Category: Blog

There are numerous ways for electric vehicle owners to save money whilst owning their vehicle, such as;

EV Charging

Charging your electric vehicle at home, whilst having access to an off-peak overnight electricity tariff will significantly reducing the savings cost. Another low costs option is to charge your electric vehicle at a ZeroNet network, which is run by the Zero Carbon World charity. These chargers are mostly found in the car parks of hotels, restaurants and other hospitality industry locations, and many businesses offer free charging for customers, although parking charges might apply while the charger is in use. However, this option is a lot more beneficial for the EV owner rather than using their EV charger at their property.

Low Maintenance Costs

Owning an electric vehicle means fewer maintenance issues, as there are fewer mechanical components in an electric vehicle compared with conventional vehicles.

The battery, motor, and associated electronics require little to no regular maintenance. There are fewer fluids, such as engine oil, that require regular maintenance. Brake wear is significantly reduced due to regenerative braking.

The main components on the electrical vehicle that will require routine maintenance are the tires, brakes, suspension and often the internal combustion engine. Overall, resulting in lower servicing and maintenance costs.

Rising Fuel Prices

Prices of petrol and diesel are rising. They have risen 143.4% since 2000 and are set to keep increasing because of the loss of money due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which can be a clear factor when deciding to buy an Electric Vehicle. Occasionally, fuel prices will spike for some unforeseen reason, this is another reason for a buyer to get an EV, as it would be more stable to charge your vehicle at your property and is less likely to spiral out of control.

The steady rise in petrol prices since November 2020 is one of the longest on record, and if sustained, the trajectory threatens to take the cost of unleaded for motorists to a seven-year high within weeks, according to the RAC Foundation figures.

Studies show that, on average, an electric vehicle would cost the owner £3,752 a year over the course of its life, compared to £3,858 for a petrol car, resulting in an annual saving of £107. However, the insurance is typically higher for an electric car, as there’s only a fraction of the UK’s mechanics qualified to work on electric cars, due to the components like the lithium-ion batteries which are very expensive to repair if damaged.

Depreciation

Studies show that certain Electric cars hold their value more than other EVs. The main factors to be aware of with regards to the depreciation of a car are its age and mileage. The older a car is, the less it tends to be worth.

Government incentives, congestion charging, low-emissions zones and changing attitudes to emissions are all part of why EVs are holding their value well at the moment.

There are other smaller factors to consider, such as keeping the interior clean and smoke-free, keeping the bodywork tidy with no scratches and no kerbed wheels. Regular servicing with proof kept in a file will help the car retain more value as well.

BloombergNEF (BNEF), estimate that without a new economic or policy proposed by the global governments, electric vehicles and other zero-emission cars will account for 70% of new vehicle sales by 2040, up from 4% in 2020.

To meet the global requirements of having zero emissions by 2050, a goal stated by Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States estimates there will need to be a policy to encourage further sales of electric vehicles and other zero-emission vehicles. Some countries already have this policy in place, but more will need to be sold to meet the aggressive emission goal.

Electric vehicles only account for a small percentage of new car sales and an even smaller share of cars on the road.

Recently, a report was made by the research firm at BloombergNEF, which projects that things could look different by 2040. BNEF says 70% of passenger cars could be EVs or other zero-emission vehicles such as fuel-cell vehicles. But, even that growth won’t be enough for the governments that say they’re targeting zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In 2020, BNEF reports 3 million EV sales and predict that sales will rise to 14 million by 2025. This will account for almost 70% of new car sales globally and 90% of new car sales in Europe by 2040. Some governments including Canada, the European Union and the united states have ambitions to produce zero carbon emissions by 2050.

BNEF says governments will need to prompt the market by subsidizing the electric vehicle infrastructure. By setting stricter limits on carbon dioxide emissions and implementing mandates for the electrification of commercial truck fleets. So far being much slower to electrify than the passenger car segment. Electrifying the commercial truck fleet by 2050 may be the most challenging of the BNEF’s report prescribes.

Daimler, Tesla, and Volvo are the companies working on delivering Class 8 heavy-duty trucks. Volvo’s work is so far only good for last-mile deliveries, not the long-haul routes that prop up the American supply chain.

Have you invested a sizable sum into a solar panel only for it to break or stop producing the amount of energy you want it to? Issues like these can be a pain to sort out, so here we will highlight some of the most common ones.

The most commonly reported issues were with inverters.

Inverter issues were also the most serious and, in some cases, prevented the solar panel system from generating any usable energy. Some 55% of those who experienced a problem said that their inverter became inoperable – a fault which can cost more than £900 for a professional to fix, according to our survey.

