Solar FAQ
Clear answers on panels, inverters, batteries and SEG for UK homes.
Shading
Most homes will be impacted by shading to some extent at some point during the day, especially during winter. Shading can have a serious impact on system performance especially if it impacts your system at all during the peak generation part of the day, between 10:00 – 16:00 hrs. Shading can therefore impact the financial return of your solar PV system. However there are mitigations that can be taken. This include a shading analysis to understand the extent of the problem, using a configuration to avoid or minimise the shading or specifying optimisers if shading is likely to affect only a portion of your array at anyone time.Just because you have shading doesn’t mean you need to totally rule out a solar installation. Contact Brimstone Energy for a detailed analysis.
We have a more detailed look at the impact & mitigations of shading here.
Your Inverters benefit from remote monitoring. These are cloud based solutions (they log into remote data centres owned by the Inverter manufacturer). As such, they require access to the internet. The location of your Inverters will need reliable access to WiFi.
Access to the monitoring service will be set up by the engineer during your installation.
Do I get paid for exporting surplus electricity to the grid?Yes. You’ll be paid for any electricity that you export. This is called the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). We have a whole article dedicated to this topic here.
Smart MetersTo make the most of all the opportunities provided by the Green Energy Revolution, you’ll need a Smart Meter. Smart Meters installed post 2019 are known as SMETS2 meters – second generation smart meters. Smart meters can read your electricity consumption from, and export to, the national grid, and take readings of both every 30 minutes. These readings are communicated to the energy supplier.
Smart tariffs depend on the readings from these Smart Meters. The Smart Meter is owned by and installed by your energy supplier.
Planning permissionThe vast majority of our domestic retrofit installations are installed as permitted development and as such do not require planning permission.
There might be specific constraints that apply in a conservation area or on a listed building. For this reason, we advise all customers to take their own advice on planning as every local authority has their own way of interpreting the guidelines. We can prepare and submit planning applications on your behalf, or supply drawings if you want to do the application yourself, at additional cost. For more details on the requirements please see the solar panel section on the planning portal website.
Permission to connect to the National GridNo prior approval is required for the connection of 3.68kWp (4kWp in practical terms) to a single-phase electricity supply.
If your proposed system is bigger than 4 kWp, an application needs to be made to the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) in advance of connection.
Brimstone Energy will handle this application to the DNO on your behalf. It can take up to 12 weeks for the application to be processed by the DNO.
Building RegulationsAll installations need to comply with Building Regulations, in particular Parts A (structural safety), C (resistance to moisture i.e. water-tightness) and P (electrical safety). MCS accredited installers and NICEIC domestic installers are able to self-certify under Building Regulations and provide you with a certificate to give to any future owner of your property.
Where will my inverter go?Most people have their inverter placed in the attic. This is for practical reasons. It might be the only available indoor space that is suitable, especially if the property is relatively small.
Ideally the attic would not be used, since inverters, like all electronic items prefer not to be exposed to extreme heat or cold. However most inverters are rated to work in a temperature range of -25°C to +60°C. So although they may lose some efficency at higher temperatures, having the equipment in the attic won’t invalidate your warranty.
As we know, the UK doesn’t suffer from extremes of heat. So if Inverters can function in Australia or Arizona, they can handle the occasional hot day in a UK summer. So this needn’t be of great concern.
If your property benefits from a plant room or a suitable garage, then we’ll aim to put the equipment in there. All this will be confirmed during the site survey.
How do I know that I’m actually consuming my own Solar power?The power produced by your solar inverter is at a slightly higher voltage than the voltage used by the grid.
This means that any power consumed by the home will use the power from the inverter first, before drawing on the grid.
This is a simple matter of physics. Voltage is best thought of as pressure, the force behind the electric current. For a beginners guide to voltage and alternating current / direct current, see this article here.
Your solar panels will still generate electricity in all light conditions. For a detailed look at this topic, and to bust some myths, we have an article on this here.
What size of system can I fit on my roof?Brimstone Energy will analyse your current electricity consumption profile as well as the characteristics of your roof (size, orientation, any shading issues, etc) before then making a recommendation of what system size to install on your roof.
Raw system size as measured by kWp (kilo watt peak) isn’t necessarily a critical metric to measure. We discuss this in more detail in this article.
Do I need a south facing roof?No. South facing roofs will perform the best, since they face directly at the sun for the longest time. However East and West facing roofs can also perform well, and can certainly produce more than enough electricity for your needs.
Our detailed evaluation of your property will provide you with an accurate estimate of the best set up for your circumstances and your particular home.
