (probably the most important one) to stop climate change is to get rid of fossil fuels. We need wildlife-friendly clean energy (not wind turbines everywhere that could harm birds and bats).
But more importantly, using less energy – through organic food (pesticides use oil), local markets (supermarkets drive oil-lorries to central distribution houses where food is kept in oil-powered fridges before being driven back again). And walkable communities (so people don’t need oil-powered cars). It’s all quite simple with a bit of vision.
But governments who are obsessed with economic growth just want people to keep buying stuff they don’t need (often including cars) to drive around to big supermarkets and chain stores, which all uses more and more energy, which is why they are so obsessed with oil or something to replace it.
We don’t need to ‘replace oil’, we need a different way of living. And with that, clean energy could easily meet our needs, no problem.
It has serious ramifications as well. Look at Iran. There’s no doubt that oil is playing a big part (all the major wars and nuclear countries have vested interests in oil). Trump is absolutely obsessed with oil and cars, and Farage to a lesser degree. But they are the exact source of all our problems.
If years ago we had invested in walkable communities and local organic food, we would not have rising energy prices, as we could fund our own clean energy, without any worries about Russia or tariffs.
Little Sun Solar Lamp is not just a wonderful little nightlight that needs no power, but for each one bought, another is donated to a rural household in Ethiopia. This stops the use of firewood (which causes deforestation) and kerosene (a dangerous, expensive and polluting fuel).
Already over 12 million lamps have been distributed to students, refugee, teachers and health care workers abroad.
Designed by an artist who is concerned with climate change, this can give five hours of bright light (or 40 hours of dim light) after charging. You can also use them in the garden (but be careful to avoid light pollution, to help wildlife and stop birds flying into windows). If you use them indoors, always close the blinds or curtains first.
Who invented Little Sun Solar Lamp?
The company was founded to provide clean energy to rural communities, by Frederik Ottesen, an experienced entrepreneur with a background in mechanical engineering, who was involved in the world’s first solar-powered aeroplane.
He worked alongside Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson to sculpt a beautiful lamp to enhance the user experience, and make it appealing for sale.
The organisation behind is now using profits to amazing work. For instance in Ethiopia, around 40% of crops are lost after harvest, because they spoil without access to power to chill them, which then causes malnutrition and poverty. It’s also working to bring solar energy to Zambia and other African countries.