From birds nesting under the panels to inverter problems, there are a lot of issues that could pop up that can affect your solar panels. Here are some of the most common solar panel problems.

Image is taken from: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/06/most-common-solar-panel-problems-and-how-to-solve-them/

Inverter problems

Half of the inverter problems are actually due to the solar array having a faulty panel or cable and the inverter detecting this, according to Bright Green Renewables managing director Mark Partridge.

If the inverter is showing an error message, refer to the manual (or search online) to find out what it means. Check that the solar PV breaker in your consumer unit is in the on/up position, Ask Renewables advises. If it’s off (this can happen after a power cut), flick it on. If it trips to the off position again, call an engineer. If it stays on, check the inverter for error messages.

How urgently should I get it fixed? Without the inverter, you won’t be able to use electricity generated by your solar panels. So you won’t benefit from free electricity, or the feed-in tariff (if you get it). If the inverter is off or in fault mode, it is generally safe, Ask Renewables explained.

Bird’s Nesting Under Your Solar Panels

Birds nesting under your solar panel’s, or even squirrels is a pain, especially if they scratch them, damage the wiring or soil them.

You can buy plastic strips and attach them to the panels to help stop animals from being able to squeeze underneath. Or if you’re considering installing solar panels, consider roof-integrated panels. These can be complex to retrofit but are built into the roof, leaving no gaps for birds or rodents to get underneath them.

How urgently should I get it fixed? Birds nesting under your panels is annoying and can result in damage. But it’s less urgent an issue to tackle than other problems.

Panels building up dirt

This might be caused by bird droppings, traffic pollution if you live in an urban area, or a build-up of salt if you live near the coast. A heavy rainstorm should usually be enough to wash off most dirt. Although if you notice that it’s building up a lot, then it could mean your panels generate less electricity than their potential.

How urgently should I get it fixed? Unless the build-up of dirt is very thick, or a significant amount has accumulated on one panel (perhaps a pigeon sits on your TV aerial and its droppings fall onto one panel), it’s unlikely to cause a problem beyond a slight drop in generation. So it’s worth fixing but isn’t urgent.

Hot spots

Hot spots are among the most common issues with solar or PV systems. They can degrade the function of your solar panels and even render them irreparable. Hot spots occur when panels get too warm and overload. They are caused by several things, including the accumulation of dirt on the panels. They can also be caused by badly soldered connections, which result in low resistance in the part of the panel that generates power. This problem can lower the performance and lifespan of solar panels.

How urgently should I get it fixed? ASAP! If you notice hot spots appearing on your solar panels you need to contact someone as soon as you can. If you don’t get this sorted out then it could lead to you losing your solar panel.

Snail trails

Another common solar panel problem is known as “snail trail” contamination. The name here comes from the brown lines that show up on your panels, giving the appearance that snails have traversed the surface. Snail trails usually only manifest after a few years and are caused by several factors, including defective silver paste (which is used in the manufacture of the panels).

This, in turn, causes moisture build-up, which results in oxidation between the encapsulation material and the silver paste. Also, snail trail contamination may result from microscopic cracks in the PV system. The problem reduces the performance of the solar system and causes it to fail prematurely.

How urgently should I get it fixed? This isn’t a super urgent problem to get fixed, but it could sap the efficiency of your panels overtime. If you notice this appearing on your panels then it may be a good idea to call someone just to let you know what the best course of action is.

The UK solar industry is continuing to grow sustainably in a zero-subsidy environment. With a new capacity of 175MWp-dc in the 3 months to 31 March 2021. This was controlled by large solar farms that contribute 70% of the quarterly capacity deployed.

The UK government removed any incentives, so more than 1GWp-dc of subsidy-free solar PV capacity can be installed, marking a landmark moment for the sector. The increasing solar PV capacity installed in the UK is now above 14GWp-dc, of which the subsidy-free part makes up about 7.5%.

The rooftop segments are now operating in a strong-growth and sustained mode, with residential and commercial rooftop installations up 14% each year.

In the last year up to 31 March 2021, the UK installed 660MWp-dc of new solar photovoltaic cells (PV), setting the year 2021 up nicely for the GW level. Potentially marking the year as the most significant yet for this sector.

Solar Farms dominates forecasts but phasing of builds uncertain

This year the photovoltaic industry is likely to see more than 190GW of new capacity, more than 80% of this coming from ground-mounted solar farms. Rooftop segments are now a small part of the huge solar industry.

