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How a solar PV system works: A guide for UK buyers

Considering a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for your home in the UK is a significant step towards sustainable living and reducing energy costs. However, understanding how a solar PV system works can help you make an informed decision. Here’s a straightforward guide to help you grasp the basics of solar PV technology.

What is a Solar PV System?

A solar PV system converts sunlight into electricity using semiconductor materials. The primary components of this system include solar panels, an inverter, a generation meter, and sometimes a battery storage unit. Let’s break down each component and how they work together.

Components and Their Functions

  1. Solar Panels:
    • Structure and Material: Solar panels are composed of many solar cells made from silicon, a semiconductor material. These cells are assembled into panels, which are then mounted on your roof or another suitable location.
    • Photovoltaic Effect: When sunlight hits the solar cells, it excites electrons, creating an electric current. This phenomenon is known as the photovoltaic effect. Each cell produces a small amount of electricity, but combined in a panel, and multiplied by several panels, they generate a significant amount of power.
  2. Inverter:
    • Conversion of DC to AC: The electricity generated by the solar panels is in direct current (DC) form. However, your home appliances use alternating current (AC). The inverter’s job is to convert the DC electricity into AC electricity, making it usable for your home.
    • Efficiency and Types: There are different types of inverters, including string inverters, microinverters, and power optimizers. String inverters are common and cost-effective, while microinverters and power optimizers can offer higher efficiency, especially if your roof has shading or panels facing different directions.
  3. Generation Meter:
    • Monitoring Production: The generation meter records how much electricity your solar PV system produces. This data is crucial for tracking performance and for any financial incentives you might receive, such as payments from the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) for excess energy exported to the grid.
  4. Battery Storage (Optional):
    • Storing Excess Energy: A battery storage unit allows you to store the excess electricity generated during the day for use during the night or on cloudy days. This can increase your energy independence and further reduce your reliance on grid electricity.

How the System Works Together

  1. Daytime Operation: During the day, solar panels capture sunlight and convert it into DC electricity. This DC electricity flows to the inverter, which converts it to AC electricity. The AC electricity is then used to power your home appliances. If your panels produce more electricity than you need, the surplus can be sent to the grid or stored in a battery if you have one.
  2. Nighttime and Cloudy Days: When there is no sunlight, your home will draw electricity from the grid or from your battery storage if available. This ensures a continuous power supply regardless of the weather or time of day.

Benefits Beyond Electricity Generation

  1. Reduced Energy Bills: By generating your own electricity, you can significantly lower your energy bills. The savings depend on the size of your system and your electricity usage patterns.
  2. Environmental Impact: Solar PV systems produce clean, renewable energy, reducing your carbon footprint and contributing to the fight against climate change.
  3. Increased Property Value: Homes with solar PV systems are increasingly attractive to buyers, potentially increasing the resale value of your property.

Maintenance and Lifespan

Solar PV systems are relatively low maintenance. Regular cleaning of the panels and periodic checks by a professional can ensure optimal performance. Most systems come with a warranty of 20-25 years, and the panels can last even longer with proper care.

Conclusion

A solar PV system is a smart investment for UK homeowners, offering financial savings, environmental benefits, and increased property value. Understanding how these systems work can help you appreciate the technology and make an informed decision about installing one in your home. By harnessing the power of the sun, you can take a significant step towards a sustainable and cost-effective energy future.

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P.E.S Renewables Ltd – Company no. 14450795 Registered in England & Wales Reg address: P.E.S Renewables Ltd Hall Farm Business Park, Martham Road Rollesby, Norfolk, NR29 5DR.

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PRIVACY NOTICE

 
Last updated December 05, 2022
 
 
This privacy notice for PES Renewables (‘Company‘, ‘we‘, ‘us‘, or ‘our‘), describes how and why we might collect, store, use, and/or share (‘process‘) your information when you use our services (‘Services‘), such as when you:
 
  • Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events
Questions or concerns? Reading this privacy notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at [email protected].
 
 
SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
 
This summary provides key points from our privacy notice, but you can find out more details about any of these topics by clicking the link following each key point or by using our table of contents below to find the section you are looking for. You can also click here to go directly to our table of contents.
 
What personal information do we process? When you visit, use, or navigate our Services, we may process personal information depending on how you interact with PES Renewables and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. Click here to learn more.
 
Do we process any sensitive personal information? We do not process sensitive personal information.
 
Do we receive any information from third parties? We do not receive any information from third parties.
 
How do we process your information? We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. We process your information only when we have a valid legal reason to do so. Click here to learn more.
 
In what situations and with which types of parties do we share personal information? We may share information in specific situations and with specific categories of third parties. Click here to learn more.
 
How do we keep your information safe? We have organisational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information. However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorised third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Click here to learn more.
 
What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically, the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information. Click here to learn more.
 
