Analyse and Evaluate the Future of Photovoltaics on Domestic Buildings in the UK (2009)

Future of Photovoltaics UK Domestic Buildings Dissertation – The technology for Photovoltaics is reliable, straight forward to install, and simple to maintain. It is also a technology in which the UK has considerable expertise. So why doesn’t PV have greater impact on the UK’s domestic buildings? What factors are stopping the use of such a capable and reliable technology? This dissertation aims to answer these questions.

The report also set out to see what other options are available in the UK for domestic building and review the cost and benefits of those technologies. The research has indicated that the poor Government support and the cost are the major factor that is preventing homeowner to install these technologies. The UK has the capacities to manufacture PV modules, but due to the high cost of installation in the UK, most of these manufactures tend to export the modules worldwide. Before PV can realise its full potential and become a common site on domestic building throughout the UK, the issues need to be addressed by our government.

Climate change has already begun as we see more and more extreme weather patterns (droughts, floods, hurricanes, etc) are concerns for all of us. It these concerns and the huge market potential that should be driving organisations to invest in PV. Many countries in the world have set targets to increase the amount of energy generated from PV. As yet, there is no UK target specifically for Photovoltaics. The technology for PV is reliable, straight forward to install and simple to maintain. It is also a technology in which the UK has great knowledge about. So why doesn’t PV have a greater impact on the UK’s domestic buildings?

Dissertation Aims

To analyse and evaluate the future of Photovoltaics on domestic buildings in the UK.

Dissertation Objectives

• Is there a UK LZC strategy?
• Find out what the targets are and how will they be met
• To explore the disincentives?
• To explore the reasons that, are preventing the use of PV technology on building
• To analyse how effective PV can be in the UK

• 10,000 words – 48 pages in length
• Excellent use of literature
• Good analysis of the subject area
• Ideal for construction, architecture and building studies students
• Excellent Dissertation

Introduction
Aim and Objectives
Outline Methodology of the Research
Individual Project Contents

Literature Review
What are Photovoltaics?
The History of Photovoltaics
The Current Status of PV in the UK
Installed Photovoltaic Power
Current Problems with Photovoltaics
Cost
Photovoltaic Production in the UK
Disincentives of Photovoltaics
Advantages
Disadvantages
The Role of the UK Government

Other Micro-generation Technologies
What are Micro-generation Technologies?
Solar Hot Water
Micro Wind Turbines
Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP)
Biomass

Research Methodology
What is a Research Methodology?
Types of Research Methodology
Primary Data Collection
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Secondary Data Collection
What is Appropriate for this Report?

Case Studies
Analysis of Case Studies
BedZED
Buckinghamshire Home
Berkshire Village
Parsons Green
Greenfields Development

Conclusion
Limitations of the Research
Recommendations

References

Bibliography