i ll be showing you later on what that means for various devices but, first, here s dan who s been looking at how solar could help the energy price crisis. dan: although most of us like the idea of clean energy, so far, we ve not been persuaded. maybe it s because we don t own our own roof or it s the upfront costs. maybe we re thinking of moving and we can t take solar panels with us, orjust those are glaring, large slabs isn t quite the look we re after. so i ve been to the homes of two british start ups who want you to look again. this is the solivus arc. its curves are wrapped in an organic solar film, which doesn t contain any toxic substances, nor rare earth materials that could require mining. and so, it has a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional panels.
and that s not all. the arc is designed to capture sunlight throughout more of the day, and that s partly because it s got five surfaces on which to harvest energy. and this curved design means that it usually has a sweet spot, which is very useful at the start and the end of the day in particular. i think it looks quite futuristic, and if solar sculptures like this were to catch on, i could see this being seen as a sort of carbon neutral status symbol, something for the neighbours perhaps to gawk at. i don t like the look of conventional solar panels. ijust don t like them. so i thought, well, i want to get the home energy independent but how can i do it with avoiding solar panels? so i started looking into new solar technology that was out there. this is solivus testing yard in kent where they ve been adapting the shape of the sculpture to maximise efficiency. the multilayered solar
from around 18p per kilowatt hour last year, the variable rate of electricity is expected to jump to more than 26p by the autumn, and at least 32p if you want to fix your prices for a year or more, depending on where you live in the uk. at £3,500, the arc isn t cheap, but it is guaranteed for 20 years. its film panels, which are upgradable, are expected to produce an average of 1,000 kilowatt hours per year by the end of 2022. when it becomes 1,000 kilowatt hours a year, in the uk, you re looking at about 21p per kilowatt hour. that amount of energy will be locked in at that 21p for 20 years, and then after that, it s free, obviously. let s be clear one of these isn t enough to power the home, isn t enough to power a home, even one that uses gas or oil for heating. in theory, you d need at least one
and feel we can t take solar panels with us. orjust those glaring large slabs isn t quite the look we re after. so, i ve been to the homes of two british start ups who want you to look again. this is the solivus arc. its curves are wrapped in an organic solar film which doesn t contain any toxic substances, nor rare earth materials that could require mining, and so it has a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional panels. and that s not all. now, the arc is designed to capture sunlight throughout more of the day. and that s partly because it s got five surfaces on which to harvest energy. and this curved design means that it usually has a sweet spot which is very useful at the start and the end of the day in particular. i think it looks quite futuristic, and if solar sculptures like this were to catch on, i can