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 solivas 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 see them being seen as a sort of a carbon neutral status symbol
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 £3500, 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 1000 kilowatt hours per year by the end of 2022. when it becomes 1000 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 2ip 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, even one that uses gas or oil for heating. in theory, you d need at least one for every bedroom you have. and if you don t have an expensive battery to store any surplus
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, even one that uses gas or oil for heating. in theory, you would need at least one for every bedroom you have. and if you don t have an expensive battery to store any surplus energy as it s captured, you ll end up feeding it back to the grid for a fraction of the market price. one alternative is you can plug the arc
this is the solivas 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 see them being seen as a sort of a 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.
who want you to look again. this is the solivas arc. it s 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 is partly because it s got five surfaces on which to harvest energy. and this curved design means that usually it has a sweet spot which is very useful at the start and end of the day in particular. i think it looks quite futuristic, and if solar sculptures like this were to catch on, i can see them being seen as a sort of carbon neutral status symbol