With the on-going depletion of traditional fossil fuels, more and more people are becoming attracted to the independence and green benefits of solar energy.
In fact, recent Government predictions outline that nearly 4 million homes across the UK will be powered by the sun within eight years. However, there are two sticking points that the solar industry continually faces ?? the issue of planning permission and building aesthetics.
This is exactly what is addressed by the Solar Slate proposition. Solar Slate is part of the RES Group, one of the world’s leading renewable energy project developers. Solar Slates are solar panels that blend in with standard roof slates to provide an aesthetically pleasing solar panel roof ?? enabling carbon neutral luxury for the very first time. They are ideal for use in conservation areas, on historic buildings, new builds or renovation projects. Since its inception, slates from Solar Slate have never been refused planning permission.
Solar Slates have no moving parts, have a painless installation process, practically no maintenance, easily meet planning requirements and are a match to traditional slates, thus blending in with a building??s current roof tiles. They are also eligible for feed-in-tariffs (FITs).
Designed to mimic natural roof slates, Solar Slates weigh the same and remove the need for an additional roof structure survey. Solar Slates can be incorporated into the natural slates of a southerly roof above 27.5 degrees by a traditionally skilled roofer.
Once the Solar Slates are on the roof, an accredited installer is required to connect them electrically through the marshalling boxes and the low voltage inverters designed specifically for the slates. In most cases, Solar Slate gives the buyer advice on the FITs and recommends a trained installer to complete the installation. The overall installation process is a ??fit and forget?? scheme, which requires minimal maintenance and continues to provide affordable solar powered electricity.
As efficient as a standard solar panel, Solar Slates reduce a building??s carbon footprint and help property owners to budget for energy costs. They are easily connected in strings of nine parallels, so if one slate fails, the rest of the systems keeps generating energy and income, unlike conventional panel systems.
As we move into an era where we are all making a concerted effort to be ever more conscious of our impact on the environment, it is expected that the demand for Solar Slates will continue to grow apace. Clean, reliable, sustainable and renewable; solar power meets all the criteria of an environmentally-friendly energy resource. As a pollution-free and inexhaustible method of energy production, Solar Slate power allows savings on energy costs ?? but now without having to sacrifice on the beauty of the building, or the landscape in which it resides.
