“Forget about net zero, we need real zero”. Those were the strong words of the teenage climate activist, Greta Thunberg as she spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In her passionate speech, Greta tells world leaders that fiddling around with numbers will not be enough to stop the damage being done to the environment by governments and large cooperations.

This tackles the passive mindset held by some people in powerful positions that all they need to do is offset their emissions by either paying for carbon credits or by meeting a tree planting quota in order to cancel out their impact on the environment.

We’re currently undergoing a shift away from tacit cooperate social responsibility, towards a culture where business leaders are now actively looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Gone are the days where meeting environmental goals was just an afterthought ‘tick-box’ exercise, it’s now at the forefront of business strategies across the world.

It’s become something that customers and clients look for when deciding whom to go into business with. This is because it shows a deeper level of concern and care for their impact on the environment, which might just be the winning factor when trying to win over a client.

The question then becomes – “how can I easily demonstrate my concern for the environment?”.

This is where solar panels are the perfect solution. Not only can you establish independence from grid electricity prices whilst also seeing swift returns from your investment, but also it’s the best way to effortlessly showcase your efforts towards limiting your environmental impact.

Ultimately, it’s not about changing figures on a spreadsheet to meet targets, we need real net zero; something tangible, something that you can see and touch, the difference with solar panels when compared to other energy saving methods such as insulation, energy saving lights and optimised motor controls is that PV panels are something you can see can easily see and demonstrate to your clients on a daily basis.

The winners of this chaotic economic environment are the ones that lead the way in their marketplace, what better way to do just that than by investing in methods to protect the planet for forthcoming generations whilst reducing your business energy costs and providing more stable energy sources for the future.

If you’re looking to make your business more environmentally sustainable, don’t hesitate to get in touch today!

Today, the BBC featured a post with a passionate Sir David Attenborough highlighting the issues surrounding global warming. In this interview, he shared his frustration on the slow progress being made to tackle the impending issue of rising global temperatures.

This comes as South East Australia is currently experiencing major fires destroying large natural habitats and ecosystems, whilst causing thousands of residents to flee their family homes in order to find safety. As Sir David Attenborough put it: “We have been putting things off for year after year”, therefore the time to act is now.

How bad is it?

Reports show that the average temperature on earth has risen by 1.1°C since the start of the industrial revolution, leading to a rise in sea levels, extreme weather conditions and disastrous events that we’re seeing today in Australia.

In 2018, the UN laid out plans to avoid more dangerous future temperature rises, and stated that emissions of gas should be almost halved by 2030 – but instead the opposite is happening.

What can you do about it?

Fortunately, there is a way for you to make a difference. Renewable energy sources such as Solar PV, battery storage and electric vehicles combined into a Smart Grid have been proven to help reduce a businesses impact of their activities on the environment reducing CO2 and taking businesses towards net zero.

Many companies have already recognised this as an urgent issue, and therefore have taken steps to become carbon neutral. This shift towards a greener future was boosted by the Government’s announcement last year to commit to a legally binding target of net zero emissions in the UK by 2050, which has seen major businesses across the country look for more sustainable energy sources.

EvoEnergy is here to help your business towards net zero, reducing carbon footprint by advising businesses and identifying renewable technologies to help both the UK and the world achieve this goal.   

Get in touch today.. https://evoenergy.co.uk/contact-us/ to find out what your business can do about it.

Why go green?

Going green is more than just a buzzword, perceptions have changed with the introduction of government targets and pressure groups. No longer are green initiatives just another tick box for meeting cooperate social responsibility goals, they’re now an integral part of a business plans around the world.

We offer various technologies that a business can utilise to go green such as Solar PV, EV charging, battery storage combined into a Smart Grid which allows them to become energy independent onsite, reducing dependence on nonrenewable sources.

Another way to go green is through the use of electric cars. Improving air quality is a major concern for the government, which is why they have set a target to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. This will only encourage more people to make the switch to electric vehicles as soon as they possibly can, meaning that more of your visitors and staff that park on site will require energy charging facilities to be readily available.

At Evoenergy, we’ve installed numerous renewable energy projects for companies of all shapes and sizes, saving them money on their electricity bills and reducing their carbon emissions output. Our expertise in renewable energy has been used by many companies from the initial consulting and design stage right through to construction and then maintenance and project aftercare.

As an example, one our recent clients was able to save over 1,700,000kg CO2 per year through the use of solar PV and battery storage. This has allowed them to reduce their impact on the environment whilst also helping them save over £1,325,000 over a 25 year period.

If you’re looking to see similar results for your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch today!

EvoEnergy are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for two awards in the National Energy Efficiency Awards 2019. We have been shortlisted for “National Solar PV Installer of the year” and “Solar PV project of the year” for the solar carport installed at British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge.

The National Energy Efficiency awards were launched in 2015 to provide public recognition for excellent work in the Energy Efficiency sector and to help encourage best practice within the Energy Industry.

This news comes just weeks after EvoEnergy were shortlisted for best in show at the Solar Power portal awards.

