Contractor Blog

For those who have their finger on the pulse of the solar energy market, it's becoming obvious that there is an increasing shift towards the manufacture and use of n-type solar from p-type panels in both commercial and domestic settings, to the point where the former now dominate. But why has this shift come about, and more fundamentally what is the difference between the two?

In the space of just a few years, the average panel we install on domestic projects has shot up from around 315W to at least 375W, with more and more residential modules breaking the 400W barrier.

This is down to a few factors, such as the widespread adoption of new, more efficient technologies, bigger cells and bigger modules:

When researching solar PV, you may have come across the phrase ‘tier 1 solar panels’. It’s used as a selling point by some manufacturers and installers to demonstrate the reliability of their products. But is that really the case?

Why aren’t new houses built with solar panels? It’s a common question whenever we chat to people about PV. And we share the frustration - solar panels can be more cost effective and visually appealing when built in from the outset, not to mention cutting future owners’ bills from the moment they move in.

So let’s try to uncover why new build solar panels aren’t standard, along with the reasons why they ought to be and best practices for doing so.

In a perfect world, UK roofs would all face south, with a 35° pitch and no shading in sight. But we don’t live in a perfect world. As solar installers, we have to find clever ways to maximise the potential power from roofs of all make ups, orientations and shaded spots.

The most common suggestion to do this is with micro-inverters or power optimisers, which are designed to improve performance at the panel level. But there are risks, such as high costs to access and repair them if they fail, and sometimes you’re better off with a regular string inverter.

So which is the best solution? Let’s focus on the most popular brands, and compare SolarEdge optimisers vs Enphase micro-inverters.

Last week we tuned into a SunPower webinar, which promised a vague ‘big reveal’. We expected a new product or partnership, but what we got was a bombshell - Maxeon Solar Technologies (the company that makes SunPower panels) is extending its warranties to an epic 40 years for new installations.

Not only does this blow competitors’ 25 years warranties out of the water, it fundamentally changes the perception of solar power. We’ve long expected that panels will outlast their first 25 years, but for the first time a manufacturer is guaranteeing four decades of performance. You’re now buying 40 years’ worth of clean electricity upfront and that changes everything about your payback period and return on investment.

You’re buying products for life.

We’ve long discussed SolarEdge optimisers and inverters for their innovative, shade-busting abilities. Now the company has launched SolarEdge Smart Modules, solar panels with incorporated power optimisers. They are the first SolarEdge solar panels (though technically manufactured by a third party), with the main advantage being they are quicker - and therefore cheaper - to install than separate modules and optimisers.

The solar manufacturing industry is devoted to trends - from bifacial to PERC - always seeking ways to maximise energy generation. One technology that’s seen a meteoric rise in the last few years is half cell solar panels (or half cut solar cells), on track to become near ubiquitous across PV modules.

Rewinding to the start of summer, we released a blog digging deep into the analysis of solar panel shading and the effective ways it can be mitigated. On the back of the technical flavour of this blog, I was contacted by Solar & Storage Live and invited to speak on a panel at the event.

The show brought together manufacturers, suppliers, installers, and councils as well as many other personnel from the industry, with over 4,000 attendees across the three day event. This provided a great opportunity to meet other members of the solar, storage, and electric vehicle industry as well as providing valuable insight into established and emerging technologies in the market.

We’ve written before about the possibilities of domestic ground mounted solar panels, and now there is an exciting development that could make these types of installation even more affordable. By essentially using the same mounting systems we use for flat roof PV, we can install Van der Valk ground mounted solar panels to cut time and costs for our clients.

Let’s take a look at how it works.