7/5/10 - We completed an installation in Humberside this week and received the following kind letter and picture.  If any other customers would like to see their installation on our blog please send us a photograph.

"We’re very happy with the trouble free installation performed by your efficient and cheerful team. 

30/4/10 - Paul Taylor, Director of the Green Electrician has just completed the Fronius Training Programme.

As Fronius Service Partners, we are trained to diagnose and fix inverter problems.  This means we can hvae any breakdowns fixed quickly as we carry spare components in stock.  This also means that customer's systems can be up and running quickly, making electricity and earning money.

Optional extras for systems include wireless displays, large public displays, web based displays, system monitoring with email or text breakdown alert.

22/4/10 - The sun is shining, the days are getting longer and customers are reporting great figures from their panels. We have a system in Warwickshire that made 19kWh in one day.  This means £7.85 from the FIT, 24p from the export tariff and about £2 saved from avoided costs of importing electricity to run the house.  This equates to over £10 return in one day.

24/3/10 - The Green Electrician battled snow drifts to visit a snow bound customers in Shropshire earlier this year. Impressed by our resilience and time keeping despite the odds, an installation date was agreed for a 14 panel (2.52kWp) solar pv system, as soon as the snow had melted. 

A letter of appreciation was received last week: "Many thanks to a grand team who have been here the last two days.  A most spectacular job, efficiently done. Now all we need is sunshine." DH, Ludlow

23/3/10 - Since the FiT annoucement in February, we have seen a dramatic increase in enquiries for solar PV.  A few counties have far outstripped the average in the number of PV enquiries and installations.  This is our top six list of green counties brimming with solar PV installations: Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

8/2/10 - Solar Power has been in the headlines over the last week following the Government's announcement of the feed-in tariff.  Particular supporters of solar power are The Guardian and The Independent who demonstrated just how valuable the return was for photovoltaic systems.

"If the Government offered to pay you £1,000 a year for the next 25 years, in return for an up front investment of £12,500 you'd sign up in a second," The Guardian reported on Saturday, 6th February.  It went on to say that the Government had effectively offered homeowners this deal last week with the introduction of the feed-in tariff, for those installing electricity producing solar panels.

14/1/10 - Our installation teams received the highest praise from a customer who received their 2.16 kWp photovoltaic installation in time for Christmas.

"I'd like to say thank you to you and your colleagues for your professionalism and for the quick and hassle free installation work that you did at our home, and for all the support you gave me during the process of getting this project started. If anyone asks, I shall have no reservations whatsoever in recommending you very highly to my friends and neighbours who might wish to consider a similar installation in the future." KW, Hereford, January 2010

13/1/09 - For the first time ever, one of the installation teams were forced off a roof in Malvern under heavy snow and had to beat a hasty retreat in order to avoid being snowed in.

The snow has raised a number of questions about solar pv panels in the big freeze. Several customers have reported that their pv panels are working even under a light covering of snow.  On a bright, cold day, the panels have been working well with the sun reflecting off the snow.

27/12/09 - Prince Charles has turned his eye on solar PV for his London home, Clarence House.  The Prince of Wales, a major supporter of green initiatives, is looking at generating electricity for heating and lighting by installing solar PV on this grade II listed building. The feed-in tariff will give Charles a return of 8% on his capital outlay. If planning permission is granted, the installation could become one of the largest on a house in Britain.

26/12/09 - We were delighted to receive a message over Christmas from a Green Electrician PV customer in Oxfordshire who wanted us to know that their solar PV panels were making electricity even on the shortest day of the year.  In an air temperature of just 2 degrees C they produced 7kWh during the day. 

This demonstrates two important points about solar pv: 1) They require daylight rather than direct sunlight to produce electricity and 2) a solar pv panel becomes generally less efficient in temperatures above room temperature and clearly works in lower temperatures making the UK a good place for solar PV!