EvoEnergy are looking forward to hopefully adding another accolated to their list of awards at the event on the 27th September 2019 at the National event held at the Vax Conference Centre & Genting Hotel in Birmingham.

Photo credit: Pete Bucktrout/Will Clark (British Antarctic Survey)

 

 

 

The team at EvoEnergy are delighted to announce we have been shortlisted for the “Best in Show” Solar Design Award in the Solar & Storage Live Awards for our recent innovative Solar Carport at British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. The design award recognises excellence in the field of aesthetics and design, with a number of factors including consideration of the surrounding areas, choice of equipment and consumer instruction.

EvoEnergy designed and installed 4 Y shaped carports and a solar cycle shelter. The client was driven by meeting sustainable development goals, to help create a more pleasant and safe place to park as well as implementing Electric Vehicle charging points to encourage staff uptake of electric vehicles.

Vote to Help us win! Public voting is now open! Please support EvoEnergy by voting for this pioneering project using this link. https://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/solar-storage-live/best-in-show-solar-design-award.stm

This vote will be open until June 30th

 

EvoEnergy‘s installation at Lyreco in Telford achieved another great day on Thursday 23rd May by producing 25MWhrs of clean energy. This is a phenomenal amount of energy generated direct from the sun, without a single gram of carbon dioxide being released.

What would you do with 25MWHrs of carbon free energy?

Come and join the solar revolution and do your bit to decarbonise the UK. Net zero emissions by 2050. Major reductions by 2030. Our future is in your hands!

This month has seen the increase of the Climate Change Levy (CCL). This is a government led response to the impact of global warming, resulting in your business potentially facing an increase in energy bills.  This is a commercial tax increase to drive a reduction in energy consumption and to encourage business to adopt renewable energy options.

What is the Climate Change Levy (CCL)?

The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is an environmental tax for commercial energy usage, charged on the energy used by businesses. The result is an increase in all business electricity, gas and solid fuel. This is a substantial rise of 45% for electricity consumers with the latest CCL rates jumping from 0.583(p/kWp) to 0.847 (p/kWh) for electricity. It is designed to encourage a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions to improve the UK’s energy efficiency to support the national goal to meet the United Nations sustainable Development goals by 2030.

Climate change has been described as humanity’s greatest threat in thousands of years. The impact has been highlighted in a recent BBC documentary, Climate Change – The Facts. The primetime documentary, presented by David Attenborough, emphasised the devastating effects that humans are causing to our planet and the action is urgently needed  to reverse the damage. The documentary shows the devastating impact of climate change, including the damages to wildlife, oceans, forests and global population. It is important that businesses respond in the right way and take responsibility around the issue and act urgently.    

How can EvoEnergy help your business reduce CCL Charges?   

Although there is a level of pessimism associated with this subject there is much hope and optimism.  With 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions coming from electricity and heat generation, investing and developing renewable energy sources is a priority. The product range offered by EvoEnergy to generate your own electricity including solar, energy storage along with electric vehicles where we provide associated EV chargers can help meet businesses needs to reduce their carbon footprint. Due to effectiveness in production, solar energy is now the cheapest form of newly installed electricity in more than 60 countries including the UK.

Solar supported by energy storage can reduced your business reliance on the grid and with the addition of electric vehicles you have the opportunity to lower your businesses carbon footprint, giving your business a competitive advantage and helping future generations. This also reduces your exposure to changes in the unit price of your electricity. Furthermore by selling any unused electricity back to the Grid, you could also create additional revenue streams.

To find out how EvoEnergy can help your business to reduce its energy bills, please use our enquiry form to get in touch.

It’s easy to look outside in the summer and think that solar panels are a great idea, but looking out of your office window in winter might not have quite the same effect. The three-month British winter (which may feel more like a four- or five-month season some years) doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in solar panels’ effectiveness.

But does this need to be the case? Do solar panels work as well in winter as in summer? If not, does it matter that they don’t? If you’re asking questions like those, you’re reading the right blog post.

Answer: Yes, they still work in winter but will only produce around a fifth of the energy which they produce in the summer. Read on for more information.

The Basics: How Do Solar Panels Make Energy?

Infographic image showing how solar panels make energy

Before going into specifics, it is important to understand how solar panels work. The core ingredients are photovoltaic cells: special units normally made out of a kind of silicon. Photovoltaic cells – sometimes called solar cells – have a property that means they produce energy when hit by photons, which is the name for light waves/particles. This energy is then turned into a usable electric current by an inverter and fed into our offices, homes or the national grid.

Importantly, it is photons on the visible spectrum (i.e. light that we can see, not infra-red or ultraviolet light) that energise photovoltaic cells, not direct sunlight specifically. There are always photons flying towards a solar panel, regardless of whether or not the sun is shining on it directly.

Direct sunlight is a better source of power because it is stronger, but solar energy production does not simply stop on an overcast day. We’ll return to this idea shortly.

Learn more about how solar panels work.

How Does The Winter Affect Solar Panels’ Energy Production?

Solar panels do not perform identically in summer and winter. We’ve broken down the three main factors below.

