We have two systems: a Solar Twin for hot water and a Photovoltaic (PV) system for electricity.

Thermal system for hot water
We have had our Solar Twin thermal collector since July 2002 and are very happy with it. On a sunny day it heats enough water for all our showers and washing up, etc. The system is very simple and maintenance free as long as you make sure that it does not overheat in the summer, otherwise it could get chalked up in our hard water area. It does not need any mains electricity because, when the sun shines, the small PV cell, which can be seen at the top right corner of the panel, generates enough electricity to drive the pump.

PV system for electricity
The PV system was installed by Southern Solar. The PV system consists of 15 panels covering a total of about 16 m². It can generate up to 2 kWp (peak) and it has generated about one half of our (previous) total electricity needs. The system is grid connected which means that any electricity we don't use ourselves gets fed back into the grid. Since December 2005 it has generated a total of kWh (units). With Good Energy paying us 9p for every kWh we generate, this amounts to a total of What is even better is that we have so far saved kg of CO₂ emissions. On a sunny day when we're generating more electricity than we're using, it's also very satisfying to see our electricity meter run backwards!