Last year, six solar farms with a capacity above 40MWp-dc have been completed, with the largest solar farm (75MWp-dc) finished and has officially been announced by its owners a few weeks ago. This trend of announcing sites after the event is becoming a normality in UK solar industry. Two of these large-scale solar farms haven’t done any marketing for owners/builders/suppliers as if secret operations were the order of the day.

Large-scale solar farms will continue to control the UK solar industry for the next decade, at the 80%-plus capacity level. Fuelling this is an expanding pipeline of new site projects added every month. More than 800MW per month average has been added by way of new sites during the past year, with most of these at pre-application stages.

The outlook for 2021 remains at the GW-level of new solar PV capacity added in the UK. The deciding factor is completely out of the hands of anyone in the UK. But is purely a function of raw material supply, availability to serve the global sector during the year.

More than 95% of solar panels are produced of solar cells made from wafers, the bulk material. These wafers are sliced from ingots pulled from chunks of polysilicon. The problem right now lies purely in how much polysilicon can be supplied to the ingot pulling fabs in China. Today, 99% of ingots are pulled from factories in China.

During 2019 and 2020, half a dozen loss-making polysilicon producers exited the industry. Then, in the middle of 2020, various natural disasters in China took the bulk of the Chinese polysilicon capacity offline. Overall, leading to a shortage of polysilicon. Therefore, the polysilicon suppliers put prices up. Polysilicon now costs about twice that of 12 months ago.

In addition, during the second half of 2020, there was a shortfall of glass in China. The polysilicon tightness, linked with the glass supply shortage, had the twin effect of adding 15-20% to module prices. This situation has continued since the start of the year, although the glass shortage has now eased off. However, the lack of polysilicon continues to be a problem.

Within China, there are 3-4 large polysilicon plants that are in construction. The understanding a few months ago was that they would add to supply capacity at the start of 2022. However, there is a massive drive (not unexpectedly) to bring forward production dates well into 2021. If this happens, then module pricing may well start to ease downwards.

Ultimately, this may be the one factor that determines if the UK installs south of 1GW during 2021 (possibly in the 850-900MW range) or exceeds 1GW (as high as 1.5GW) if a second half and year-end blitz of new building unfold.

What is FAR Infrared Heating?

Infra-Red heating is a form of electric radiant heating, infra-red waveforms are emitted from the heater which instead of heating the air they travel through the air and gently heat up the surfaces that they hit, in fact, it works the same way as the warmth that we feel from the Sun. Being as the energy is absorbed by the surfaces instead of being put into the air much less energy is wasted making this form of heating very efficient.

Far Infrared heaters take advantage of the unique warming properties of this radiation. When the Far Infrared waves touch surfaces in a room, heat energy is released and so the ceiling, walls and floor of a room are gently heated.

That’s what we call “thermal mass” and because the room no longer is absorbing our body heat, we feel warm. In fact, we are built to respond to this form of heat as it is what we feel when we are in front of an open fire or feeling the sun on our faces. We absorb Far Infrared radiation exceptionally well because our bodies are 80% water and the long waveform acts very effectively on this.

If you compare that with conventional heating, there is a world of difference. The convection process that central heating systems use, for example, is geared to warming the air, which is far less effective in transferring thermal energy to a building.

Advantages and Disadvantages of FAR Infrared Heating

Advantages:

• Very efficient.
• No air movement.
• Decrease dampness in buildings.
• Can use existing electrical circuits when replacing other forms of electric heating.
• Inexpensive to install and run.
• No maintenance (other than electrical testing of circuits).
• Very controllable.
• Runs on electricity rather than Gas or Oil.
• Rooms are heated via radiant heat.
• No air movement.
• Decrease dampness in buildings.
• Can use existing electrical circuits when replacing other forms of electric heating.
• Inexpensive to install and run.
• No maintenance (other than electrical testing of circuits).
• Very controllable.
• Runs on electricity rather than Gas or Oil.
• Rooms are heated via radiant heat.

Disadvantages:

• If not replacing existing electric heaters a new circuit would need to be put in.
• Focused heating does not heat the entire room
• Gas-fired heaters are not entirely safe
• The air remains relatively cold
• Infrared heaters must not be obstructed by objects

There are existing electrical circuits feeding the night storage radiators at 12 High Pavement that, provided they pass the electrical tests, can be used to power Far Infra-Red heaters. Each room will be able to have its own thermostat and programmer making the heating system very controllable.

Infrared heaters are a great way to heat surfaces quickly and efficiently. They do not heat the air, however, so if you are looking to generally heat up a room then this option will not be the best for you. With Infrared heaters you want them to be unobstructed so they are good for outdoor heaters for cafes and restaurants.

