This article will will take an in-depth look at the most important aspects you need to be aware of prior installing a solar PV system.
1. Does your roof have enough strength?
Some buildings, particularly older ones, might not have the strength of the roof enough to support solar panels. After 1970, most structures feature ‘W’-shaped frame roofs with trussing. They are able to support solar panels that typically weigh about 20kg each. The older structures may require strengthening of the inter-truss, but it is not an extremely expensive process. Every roof should be inspected but, every roof is susceptible to termites or woodworms which could seriously reduce the strength of the roof. Numerous solar companies provide surveys for free, and examine your roof to determine its suitableness.
2. Do you need permission to plan?
There is no need for approval from the city council for solar panels to be installed, however, it’s always recommended to consult your local planning officer in the event of. If you own an listed building or live located in a conservation zone the restrictions could apply as well, so consult the planner in your area.
3. Do you require to replace your tiles?
If you have to replace the tiles on your roof, after having installed solar panels the replacement will cost you a lot of money because you’re going need to remove the panels. So it’s worth having the panels checked prior to putting in the panels so that the issue doesn’t affect your home.
Get in touch with our team if you need solar panel installers near me.
4. How much electricity do you need to create?
A solar panel is typically able to produce 250W of power. Therefore, we suggest minimum 10 solar panels which gives you an 2.5kW system. You could go smaller, but it will reduce the amount of electricity you generate and the income you get from the feed-in rate.
It is also highly unlikely that you’ll be able to build solar panels that provide all the electricity you require because you’ll need to set up batteries in order in order to make use of the power at night. This will significantly increase the price of your solar system, so, not many opt to live off grid.
A typical house consumes around 4,800kWh of power during the course of a year. A 3.5kW array (14 panels) typically produces around 2900 kWh of power. Therefore, you’re still likely need to purchase some electricity from the grid. The limit for the amount of panels you can have will depend on its size or how much you paying – but generally, larger is more efficient!
5. What is the amount you would like to invest in Solar PV systems?
I think this may be a follow-up some degree from the previous point, but in the end, this will be the main deciding element. You can have the most powerful solar PV system on the planet however if you only have a few pounds in your pocket, that can make paying for it a bit difficult.
6. Do you want to safeguard yourself from blackouts on the electrical grid?
Fortunately , in the UK there are a small number of blackouts. However, for those who have solar panels, if they do occur it is unlikely that you will be able to utilize the panels to provide power to your home. This is due to the fact that most solar panels have been connected to the grid via an inverter that is tied to grid which, if the grid goes down to allow repairs to be completed, they won’t need any electricity to be fed to the grid. Therefore, while they could be an excellent investment, they’ll not help your life in the event of an event of blackout.
If you want to be protected from blackouts you’ll require a batteries backup. This can be expensive, but it is possible!
7. Do your panels have shade?
Shading has a significant impact on the amount of energy generated by an array of solar panels. In the event that the solar arrays are on the same string and one of them is shaded, the other panels will have electricity produced limited to one panel that is shaded.
The shadowing effect may be limited to an hour every day when the chimney casts shadows however, if it occurs between 2pm and 3pm, it’s significantly reducing the value of solar panels. Therefore , you should have the panels correctly placed (taking into consideration the advice of installation experts) and you may want to install them on different strings so that you get the most power generated by panels if are aware that shading will be a problem.
Then there is this thing many people don’t consider. Trees! They grow and get taller. Solar panels have an the potential to last for 20 years or more, and you should take a look at how the expansion in trees could result in shading. We see a lot of homeowners who haven’t consider this and are now wondering why they’re not producing the same level of electricity they were two or three years ago.
