There are many aspects of solar which are fairly obvious to most people considering it. However, there are many steps involved in the installation of a solar system and unless you have had solar installed before, it can be difficult to know what to expect.
The Pre-Installation Survey
When your installer first comes to your home he will conduct a pre-installation survey of your roof. This allows him to view the roof space, assess the condition of your roof, check the pitch and the orientation of your roof. He will be able to confirm whether your roof is south facing and whether there are any areas of shading caused by trees, other buildings or features such as a chimney. He will also check what type of meter you have. A smart meter is ideal as it makes it very easy to monitor how much electricity you are exporting to the grid once your system is up and running.
Scaffold and Roof Preparation
Firstly the scaffolding will be put up around your house. This typically takes around 2 hours to complete. The scaffold will enable the installers to safely access your roof. The installers will then remove a few tiles from your roof to fix the rail brackets to the rafters underneath. The installers will double check the rafters and the fixing points to ensure that they are strong enough to hold the weight of the panels.
Fixing Panels and Wiring to the Inverter
Each panel is clipped to the rails to form a string. The wiring from the panels is then connected together and runs down to your home, within the wall or in a cable trench, to be connected to the inverter which is typically mounted in the loft space or near to your consumer unit. The inverter converts the DC electricity generated by your solar panels into AC electricity which can then be used to power your home.
DNO Notification and Grid Connection
It is common for home owners to be caught out by this stage of the solar panel installation process. Distribution Network Operators (DNO’s) need to be notified by your solar panel installer before any system can start to export to the grid. Registration to Smart Export Guarantee can then take place, details of Smart Export Guarantee can be found on Ofgem’s website (the energy regulator).
Commissioning and Handover
After your solar panel installation has been connected to the grid the installer will go through your monitoring app with you, make sure the generation readings are correct and explain to you what a typical daily reading will look like for your particular system. If you are looking for Solar Panel Installation Tewkesbury then look no further than https://www.precisiongreenenergy.co.uk/renewables/solar-panel-installation/tewkesbury/.
Knowing the sequence of the solar panel installation process will help to demystify it and to make it less daunting for the homeowner.
