Homeowner Blog

The majority of our domestic solar PV systems are retrofits - panels installed on top of an existing roof. If you’re curious to see how the process works, read on to get a look behind the scenes of one of our recent installs.

The rollout of smart meters is an important part of the energy revolution and transition to a clean electricity network. But if you’re generating your own electricity, how do smart meters and solar panels interact? Can you have smart meters with solar PV? You can - and it may make your life even easier.

We are often asked about installing solar panels on residential flat roofs. Sadly, most of the time it’s not practical - at least for retrofits. For extensions, new builds and commercial flat roofs, solar PV is still worth considering.

Let’s delve into the reasons behind this.

We are often asked ‘what is the best solar PV panel for me?’. Unfortunately, it is hard to give one definitive answer to this question as each customer has different views on what the most important factors are and their motivation for investing in solar PV can have a significant impact on our response. 

We’re often asked by our customers which is the best electricity tariff, especially when they’re investing in their own renewable energy systems. There are lots of energy suppliers, with prices varying by location and various contract commitments. But there are particular types of tariffs that we’d recommend looking at, depending on your circumstances:

As part of his summer mini budget, the Chancellor announced the Green Homes Grant back in July. Now the details have been released, revealing which technologies will be included to help homeowners make their properties more energy efficient. We can confirm that solar PV will not be included in the grant.

Recently the Solar Trade Association (STA) published a report modelling the impact of solar PV, battery storage and smart home controls on the UK’s electricity supply and demand. In particular it examines how these technologies can help balance the grid as it becomes ever more complex and under pressure.

We’re going to dig into how solar PV can integrate with smart homes to reduce or even eliminate peak demand.

Solar panels perform best when they are clean. Any dirt or growth on the modules can block out sunlight and have a substantial impact on power output. Perhaps the hardest form of soiling to remove is lichen on solar panels.

But why does it grow on solar arrays and how can we deal with it?

Some of our clients are surprised to learn that there can be limits on the number of solar panels they can get on their roof, beyond the obvious physical and cost limitations. In fact, for solar PV systems over a certain size, grid permission is needed before installation can go ahead.

In this post, we’ll explore how many solar panels you’re allowed to install without prior permission, and how we can help you determine the maximum possible allowance for your property.

Last year saw the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants, leaving a very different landscape to the heady days of 2010, when the Feed-in Tariff scheme was first launched and the subsidy was around 43p per kWh. In October, solar tax rates also got a shakeup, meaning not every installation is eligible for 5% VAT. So, are solar panels worth it today?

Speaking purely from a financial point of view, the answer is a resounding yes. Of course beyond the financial, there are many other environmental benefits to be gained from installing solar, installing residential battery storage, driving an electric vehicle etc. Not least because they all contribute directly or indirectly to tackling air pollution and the climate crisis.

Back to the financials. The solar subsidy may have fallen, but so has the cost of the technology. Overall the cost of domestic solar electricity is now around 8p per kWh. This is well below the 16p average domestic import cost from the grid (which, by the way, increased by 6% in the last 12 months...).