FAQs

Solar Panels

Is my house suitable for solar panels?

Most homes in the UK are suitable for solar panels.

You don’t even have to have a south-facing roof to benefit from the savings you can make.

Although a south-facing roof will obviously generate the most power, the panels can still work successfully even if they are facing in another direction.

In our experience, we can install solar panels for most roofs on most houses, even those which may suffer from slight shading.

How many solar panels do I need?

To answer this, we need to know your annual electricity and energy consumption - as this will tell us what size system you need to make it a financially-viable proposition.

This information is found on your electricity bill and we can input this data into our specialist software to recommend a solar system that will create enough power to suit your household and lifestyle.

The software is orientational specific, uses Google maps to show the location of your property and the size of the roof. We can create a 2D render of your home and how it will look solar panels on. We can also work out how many panels are required to generate the power you need per annum.

By working backwards from your energy needs, and working out what is required, we can tailor the panels to your energy requirements, rather than recommend a ten-panel package or 12-panel package that may not be suitable.

Every house is unique, so we believe your system should be too.

What is the lifespan of each Solar Panel?

Solar Panels are highly energy efficient and are guaranteed to work for 25 years. After that time, performance will gradually decrease, but they will still work at a rate which is above 85 per cent efficiency. Obviously, they will work better if you keep them clean.

Will my Solar Panels work even when the weather is poor?

Solar Panels are highly energy efficient and are guaranteed to work for 25 years. After that time, performance will gradually decrease, but they will still work at a rate which is above 85 per cent efficiency. Obviously, they will work better if you keep them clean.

How will shading affect the performance of solar panels?

If you have a house with a big tree near it that is casting a shadow over your panels, standard panels will run at a lesser efficiency. Unless the system has been fitted correctly, this can also affect all the other panels, as it effectively drags down the performance all of the other panels.

If shading is an issue at your home, we will install panels with their own individual power optimiser - to increase the performance of the panels which are in full sunlight. We cannot improve the ones which are in shade, but we can ensure the ones which are not hindered still perform at their maximum.

If you need these, we will advise you about it during the initial consultation and show you an explanation on our software, so that you can see how each panel will work to its maximum efficiency.

Do solar panels need any maintenance?

Solar Panels do not have any moving parts so there’s not really much to do. Keep them clean and they will always perform at their best.

Once your installation is complete, we can monitor the system remotely - so if anything goes wrong, we will know about it. We can then dial in and diagnose a solution.

The biggest issue is wi-fi connectivity, caused by a poor signal or changing the wi-fi password without informing us. If this happens, we get a notification and can quickly get you back online.

Will solar panels add value to my property?

According to the Which energy saving survey, adding solar panels to your home could increase its value by as much as 13%. For a £10 to £12k investment, that could actually prove to be a sizeable return.

However, in our experience, most people are not buying solar panels to add value to their property. They are doing it to save money on their energy bills and to protect against future price increases.

Batteries

Do I have to install a battery?

To enjoy maximum efficiency from your Solar Panels, we would firmly recommend installing a battery with your system and 99% of the installs we carry out come with a battery.

You don’t have to have a battery, but not choosing this option means you will waste a lot of the energy you generate – and miss out on saving money.

When you’re out at work, your house is effectively on standby mode. But when you return, having a battery means you can still use the power that has been generated in your absence.

This is especially important in Winter and Autumn, when there is not as much daytime sunlight. Rather than sell the energy you create back it to the grid, you can store at in a battery and use it yourself.

What is the lifespan of the battery?

When the battery is completely full and emptied, that is classed as one battery cycle – and each battery is guaranteed for a minimum of 6000 cycles.

If you filled and emptied a battery every day of the year, you would expect to enjoy a minimum battery life of 16.5 years.

However, most households will probably only fully fill the battery and empty it at certain times of the year, such as early Spring, the middle of Winter and late Autumn. During sunnier periods of the year, the battery empties and fills up less because there is more daylight to keep it regularly topped up.

Can I add more batteries at a later date?

Each inverter is designed to operate with up to five batteries. If more people move into your home or you start to consume more energy, batteries can be added on at a later date. This may be necessary if you move into a home with an existing system and you want to upgrade it to suit your energy needs.

How many hours of TV could I watch before my 10kWh battery runs out?

It’s not easy to estimate this figure as the power consumption of a TV does vary depending on its size, brand and model.

But if it was a modern TV, which uses around 100 watts per hour (0.1 kW), a 10 kWh home storage battery could potentially allow you to watch TV for around 100 hours before becoming depleted.

Obviously, this is a rough estimate, and actual usage will vary based on many different factors, but it does provide a practical example of how much money you could save using solar panels and battery storage.

Installation

Will my installation need Planning Permission?

Installing a Solar Panel system on your home does not need planning permission. It falls under permitted development.

Once you decide to go ahead, we do everything necessary to make sure your system is 100 per cent safe and compliant, acting on your behalf to let the power companies and local authority know what we’re doing.

Will I need any adjustments to my roof?

Solar panels can be installed on almost any load-bearing roof, including slate, pantile, concrete tile and metal roofs.

Adding solar panels to your roof does not usually require any major roof adjustments – and could actually make your roof stronger because the fixing attachments may help to bind your roof together. We often need to remove a few tiles to allow fixing brackets to be attached, but these are easily replaced.

How long will it take to install from ordering?

From ordering to installation, we can successfully turn a project around in three to four weeks. Sometimes less. Once we have conducted the initial site visit, we will let you know a schedule of works and map out the installation process with key dates.

Will my installation comply with Building Regulations?

Every installation we carry out conforms to all UK electrical regulations. When installing a new Solar Panel system, we make a G98 application to the national grid, to comply with the technical standards established by the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs). Basically, this means seeking approval from the DNO to connect your system to the grid.

The documentation includes technical details about the system capacity, the equipment being used and any protection measures to ensure it operates safely and reliably.

If you need a 5KW or 6KW inverter, we make a G99 application to the national grid, which may take a bit longer, as your system must meet specific technical requirements related to protection, control and monitoring.

In summary, these requirements are in place to maintain grid stability and prevent your system from overloading the grid with excess power during peak periods, known as under and overvoltage protection.

Will I receive any warranties?

To provide you with complete peace of mind, we offer a 12-year warranty on all Solar Panels and a 5-year warranty for each battery, which is guaranteed to maintain its performance level for 25 years. Should the worst happen, and part of your system fails, we will replace any parts under warranty for free.

Experienced & professional Solar Panel installers

MCS accredited

All work comes with a two-year warranty as standard.

RICC accredited

The highest globally recognised and industry-relevant training

Experienced electricians

Trained to fit all solar systems and battery storage types

Renewable pioneers

All work complies with the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (REC)