Temperature

Contrary to popular belief, colder weather is actually better for solar panels’ efficiency than warmer weather – this is a slight benefit from the winter months. While this might seem counterintuitive, remember that only visible light matters for energy production; heat (infra-red light waves) does not interact with photovoltaic cells to make more energy.

Light levels

Unfortunately, any benefit from colder temperatures is outweighed by lower light levels and so they won’t work as well on a cloudy day. Three factors contribute to less light in winter:

While solar panels can still generate energy on overcast days, they could be anywhere between 50% and 90% less efficient. In addition, the sun being lower in the sky means that less direct sunlight hits your solar panels and shorter days mean that sun simply isn’t around for as long in a 24-hour period.

Snow

Snow is the biggest issue in winter, though thankfully it is the one that you can do something about. Any cells covered by snow will not generate any energy, as sunlight cannot reach them. The simplest solution is to get up on the roof (when it is safe to do so) and clear the panels so that they are no longer obstructed.

solar panels in winter

How Much Do Solar Panels Generate in Winter?

The factors that we have mentioned all add up to solar panels only producing around a fifth of the energy in winter that they produce in summer.

Does this mean that you’ve wasted all that money on your facility’s solar installation? Should you scrap any plans you had of installing solar panels in the future? Emphatically, no.

Companies like EvoEnergy take British seasonal factors into account when working out what kind of installation you need. If worked out correctly, an installation should continue to meet your needs all year round, especially if the solar PV is accommodated by a battery system to help store energy generated in more sunny periods during the winter.

Remember, the gloomy winter days are at one end of the spectrum and bright summer days are at the other. We take the long view with any installation and encourage you to do the same. Across the year, you can be confident that your solar panels will produce the energy that you need from them.

Winter shouldn’t give you anything to worry about.

There are two main types of solar panels Monocrystalline vs Polycrystalline. Check out our full guide on Monocrystalline panels today!

EvoEnergy are proud to have smashed this year’s Solar Power Portal and Energy Storage News Awards last night by scooping up an historic hat trick, retaining the ‘Contractor of the Year’ award title and winning the public vote for ‘Best in Show’.
The night started with EvoEnergy winning ‘C&I Storage Project of the Year’ prize for their work on Lyreco. This unique project combines solar PV, battery storage and EV charging points that help Lyreco future proof their company.
For the first time in the history of the Solar Power Portal awards, they opened the vote to the public to choose a project they believe is worthy of the ‘Best in Show’ title. EvoEnergy won by the slimmest of margins for their work on Oat Errish Farm. Although EvoEnergy no longer installs on domestic properties, this unusual enquiry excited their technical and design team to make an exception for this fantastic home.
To make up for the trio of awards, EvoEnergy retained the prestigious ‘Contractor of the Year’ award for the second year in a row. Managing Director Mark Wakeford, along with members of the EvoEnergy team, collected the accolade.

Abigail Booth, Marketing Manager, EvoEnergy Commented:

“These awards are testament to the team’s hard work and drive to deliver excellence on everything we do. Achieved through challenging ourselves to keep innovating and pushing the limits in a very demanding industry, these efforts are not going unrecognised”

This year’s Solar Power Portal ceremony took place in the heart of Birmingham at the Hilton Metropole, where nearly 600 industry professionals, hosted by TV personality and renowned architect George Clarke, celebrate the industry’s successes with 16 awards on the evening. The ceremony forms part of a 3-day agenda for the Solar & Storage Live event held at the NEC.

Energy Prices Up – Sunlight Still Free!

Commercial energy prices have gone up 7% for the year to June 2018 according to Government. Many of our customers are seeing price increases of up to 15% as they come off long term supply contracts. At these figures these increases are material, particularly when it is so difficult to push through price increases to customers.
There is therefore a real business need to control these prices and drive through changes in behaviour that will reduce energy consumption with our organisations. Business owners are very lucky that there are options to reduce and control these costs and at the same time avail themselves of a range of benefits:

EvoEnergy has been supporting businesses who wish to control their costs and make their contribution to society for over ten years. We strive to be the best; technically, commercially and professionally. Why not give us a call and join our network of smart businesses who want to make sure that they will operating in a cleaner and safer world that they have helped create.

“The UK can have low cost, low carbon electricity, heat and waste. Ten years ago, it seemed almost impossible for the UK to transition to being powered mainly by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power in an affordable and secure way. Now the same focus needs to be applied to deliver a value for money approach to reducing emissions from heat. Low cost, low carbon energy and waste systems are now possible, and should be delivered.”

– National Infrastructure Assessment 2018

The long awaited National Infrastructure Assessment has been published by the best and brightest independent minds in the Country and it has confirmed that the solar industry has a crucial role to play.  Key findings include:

Here at EvoEnergy we welcome the National Infrastructure Commission’s Assessment and recognise the diligence and research that has gone into the report.  We believe that it provides a strong signpost for corporate Britain to either remain as part of the problem that will end up paying for these improvements or to take their own destiny in their hands and be part of the solution.

EvoEnergy has just celebrated its first decade and is looking forward to its next, where solar PV comes of age and plays a significant role in corporate Britain’s energy generation.
Mark Wakeford – MD of EvoEnergy