Solar Panel Energy Solutions - Answering your questions
Got a question about Solar Panels? We’ve probably answered it here, if not feel free to send us an email.
Contact usPV stands for Photo (light) Voltaic (Electric). Solar PV panels convert light into electricity. Note the word light, not sunlight. They continue to produce electricity on cloudy days. It’s just that their output will be higher the brighter the light is. This is not new technology – the use of light to produce electricity dates back to the 19th Century.
Inverters change the DC current from the panels ot AC current needed for you home and the grid. IT’s essential the correct type of inverter is used and that they’re located in the right place. Many installers always put them in the loft, but this can be detrimental to your system. We are meticulous about inverter choice and placement.
Our solar team have absolutely zero financial motivation to push particular products because their salaries are not commission based. We’re committed to remaining 100% impartial and can install any Solar PV products on the market. And frequently do – because every home and every business is different.
A 4kWp system in Kent on an unshaded south-facing roof can generate over 4000 units (kWh) per year. If your roof is East or west-facing you’re still likely to generate 3400 units (kWh) per year. The average household in the UK uses around 3200 units per year, so living in Kent is a definite benefit! Depending on when and how you use your electricity depends on how much impact your PV system will have on your bills. With a bit of information about your electric usage and habits, we can produce incredibly accurate bespoke forecasts thanks to Solar Edge modelling software.
We use Solar Edge software to realistically calculate your expected output. Solar Edge accurately takes in to account panel performance, inverter performance, shading, roof pitch, roof orientation and your local weather data to calculate how much electric you will generate. We then include these figures and how much money you are likely to earn, based on your usual usage and the amount that will be returned to the grid.
You will simply draw from the grid in the normal way. But remember, it doesn’t have to be sunny to generate electricity.
The excess energy will be sold back to the grid or stored in a battery for you to use as and when required.
We use the SolarEdge design tool which measures the available Roof area, then work out the number of panels the roof can take.
No, leave that to us. We are accredited to notify all their work to Building Control.
On homes, for standard installations, the brackets used fix to the rafters of your roof which ensures the fabric is free from loadings. However, new developments in solar technology now mean you can build your roof entirely out of solar material or solar tiles that look like part of your roof.
Commercial roofs vary in construction and there are many different mounting solutions for every different scenario
For the safety of linesmen who may be repairing the fault, your inverter will need to shut down. There are some battery storage systems that will allow you to have back up power in the event of a power cut. If back up is essential, we’ll be happy to put together options for you.
We use our own fully qualified tradesmen.
Installations generally can take up to two to three days.
Commercial installations can take longer, depending on the size of the site and the specific requirements of your business.
You’ll see savings on bills immediately. Payback of the installation cost depends on many variables including quality of panels and inverters, your local weather conditions, shading, pitch and orientation of your situation. Typically in Kent you can expect to pay off a home system in 8-12 years and a commercial system in 6-8 years. After that, it’s like getting free energy for the lifetime of the system (25-50 years with quality panels).
There are no government schemes since the Feed in Tariff ended in March 2019. You may see advertisements that claim there is but these are often dressed up loans so please tread carefully. You can be paid for energy that is exported to the grid and from January 2020 all energy suppliers with over 150,000 customers will be obliged to offer such a scheme. You can shop around for the best rates in the same way that you can shop around for the best imported electric deals.
You would have to check with your landlord. We’ve installed Solar PV for many landlords as they can benefit from the Feed in Tariff, increase in property value and increase in rent.
There is currently no mounting system to put Solar PV panels on thatched roofs. You may be able to have a ground mounted Solar PV system.
Installations generally can take up to two to three days.
Commercial installations can take longer, depending on the size of the site and the specific requirements of your business.
Many customers also install heat pumps. These take the small amount of heat in the air or ground and extract it to help heat homes and provide hot water. They run on electric and save huge amounts on people’s bills. We also install heat pumps and will be happy to provide you with a quote
No, Solar PV panels work on light and all roofs have light shining on them. Many customers have fitted east/west facing systems and typically generate around 86% of an equivalent south-facing roof.
Solar PV panels vary greatly in efficiency so one panel may generate 250 watts while another panel of the same physical size may generate 345 watts, therefore it’s not how many panels you need but how much power you need.
Feed in Tariff ended in March 2019 because the Return On Investment for Solar PV remains the same. The Government target is 8% ROI. We are still finding domestic system can reach 16% ROI and Commercial systems can reach 30% ROI. For some people Return On Investment is important and will be affected by the amount of self-generated electric that you can use to reduce your bills.
Solar PV panels gradually degrade over time. Typically they will lose around 15% of their power over 25 years with some high quality panels only degrading around 2.5% over 25 years. This also varies depending on the quality of the panel.
Shading will reduce the power output of solar panels and any panels directly connected to the shaded panel. Severe shading, like a chimney right in front of panels (known as Hard Shading) can also cause some long term damage. We will be able to advise you of the best place for your panels to be installed.
I’ve been offered some panels with diodes that stop the effects of shading.
Almost every panel on the market has diodes these days and they don’t completely stop the effects of shading, however they do help.
Monocrystalline panels will give more power per square meter. This might not mean that the panel is better than a high quality polycrystalline panel. There are many, many factors that affect the quality of a panel, this is just one of them and efficiency is only a critical factor if you have a limited amount of space.
Inverters are electric and electronic equipment so they’re best off being kept cooler. We usually recommend installing them in a garage, utility room or some models can be mounted outside. We advise that the loft is a poor place to install the inverter as they get very hot and in particular will get hottest on the day you want your inverter to work its hardest. This will reduce the output from the inverter and age its components quicker. We know that installing in the loft is easier and quicker and that the slightly shorter cable run may also have an impact. However, it’s a poor trade off as the extra loss in longer cables is more than offset by the extra production and life that you’ll get from your inverter. Another advantage of having the inverter where you can see it is that you can check that your system is working properly. Inverters have a display that tells you if everything is running smoothly. If this display is in the loft then you won’t know anything is wrong until you get the Christmas decorations out!
In most cases, no. Domestic solar panel installations are considered ‘permitted developments’ and don’t require planning permission unless:
– you live in a listed building
– your home’s in a conservation area or an area of outstanding natural beauty. (Panels are permitted in a conservation area as long as they’re not installed on a wall or roof that fronts a main highway)
– the panels protrude more than 200mm from the roof. We always fit within this limit.
– you are having a ground mounted array.
If you’re unsure about permitted developments, please visit the Government’s planning portal or book a call back and get free advice from us
Monocrystalline panels will give more power per square meter. This might not mean that the panel is better than a high quality polycrystalline panel. There are many, many factors that affect the quality of a panel, this is just one of them and efficiency is only a critical factor if you have a limited amount of space.