How Fitting Solar Panels Can Benefit You Above And Below

With winter almost upon us, energy bills will be a concern for many, but there are ways you can take more control over the cost of your energy and where it comes from – all while being greener.

This can be done by installing solar panels on your roof, which may take inspiration from one of London’s most enduring institutions.

Transport for London (TfL) and Sadiq Khan have announced plans to partly power the London Underground using electricity from solar panels. This radical plan will involve panels producing 64 MW of electricity, and bidders are now being invited to make their pitch to set up solar farms to provide this.

Although this figure would only amount to five per cent of the electricity the Tube uses, it would be a first step towards TfL’s ambition to meet all its energy needs through renewables by 2030.

Doing that may require a lot more renewable energy from across the national grid and while London may have a growing number of solar panels, some of the rest will come from other sources, like onshore wind, which the new government has promised to increase in England after its Conservative predecessor put a stop to it and focused on offshore pylons.

However, while the biggest wind farm will be 200 miles away on the West Pennine Moors of Lancashire, you can increase your home’s renewables input from your own roof here in London. It will certainly provide a lot more than five per cent of your electricity needs, especially in the summer months, while still contributing even in winter.

The steps TfL is taking with powering the Tube may seem modest, but it’s a far cry from the earliest days of the network back in Victorian times, when the world’s first Underground railway used steam locomotives that burned coke and coal, spewing out lots of noxious fumes.

Homes in London were heated in a similar way back then, but times have changed and both houses and the Tube can now make growing use of the energy of the sun to provide clean, green electricity.