10 Things You Need To Know Before Getting Solar Panels Installed in 2024

With rising energy costs there's never been a better time to consider getting solar PV installed. This video will run through the 10 most common things you need to know before considering installing a solar photovoltaic system at your property.

Artisan Electrics are able to provide installation in the Cambridgeshire area, and we also have a large recommended network to cover various other locations within the country.

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⏱️Timestamps
00:00 Everything Solar
00:26 Suitable Roof
02:52 Roof Materials
03:58 Roofing Repairs
05:01 Weight
06:23 Size & Output
07:32 Battery Storage
8:55 Current Electrical System
10:14 Consumer Unit
13:01 Space
15:56 Scaffolding

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[muhammadumair]

The information provided here about solar panel installation is truly outstanding.

[fredturk]

Reasonable summary, thanks! It’s important to realise that any solar or EV charging installation can require consumer unit upgrades. I suggest, apart from the elephant in the room, it is important to choose systems which give good interoperability and give a good user interface to both display and adjust power flows.
The elephant in the room, is the cost. I am just dealing with this, already having a solar installation, but needing a Zappi installed. In this case the solar had been installed years ago and now no space in my consumer unit and tighter regulations required a new box to be installed to remount some components, existing MCBs to be replaced with RCBOs to remove a single 3phase RCD to allow space for a 3phase RCBO to connect the Zappi. The main switch also had to be replaced with one including a main circuit breaker. The cost for all this ran to $6, 000 AUD or 3, 200 pounds including the cost of the 3 phase Zappi including hub. Conclusion, have a stiff drink before reading any quote for solar or EV charging installation.

[FirstDan]

This is a really useful video for those of us who want to embark on supplying renewables to grow a business.
You're obviously not withholding any knowledge you've gained over the years and you're passing it on freely.
Not many would do that.

The bit about a structural engineer did occur to me but I wouldn't know where to start - until now.
You've got rid of a lot of unknowns for me.

This is a good channel to follow. Thanks for sharing.

[aftabalikhan]

It was seriously important to me thank you you have cleared it to me. I won’t spend my money on all of that. Im happy with my current setting for now.❤

[ForTheBirbs]

Nicely done Jordan! And a good looking installation. A mate here in Sydney had his corrugated roof damaged in a hail storm a few years ago. Big dents but no holes. He came to arrangement with insurer. Part was replaced and remainder was covered with solar panels!

[misstertash]

The most important thing to check is that your installer is MCS accredited. Without an MCS certificate you can not take advantage of the decent export tariffs.
Also, if you are being asked to send a lot of pictures over. I would suggest looking for a more local MCS installer who will actually come out to complete a survey.
It is always nice to see the actual installer in person instead of giving over lots of money to someone who may just end up subbing it out to others.

[shaundakin]

Also remember just cause it says 100Amp on your main cut out fuse carrier dosn't mean that it is. often they have 80s in

[ehsnils]

I'd also like to add that if you have a water heater you can consider to heat up the water extra when you have excess energy from solar. Water is an excellent energy storage system, so if you can work with different temperature levels you can save even more.

[beresoaiesergiu]

For roofs try horizontal orientation for the panels, you can save a lot of space and you can put more panels in 3 arays😊. Anyway I watching you from Romania. I use to work like electrician for 3 years in Uk, but I move to Romania 4 years ago. All the best!🧨🧨🧨⚡️⚡️⚡️

[anthonydyer]

Top tip: Buy 1 extra panel to use as a spare. Yes the solar panels all have a 12 year warranty, but if they become faulty, the panel manufacturers always insist on basic tests to be done (and proven on camera) on the suspect panel before they replace it. It’s a lot easier to do all those tests on the ground. You only want to be up on the roof when you replace the faulty panel with the spare. You don’t want to go up there to do multimeter tests, and then go up there again once the replacement panel arrives from China!

Also: solar warranties aren’t like for like. My solar dimensions (1685x996mm) are no longer sold. There actually is no such thing as a standard module size. So chances are if you need a replacement panel they’ll just ship out the latest and greatest panel that “nearly matches”, and you find it doesn’t fit in your array because it’s too big. So you are then faced with the prospect of fitting it in the corner of your array for an on roof system (or not at all for an in roof system),

[hrhlordwurlibird]

One very important part of the installation is indeed location.

