We will take the time to review some of the essential aspects to be aware of prior to 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 to hold solar panels. The post 1970 buildings usually are equipped with ‘W’ frame roofs with trussing. They are able to support solar panels that typically weigh around 20kg each. The older structures may require inter-truss strengthening, however it is not an extremely expensive process. Roofs must be examined on a regular basis for any issues, since any roof could be affected by termites or woodworms which could significantly reduce the strength of the roof. Numerous solar companies provide free inspections, in which they examine your roof’s the appropriateness.
2. Do you need permission to plan?
It is not necessary to have approval from the city council to install solar panels however it’s worthwhile to check with your local planning officer in the event. If you live in a listed structure or are located in a conservation area there may be restrictions and, if so, talk to the planner in your area.
3. Do you require a new set of tiles? your tiles?
If you are looking to replace the tiles on your roof after installing the solar panels before this will be costly because you’re going be required to temporarily take down the panels. It is therefore advisable to have the panels checked prior to putting in the panels to ensure that this issue doesn’t affect your home.
4. How many watts of electricity do you wish to generate?
One solar panel usually produces 250W of power. Therefore, we suggest you get 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 cash you earn from the feed-in rate.
It’s also unlikely that you will 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 significantly increases the cost of your solar system, consequently, not many people choose to live off grid.
A typical house consumes around 4,800kWh of power during the course of a year. A 3.5kW solar panel installation in Peterborough (14 panels) typically produces around 2900 kWh of power. This means that you’ll still need to purchase some of the grid. The limitation on the number of panels is likely to depend on how big your house is or what you paying – however, generally speaking, bigger 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 somewhat from the previous point, however, in the end this will be the most important element. You could have the largest solar PV system on the planet however if you only have a few pounds on your account, this can make the process of paying for it quite difficult.
6. You are trying to safeguard yourself from blackouts on the electrical grid?
Fortunately , in the UK we have a few blackouts. Unfortunately for those who have solar panels, if they do occur they are not likely to be able to make use of solar panels to generate electricity for your home. This is due to the fact that most solar panels have been connected to the grid by an inverter tied to the grid that is connected to the grid. If the grid goes down to allow repairs to take place, they will not need any electricity to be fed directly into grid. Therefore, while they could be an excellent investment, they will not save you from the event of a blackout.
If you’re looking to be protected from blackouts you will have to consider investing in battery backup . This is extremely expensive, however it is possible!
7. Are your panels shaded?
The shade of a panel can affect the amount of power generated by an array of solar panels. In the event that the solar arrays are in the same location, and one of them is shaded, the other panels will have power production restricted to the shaded panel.
It is possible that shading will only happen for an hour every day when the chimney casts shadows however, if it occurs at 2pm , it is significantly reducing the efficiency of solar panels. Therefore , you should have properly placed them (taking into consideration the advice of installation experts) and possibly you’ll prefer to place them on different strings so that you get the most power generated by panels if realize that shading will be a problem.
Then there is this thing that a lot of people do not consider. Trees! They grow and get taller. The solar panels you purchase will have an a useful lifespan of 20 years and beyond, and you should consider how the growth in trees may result in shading. We see a lot of homes that do not think about this, and are now wondering why they’re not producing the same level of electricity that they did two or three years ago.
