With bodies such as An Tasice objecting to many of the once off houses dotted throughout the country, it’s surprising to learn that single builds are the bread and butter of Alternative Energy Ireland (AEI) solar panel business. The company is one of the country's leading providers of solar heating panels and has been in business for almost five years. And Steven Bray, AEI's sales manager, has been working in this area long before the environmental awareness in this country was raised to the zenith it’s at now. One of the main reasons people are opting for solar panels is the current monetary grant available from government body Sustainable Energy Ireland, though according to Bray, this funding will probably disappear in another year. “The grants are there to jump start the industry. Grants are available for two types of panel – flat plate and evacuated tube. We install the evacuated tube as they’re more efficient and they get a larger subsidy than the flat plate panel”, he says. Bray believes that solar energy is set to become even more popular, despite the easing off of government subvention, because all new single build homes will be required to have 20-30% of their water heated by an alternative means. Solar panels are usually used in conjunction with another heating system such as oil or gas. While it is possible to heat your home entirely from solar power the cost is usually prohibitive as it means many more panels being installed in addition to a bigger water cylinder. When used for heating domestic hot water the usual split between solar and fossil fuel is typically 70% solar, which will have the water heated on its own, and the other 30% fossil fuel. Bray estimates savings of approximately €500-€600 a year off fuel bills using this alternative energy source. One of the main questions AEI gets is how good solar energy in Ireland is, when we get very little sun in comparison to European neighbours such as Spain and Greece.

Bray explains that in warmer countries smaller solar panels are usually used and because Ireland has less solar radiation per metre squared, a larger panel is used to avail of the sun’s radiation. “Spain and Greece will always outperform us but we can compensate for it in Ireland by putting large panels. A common question I get is does solar work in winter. The thing is we feel the air temperature on our skin. During the winter months we think it’s cold and there’s no heat from the sun but the panels don’t work off temperature, they absorb radiation which the human body can’t really feel or convert to heat. So it’s fairly common for it to be below zero during the winter but the panel would be at 40 degrees Celsius. On Christmas day 2006 it was two degrees Celsius outside but many of our solar panels recorded temperatures of 41°c because it was a clear day with blue skies.”

Besides the panel being able to heat effectively during the winter Bray also pointed out that because it’s used in combination with oil or gas people should have no worries about not being warm enough or a having an adequate supply of hot water. The good news for individuals looking to build their own home or indeed to retrofit an existing house is the turnaround time for fitting a solar panel is usually two days. The panel must be placed towards the south, so it’s usually positioned between a southeast or southwest orientation. Cost after the grant is taken into account is from €4,000. Approximate temperatures the solar panel can reach during the summer months is 150°C with spring/autumn at 50-60°C and in winter 40°C. For further details check out www.aei.ie or email sales@aei.ie Phone 01-4433996 or contact Steven Bray directly on 086-8752651