Solar panel installation process

Check the minimum requirements

• To get the best efficiency, the collector should be installed facing south at an angle of 30-40°. South facing roofs do best; however if your roof is not south facing, you can still generate energy, just not as much. So a south-east or south-west facing roof will generate approximately 92% of the energy generated by a south facing roof. This percentage falls to 75-80% for an east or west facing roof.
• For a solar PV system you will need a mimimum of 12 square metres
• The necessary planning permission. Unless you live in a conservation area or a listed building, planning is usually not required, as long as the panels are on a sloping roof. Planning is usually required for panels on a flat roof, because the panels are mounted at an angle of around 15 degrees to the horizontal. We can help with planning if required.
• Roof access. We need to be able to get the panels on the roof - this will usually require some sort of tower or scaffolding, which we will arrange.

If you meet these requirements please call us on 01276 38148 to arrange a free site survey in the Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire area or to get a preliminary quote.

If you would find it more convenient to do everything by email, please fill in our online quotation form - we will give you an indicative quote based on the information you provide.

We will still need to complete a site survey prior to giving you a final cost.

How long does it take? What's the procedure?

We will appoint a dedicated project manager to manage all aspects of your installation. Your project manager will be your personal point of contact and you will be able to speak to them whenever you need to, before, during and after the installation.

If you haven't already had a technical survey, we will book a survey on a day that is convenient for you. One of our installers will travel to your property and carry out a full technical assessment.

During this survey, we will check your roof to make sure it can support the panel load. We will provide you with structural calculations based from our partner structural engineer. We may need to carry out minor strengthening works to your roof.

If the installation requires planning permission and you have asked us to help with this, our planning department will contact you and will gather the necessary information to submit a planning application.

We usually install within 2 - 3 weeks of the date on which you sign the installation contract, sometimes sooner, depending on the availability of our installers.

If your project requires scaffolding, we will arrange for scaffolding to be put up before the installation begins. During the installation our installers will be on site from about 9:00am to 5:00pm. A typical installation will take one day.

At the end of the installation our lead installer will fully test and commission the system. We will invite you to inspect all aspects of the work carried out. Our installers will be able to provide a detailed explanation of what each component does and how to operate your new system.

You will receive a full handover pack with instructions on how to oversee the system and all the information needed to claim your feed in tariffs.

Finally, once you are totally satisfied with your new system, we will send you an invoice for the final balance. (We take a 20% deposit upfront, with the balance due upon completion of the work.)

Assuming all paperwork is turned round quickly, you can expect to have your system up and running within about 4-6 weeks of contacting us, sooner if you are in a hurry.

The Department of Energy and Climate have announced from April 1st 2012 your home will require an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) to qualify for the Feed in Tariff.

If your home is at Level D or above you will qualify for the full Feed in Tariff of 15.44p per kWh.

If your home is lower than Level D you will qualify for the lower Feed in Tariff of 9.0p per kWh.

However, do not let energy efficiency requirements put you off. If your home is currently rated at Level E, simply upgrading your loft insulation by 10cm could upgrade your property to Level D.