Aside from the impact of cutting your household's carbon footprint by tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year, solar units can drastically reduce your electricity bill by generating your own electricity from the solar panels you reduce the electricity you need to buy from your power provider.

As solar photovoltaic systems (PV) only produce electricity when they are exposed to sunlight, they do not produce electricity at night.

At night you will need another source, such as electricity from the grid.

The amount of money you actually save will depend on your overall energy usage and how and when you use electricity.

You will maximise your savings if you use appliances such as washing machine and dryers during the day, or you set timers to switch them on if you are out.

Always remember that the estimated savings are based on current electricity prices, but they will increase directly in line with the expected increases in future energy costs.

The system automatically ensures that when it is generating free electricity you use it first.

If you are using more electricity than the panels are generating, you will automatically use the additional requirement from your normal supplier.

No.

For safety reasons, when the normal supply of electricity is interrupted the solar units are also shutdown.

Solar photovoltaic systems rely on sunlight and ultraviolet rays, not heat.

So, while there may be fewer hours of sunlight in winter, the actual conversion of power is unaffected by the change in season. However, you will benefit from extended hours of sunlight in the summer.