Solar farms are large scale solar installations that produce safe energy. Solar farms install their solar panels into the ground across large areas of land. Having a solar farm comes with several benefits:

• The land where solar farms are assembled can provide a better habitat for animals and plants. More times than not, the area around a solar farm is grass, meaning it is safe for the local wildlife to forage between the rows of panels.
• Solar farms have a high return on investment. You can save on your electricity bill, and maintenance costs are low.
• Solar panels have no moving parts, the parts they do have are installed inside of sound-proof boxes, meaning noise isn’t an issue.
• They also reduce carbon emissions. Solar farms create clean energy that doesn’t harm the environment.

Installing solar systems creates clean solar energy that’s also renewable, easy on the environment, and financially beneficial. Scientists predict that solar power will soon contribute to almost a quarter of the world’s energy.

In recent months the number of new solar farms planned for the East of England has doubled, as farmers decide to swap crops for clean energy.

The solar boom is expected to generate more than double the solar energy capacity that came forward for the east of England in the same months last year and would be enough to power the equivalent of 400,000 homes with clean energy.

Most of these new solar farms will be built on past agricultural land as landowners begin to swap growing crops for generating clean electricity.

The east of England is especially popular with renewable energy developers because of its flat fields and sunny weather. However, more landowners are starting to try solar power after UK Power Networks scrapped the upfront cost to connect to the local energy grid.

At the beginning of 2020, following new rules, solar farm developers can connect to the grid cheaper and faster to allow UK Power Networks to reduce their electricity output at times of low energy demand.

If you are looking for better energy solutions, get in touch today to save energy with MTG energy solutions. 

Czech Deputy Prime Minister, Karel Havlicek, discusses the country’s energy future at the 2021 Solar Conference

The Czech Republic will move away from coal, and renewable sources will play a key role in its replacement, according to Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček. There is no other way, he said. At the fifth edition of the Solar Conference 2021, the biggest event of the year dedicated to solar energy and storage in the Czech Republic. The main topics of discussion included the future of solar in the Czech Republic, the impact of key legislation, and new sources of funding – namely, the Modernisation Fund and the National Renewal Plan.

Around the world, solar is experiencing an unprecedented boom, with more and more countries seeing it as a key part of their energy future. Representatives of the private sector also agreed on its importance for the Czech Republic.

“All indications are that the European Union will increase its green energy targets. In the future, new renewable sources of electricity may also enable the production of green hydrogen and power electric cars in the Czech Republic. The solar industry is poised to play a key role in the energy transition. But this will not happen in the current unpredictable investor environment, without stability and clear political commitment. Instead of planning for the future, in the Czech Republic we are dealing with eleven-year-old issues around the adequacy of support for old sources,” said Jan Krčmář, Chairman of the Board of the Czech Solar Association.

Daniel Beneš, First Vice President of the Confederation of Industry and Transport and Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEZ, spoke about the future of renewables: “Climate neutrality has long been no longer just a topic for the European Union, but is growing globally. Renewables will be a significant growth segment globally, with photovoltaic power plants on rooftops, brownfields and industrial sites playing a key role in the Czech Republic.”

Solar is undergoing a new growth period in the Czech Republic. “Last year, more than ever, households and businesses were thinking about energy security and self-sufficiency. Installers from among our members are building more and more rooftop power plants,” confirmed Veronika Šilhová, Executive Director of the Czech Solar Association.

“We are also seeing the first completely subsidy-free projects, which are common in the rest of Europe, but for which we lack a more active market and a stable investment environment. The Modernisation Fund will undoubtedly bring further impetus, but at the same time the whole renewable energy sector is hampered by the controversial amendment to the Act on Supported Sources, which is currently being discussed by the Chamber of Deputies,” added Šilhová

Electric vehicles, sometimes referred to as EVs are set to be the future as the UK government want the roads free of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. At this current time, many car industry’s have been transforming their businesses into designing and developing electric cars.

U.S. President Joe Biden travelled to Michigan to pitch his Administration’s plan to help the U.S. auto industry speed its transition to electric vehicles. Biden gave his speech at a Ford electric vehicle production facility, sharing the stage with Ford’s new F-150 Lightning EV pickup.

In his speech, he went into detail about some of the elements of his Administration’s plan. They include government assistance, in the form of tax credits, to establish EV and battery manufacturing in the U.S. and to retool existing facilities for those purposes. The Administration also wants 500,000 new EV charging stations, and has plans to upgrade the electrical grid as well.

Here are some of the benefits to the electric vehicle;

No fuel, no emissions

This is the main point that attracts many people to electric cars, as they are very beneficial for the environment. This is due to the electric engine within an EV operates on a closed circuit, so an electric car does not emit any of the harmful gases often associated with global warming. No petrol or diesel is needed in a fully electric vehicle, which is great for carbon footprint.