How do you exercise your rights? The easiest way to exercise your rights is by filling out our data subject request form available here, or by contacting us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
 
Want to learn more about what PES Renewables does with any information we collect? Click here to review the notice in full.
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
 
1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
 
Personal information you disclose to us
 
In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.
 
We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.
 
 
Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following:
  • names
 
  • phone numbers
 
  • email addresses
 
  • mailing addresses
 
Sensitive Information. We do not process sensitive information.
 
 
All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
 
 
2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.
 

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:

 
  • To deliver and facilitate delivery of services to the user. We may process your information to provide you with the requested service.
 
  • To respond to user inquiries/offer support to users. We may process your information to respond to your inquiries and solve any potential issues you might have with the requested service.
 
  • To send administrative information to you. We may process your information to send you details about our products and services, changes to our terms and policies, and other similar information.
 
  • To fulfil and manage your orders. We may process your information to fulfil and manage your orders, payments, returns, and exchanges made through the Services.
  • To request feedback. We may process your information when necessary to request feedback and to contact you about your use of our Services.
 
  • To send you marketing and promotional communications. We may process the personal information you send to us for our marketing purposes, if this is in accordance with your marketing preferences. You can opt out of our marketing emails at any time. For more information, see ‘WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?‘ below).
 
  • To deliver targeted advertising to you. We may process your information to develop and display personalised content and advertising tailored to your interests, location, and more.
 
  • To save or protect an individual’s vital interest. We may process your information when necessary to save or protect an individual’s vital interest, such as to prevent harm.
 
 
3. WHAT LEGAL BASES DO WE RELY ON TO PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We only process your personal information when we believe it is necessary and we have a valid legal reason (i.e. legal basis) to do so under applicable law, like with your consent, to comply with laws, to provide you with services to enter into or fulfil our contractual obligations, to protect your rights, or to fulfil our legitimate business interests.
 
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR require us to explain the valid legal bases we rely on in order to process your personal information. As such, we may rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:
  • Consent. We may process your information if you have given us permission (i.e. consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Click here to learn more.
 
  • Performance of a Contract. We may process your personal information when we believe it is necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations to you, including providing our Services or at your request prior to entering into a contract with you.
 
  • Legitimate Interests. We may process your information when we believe it is reasonably necessary to achieve our legitimate business interests and those interests do not outweigh your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms. For example, we may process your personal information for some of the purposes described in order to:
 
  • Send users information about special offers and discounts on our products and services
 
  • Develop and display personalised and relevant advertising content for our users
 
  • Understand how our users use our products and services so we can improve user experience
 
  • Legal Obligations. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations, such as to cooperate with a law enforcement body or regulatory agency, exercise or defend our legal rights, or disclose your information as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.
 
  • Vital Interests. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of a third party, such as situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person.
 
 
4. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section and/or with the following categories of third parties.
 
 
Vendors, Consultants, and Other Third-Party Service Providers. We may share your data with third-party vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents (‘third parties‘) who perform services for us or on our behalf and require access to such information to do that work. We have contracts in place with our third parties, which are designed to help safeguard your personal information. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will also not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They also commit to protect the data they hold on our behalf and to retain it for the period we instruct. The categories of third parties we may share personal information with are as follows:
  • Data Analytics Services
 
  • Finance & Accounting Tools
 
  • Payment Processors
 
  • Social Networks
 
  • Sales & Marketing Tools
 
 
We also may need to share your personal information in the following situations:
  • Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
 
 
5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.
 
We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements).
 
When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymise such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.
 
6. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
 
In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organisational and technical security measures.
 
We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organisational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorised third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.
 
7. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
 
In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.
 
We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Services. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at [email protected].
 
8. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
 
In Short: In some regions, such as the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom (UK), you have rights that allow you greater access to and control over your personal information. You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.
 
In some regions (like the EEA and UK), you have certain rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; and (iv) if applicable, to data portability. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. You can make such a request by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section ‘HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?‘ below.
 
We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
 
If you are located in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.
 
If you are located in Switzerland, the contact details for the data protection authorities are available here: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html.
 
Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section ‘HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?‘ below.
 
However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
 
Opting out of marketing and promotional communications: You can unsubscribe from our marketing and promotional communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send, or by contacting us using the details provided in the section ‘HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?‘ below. You will then be removed from the marketing lists. However, we may still communicate with you — for example, to send you service-related messages that are necessary for the administration and use of your account, to respond to service requests, or for other non-marketing purposes.
 
If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at [email protected].
 
9. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
 
Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track (‘DNT’) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage no uniform technology standard for recognising and implementing DNT signals has been finalised. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this privacy notice.
 
10. DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
 
In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.
 
California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the ‘Shine The Light’ law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.
 
If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g. backups, etc.).
 
11. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
 
In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.
 
We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated ‘Revised’ date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.
 
12. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?
 
If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at [email protected] or by post to:
 
PES Renewables
__________
__________
United Kingdom
 
13. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?
 
You have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, change that information, or delete it. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please contact us at [email protected]