Often a garage is not a good place to install battery storage as during periods of cold weather the battery core cools considerably. As you know LFP04 storage chemistry does not like an environment where the ambient temperature can drop below c.15 degrees C. If the cell core of the storage is unheated the BMS will derate the charge current substantially to avoid ‘plating’ of the cells.

I say this as a FAE for a manufacturer of PV string inverters, AC coupled battery inverters, LFP04 batteries and EV chargers. Sadly many installers do not display the care and diligence of Artisan Electrics and during cold weather we received many complaints like, “Why is all my energy being exported to the grid and not going into my batteries?” It is difficult trying to explain to end users that the battery/BMS is working as it should be.

[ForTheBirbs]

Speaking with my building construction / fire research hat on, I'd strongly suggest an interlinked smoke detector be fitted. If used as a workshop use a rate of rise heat detector. Could save lives!

[feistyphysicist]

As a money saver, it's a joke.
A typical 3kW solar array with batteries costs £9, 795 (complete installation)
It will typically generate 2, 500 kWh a year
2, 500 kW would cost £850 at 34p per kWh, so you’re saving £850 a year
So we can divide the cost of £9, 795 by the annual saving of £850...
£9, 795 ÷ £850 = 11.5

So would take 11.5 years to payback your investment of £9, 795
BUT...
There is maintenance and servicing (and cleaning) to pay on your solar panels over years
So it’s more like 13 years (an inverter may fail which costs £750)
Between 13 years and failure of your array after 25 years you would have saved £10, 200

BUT...
If you invest £9, 795 at 5% you would be paid £490 in interest per year
After 25 years, that would be £12, 250
AND you get your £9, 795 back (whereas your solar panels would be worthless)
So after 25 years you would have a total of £22, 045

Solar panels are a mathematical madness at ‘saving’ you money!
If the cost of electricity drops (from the quoted 34p per kWh) then your reason for solar panels are even less. If you can get better than 5% interest, your reason for solar panels are even less. This calculation takes no account of the degradation of the panels (they wouldn’t be producing 2, 500 kW after a few years!) and takes no account of interest or inflation changes.

Seriously, someone tell me the maths above is wrong.

[glockieme]

Thanks. Lots of good information. I have been worried about having to reroof but the idea of in-roof panels might be the answer. Cheers

[markymarkreviews]

Great vid. I thought one of the most important aspects of good solar efficiency is to maintain good airflow beneath the panels? Best efficiency is always a sunny and COOL day. Not sunny and HOT day. Pigeon protection is a MUST (as we have experienced to our cost several years after having our panels installed with no problems! before that!) but those skirts in the video would just cause high temps and less efficiency of the panels- the one main disadvantage for in roof panels also. NO airflow. And in high winds you would want air to flow through the installation and not hit solid walls?

[jasper]

Extremely informative, and it did make my mind up to the fact that a solar installation would not be cost effective at my age. Being a retired Electronic engineer the physical cost of the recommended installation with all the bells and whistles I would have to live to well over a hundred to recoup a good proportion of the costs . I can see this paying for the younger members of society as long as it is their forever home. In the event of a house sale you would be extremely lucky to recoup a good percentage of the installation cost at the very best, because it is a second user product at that point. Oh I nearly forgot to mention that service contracts only increase in cost year on year, solar cells decrease efficiency over time and batteries live only as long as the manufacturers want them to.

[montypythonish]

Taking the first steps into possibly getting PV. Excellent vid. Loads of good tips. Many thanks.

[johannbraunstein]

I've had a 5kw pv system installed for nearly a year now and the returns are not looking good so far. All the points you raise are particularly relevant but none more so than actually getting sunlight to reach the panels. England doesn't generally have good sun. One can have all the other 9 points covered but if ones aspect is not good then forget it.

[amcadam]

Recently got a 4.7kw 12 panel array on my SE facing house roof. Working great so far. Has a 9.6kwh battery with it and most days since the start of April I barely use more than 0.3kwh of grid power per day. Export income not sorted yet, octopus taking ages to sort this out.

[stephennorris]

UK PV pricing is crazy - it looks like 4kWp system in the UK costs about the same as a 12kWp system on 10kWp of inverters in Australia. Plus we get a lot more sun, so the output is much higher.