Running costs

As you’re not paying for petrol or diesel, you save a lot of money on fuel. On average in the UK it costs £63.80 to fill the average unleaded petrol tank for medium-sized cars. In comparison to the electric car that costs as little as 96p for a full charge.

Low maintenance

Petrol and diesel engines can require expensive engine maintenance over their lifetimes, whereas, electric vehicles don’t. This is because in a traditional combustion engine there are hundreds of moving parts that can potentially go wrong, whereas an electric motor has fewer than 20. This means that your EV is likely to have lower long-term maintenance costs than other vehicles.

Performance

Most of the fun of owning a car comes from getting out on the roads and putting it to work. In the past, electric vehicles haven’t had the sleekest image; many have had low expectations as to how well an electric car can do versus traditional engines.

As more manufacturers have piled into the market with their own take on the electric vehicle, the performance levels of EVs has rocketed.  Electric cars are lighter, and as all of their power is generated from a standing start their acceleration capability can surprise. Certain brands, such as Tesla, have done a lot to improve people’s perceptions of electric vehicles – the Tesla Model S is one of the fastest-accelerating cars on the market, doing 0 – 60mph in just 2.5 seconds.

From the statistics well soon all be in electric vehicles, so this means we need to make sure our homes and offices have the capability to charge the numerous vehicles. At MTG Energy Solutions, we are OLEV approved installers. With our OLEV approved, safe charging points your electric vehicle can do 200 miles excess on a single charge. You will be able to easily charge your electric car whether you’re at home or at your car park at work with our EV charging system.

At MTG we can install a variety of EV chargers, as well as combining solar energy with EV charging to get lower running costs.

If you are a business or a homeowner who wants to invest in EV charging installation then call us on 0115 888 2777 or enquire online here.

Solar panels need to be installed at a specific angle to ensure the panels will produce the maximum energy when the sun is directly perpendicular to them. The roof angle has less impact on the solar panel performance than the direction your solar energy system faces. 

During the spring, the best angle your solar panels can be placed at is 45°, and during the summer, when the sun is high in the sky, it’s best to have a low tilt at 20°. Positioning your solar panels to be south facing with benefit the panels’ performance as they will see the most sunlight during the day due to the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.  

There are many reasons why the solar panels need to be at a specific angle; 

• If the panels are too low, they won’t produce much energy in the winter due to the sun being lower in the sky. On the other hand, if the panels are installed too high, then they won’t produce much solar energy in the summer.  
• Installing the panels too low will create cleaning problems as they will become dirty a lot quicker and become waterlogged.  
• The slant arrangement helps protect the panels from any dust and stone impurities if they fall on the panel. Whereas, if the solar panels were flat, then any falling object can damage the panels to a greater extent. 
• If the solar panels are placed too high, then the rows will shadow each other resulting in less energy being produced.  
• Placing the panels too high means the solar panels and the mount will have to withstand higher forces in windy conditions. If you live in an area with strong wind forces, there is a possibility the solar panels could get damaged.

If you want to save significantly on all those essential electricity bills, then go solar!  

And that’s not all you can save on, keep reading to find out more.  

Solar panels are otherwise known as photovoltaics (PV), a system for generating electrical power via solar cells, which converts energy from the sun into a flow of electrons via the photovoltaic effect.

Solar power relies entirely on collecting energy from the sun and converting it into electrical energy (or hot water) for you to use in your home. Using solar energy results in you not producing any greenhouse gases or contributing to global warming, which is very beneficial for the environment.

There are many benefits to installing solar panels, which include. 

• Solar energy reduces the carbon footprint of your home by 80% in one year. 
• Solar systems do not produce air pollution or greenhouse gases. Using solar energy can positively and indirectly affect the environment, as solar energy reduces other energy sources that significantly affect the environment. 
• The solar panels won’t affect the household as they don’t create any noise and not need much maintenance. 
• They reduce or eliminate any energy bills. 
• Another benefit when installing solar panels is that they will ultimately increase your house value for future sale. 
• Among all the benefits of solar panels, the most important thing is that solar energy is a truly renewable energy source.  

Many studies show that solar panels defiantly pay themselves back within a couple of years. Solar panels pay for themselves over time by saving you money on your electricity bills.  

To summarise, if you have chosen solar panels for your home, you should feel good that you are doing something efficient for the environment, as solar panels are good for the environment. Additionally, they are a definite environmentally friendly energy source, as they contain recycled aluminium and glass.