Solar Electric/Photovoltaic Systems

Solar Electric or Photovoltaic (PV) systems work by converting sunlight into electricity, within the solar panel. Photovoltaic or PV cells are semiconductor devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity. Direct sun produces the most power, but even on cloudy days some electricity is generated. The electricity produced is direct current (dc) and is connected, via dc isolating switches to an inverter which converts the dc electricity into alternating current (ac) of a quality acceptable to the national grid.

The inverter would typically be mounted in the loft in a domestic installation or a plant room in larger commercial systems click here to view line diagram of typical system. The ac side is connected, via lockable ac isolators to the total generation meter, which monitors every kWhour produced by the system, to allow Feed in tariff (FIT) payments to be claimed.

As there are no moving parts in a PV system, they require minimal maintenance and have the ability to work long past their FIT payment period of 25 years, in fact having an expected life of over 40 years.

All systems and PV panels that we install are MCS accredited and therefore qualify for Fits payments.

Here at Sustainable Energy Engineering, we work with all major panel manufacturers.

Our most popular brands are Caymax, Mitsubishi, Romag, Sanyo, Schott, and Sharp.

Why do Caymax Mono Panels get higher output?

To get the most out of a Solar Electric system, the panels should ideally be built with A grade cells, which will therefore lead to years of trouble free service.

Caymax SST panels are manufactured by CEEG one of the world’s leading cell manufacturers. When the cells are manufactured they are Graded A, B, C and D, with the A Grade Cells being used uniquely in Caymax Panels, whilst the inferior cell grades are sold off to panel manufacturers around the world.

 Most panel manufacturers do not have the facilities to make cells and so are forced to rely upon buying them in from the few cell manufacturers around the world. All Caymax panels have purer cells, which is demonstrated by the higher output, and greater Module Efficiency than other panels on the market.

Typical Caymax system costs

(Output figures based on roof facing due south, at 30 degrees pitch, with no overshading, 41.3p FIT payment, per kWh, 75% of electricity used on site, with electricity purchased at 11p per kWh).

Caymax SST panel Features:

- High conversion efficiency;
- Excellent performance under low lighting conditions, ideal for England & Scotland;
- Low hot spot effect, due to low reverse current density;
- Low degradation under light exposure;
- Passing mechanical load test of 5400Pa according to IEC 61215;
- Tested to withstand hails with maximum diameter of 25mm and impact speed of 23m-s-1;
- Low cell performance mismatch during encapsulation, the SE module demonstrates high power output, which is very close to the power generated by the whole cells before encapsulation.

What is the difference in Cell Qualities?

A simple way to understand the manufacture of PV Cells is to consider a silicon cell as you would a Diamond. There are 2 critical factors to a diamond. Firstly is the quality of the diamond. This is how pure it is when it comes out of the ground, or how many flaws does it have. Flaws cannot necessarily be seen by the naked eye, yet have a huge effect as to the purity of the diamond. Secondly is the quality with which the raw diamond is cut and finished. The combination of these two factors determine the purity and value of the finished diamond.

A finished PV cell undergoes similar stages of process in order to produce the highest levels of efficiency. Firstly the purest silicon must be mined, this means the purest silicon with the minimal amount of flaws. Secondly is the level of technology with which the silicon is then cut and processed into a high efficiency cell. Caymax cell technology is a WORLD RECORD HOLDER for the efficiency of Mono Cells. Lastly, in the case of a finished PV Panel, is the ability to accurately match the performance and quality of the cells when arranging them on a finished PV panel.

How we work

Step 1 - Contact us via e-mail or telephone and speak to us today. It is our promise to reply to you within the next working day. Heard this before? Well give us a try today. Alternatively if you are after a quotation, and know your requirements, please complete our on-line form.

Step 2 - We will contact you to discuss your requirements and either send out a generic quotation, again within 24 hours, or arrange a free site survey, which will take no more than 1 hour and will involve an inspection of your roof, attic and electrical installation. We will explain how the PV system and the FIT payments work and gladly answer any other questions you may have to ensure you are fully aware of our systems and what you will be receiving for your investment.

Step 3 - We will then send out a specific quotation, for the system that is best suited to your needs and discuss this with you to ensure you are happy with the details.

Step 4 - When you are ready to proceed, we will issue a contract for the work, giving you a 7 day cooling off period, and will require a 25% deposit, which is protected by the REAL consumer code insurance scheme (Hyperlink), then arrange the installation.

Step 5 - The installation generally takes from 1 to 3 days dependant upon size etc and upon completion you will receive all certification including your MCS certificate to allow you to start claiming your FIT payments from day one. As our systems come with an industry leading 6 year warranty, we are always just a phone call away if you have any queries.

What we will not do :-

- Ignore your enquiry
- Send out a salesperson to use high pressure techniques
- Start with outrageously high prices and offer special discounts if you sign on the day
- Harass you with phone calls

Typical Sanyo system costs

(Output figures based on roof facing due south, at 30 degrees pitch, with no overshading, 41.3p FIT payment, per kWh, 75% of electricity used on site, with electricity purchased at 11p per kWh).

For more than 30 years Sanyo has been setting standards for the development of new, innovative and high performance photovoltaic products. Sanyo modules are highly efficient and produce more power per square meter than traditional products and therefore you will need fewer modules on your roof to accomplish very high performance.

The Sanyo HIT-240HDE4 adjacent, has an industry leading cell efficiency of 20.0% and a module efficiency of 17.3%
The SANYO HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer) solar cell is made of a thin mono crystalline silicon wafer surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers. This product provides the industry‘s

leading performance and value using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. The newly developed “Honeycomb Design” HD cell allows the maximum number of round-type, high-power cells to be arrayed in a single module.

Typical Romag Roof Integrated System costs

PV roof tiles can directly replace conventional roofing materials, providing both electricity and a weather-tight roof.
The PowerGlaz® RI system is manufactured by Romag at their factory in Consett.

It provides a complete roof integrated solar tile system ideally suited to new build and re-roofing applications. The system combines Romag’s experience in producing high quality PV products with a market proven fixing system which is suitable for roof integration and is compatible with most slate and tile roofs or can also be used as a ‘total roof’ system.

The PowerGlaz® RI system package includes:

- High Efficiency PowerGlaz® RI 6 Series polycrystalline PV modules
- Market proven roof integration system factory fitted to the module for easy site assembly
- All associated fixing clips
- Side gutters and header Flashing
- Factory fitted connectors for interconnecting the solar tiles

Solar Inverters

After the solar panels, the most important part in any solar electric (PV) system, is the inverter. This changes the direct current (DC) from the photovoltaic array into alternating current (AC) of the correct voltage and frequency, to allow it to be connected, via a distribution board, into the national grid.

All of our inverters comply with the G83 standard, which also makes it mandatory for a grid tied inverter, to disconnect from the grid in the event of power loss, therefore protecting any linesmen working on the system.
We install SMA, Fronius, Eversolar, Mastervolt, Diehl and GE Inverters.