How many solar panels do I need?The first question Brimstone Energy ask is what is your electricity usage profile. We’ll use your old electricity bills to gain an understanding of how much electricity you use and when you use it.
This is the start point to defining how many panels you require. Then we need to understand your home – how much roof space is there, what is the orientation of the roof and is there any shading.
10 years ago most panels on the market generated 250 watts. The government in conjunction with the Distribution Network Operators (DNO) set a cap on the size of solar installations that could be installed under permitted development rights without gaining DNO authorisation. This was 4000 watts.
16 panels at 250 watts gives a 4 kWp system – or – 4000 watts.
So you might have come to the conclusion that having 16 panels is the right thing to do. However this had nothing to do with what was right for the customer, and everything to do with government regulation.
In 2023, a 16 panel set up will give you a system size of up to 6.8 kWp – this is 70% bigger!
How are Solar PV panels attached to your roof?The standard method of fitting Solar Panels is to screw a heavy duty bracket to the rafters of your roof, and then attach metal rails to these brackets. The panels themselves are then attached to these rails.
The solar panels do not interfere with the performance of your existing roof.
I have seen adverts claiming that I can get free Solar Panels on my roof. Is this too good to be true?The staYes! Unfortunately there are still companies out there that draw unsuspecting customers into disadvantageous arrangements regarding solar panels.
When the Feed in Tariff (which no longer exists) was particularly high, there was a phase where companies would install the panels on the roofs of customers for free, and the customers could use the electricity generated for free. The company involved made its money by keeping all of the Feed in Tariff from the UK Government. Although this wasn’t a fraudulent arrangement, it did mean that the homeowner had this equipment on their roof which they didn’t own. This was enough to put off some mortgage companies from making a loan, and thus some homeowners struggled to subsequently sell their houses.
In 2024, there are no schemes to put free solar panels onto your roof. Any adverts that purport to do this are likely to be some kind of complex loan scheme, and are best avoided.
If you require financing to install solar panels, your best bet is to simply take out a straight forward loan.ndard method of fitting Solar Panels is to screw a heavy duty bracket to the rafters of your roof, and then attach metal rails to these brackets. The panels themselves are then attached to these rails.
There is currently no mounting system that can enable Solar Panels to be placed on a thatched roof.
If your garden is sufficiently large, you might be able to have a ground mounted solar array installed.
Plus, as discussed here any one with the right usage profile can benefit from a Home Storage Battery.
Yes, a loft conversion doesn’t preclude a solar installation.
Is solar power actually a clean energy source?Yes, solar power is a renewable and infinite energy source that creates no harmful greenhouse gas emissions – as long as the sun continues to shine, energy will be released and this can be captured by Solar Panels.
The carbon footprint of solar panels is already quite small, as they last for over 25 years. Plus, the materials used in the panels are increasingly recycled, so the carbon footprint will continue to shrink.
What is solar thermal?Solar thermal is where the energy from the sun is used to heat water. For domestic use, solar thermal panels are installed on a roof facing the sun, and water is passed through the solar panels where is it heated and then it is returned to a hot water cylinder for storage until it is used.
Solar thermal has declined in popularity in the UK, although it is still widely used in Europe. Unlike a Solar PV system, a Solar Thermal requires annual servicing to maintain its efficient working. This adds significantly to the through-life costs of solar thermal.
In addition, significant plumbing work will likely be required, since your existing hot water tank (if you have one) will probably need to be replaced with one suitable for Solar Thermal.
Whether it makes sense to install a solar thermal system probably mostly depends on what your existing method for heating water is.
Interestingly, if you have a big enough hot water tank (at least a 1200 litre tank) and a large enough south facing Solar Thermal array, you can probably use solar thermal to provide 100% of your hot water requirements for the year, even in a British winter. But it wouldn’t be cheap!
An alternative to Solar Thermal is to have a Solar Diverter installed, which uses excess Solar PV (which would otherwise be exported to the grid) to power the immersion heater in your existing hot water tank (if you have one).
Third Party InsuranceBrimstone Energy has appropriate insurance to cover possible third-party damage, in the unlikely event that any of our activities in supplying a small-scale energy generation system to you cause damage to your property.
Deposit InsuranceYour deposit is insured so that you can get your money back if we cannot deliver your equipment because we have gone out of business. Any money you give us up-front will be placed in a separate ring-fenced client account and only transferred to our main business account to pay for goods and services associated with your contract.
WarrantiesCustomers benefit from several types of warranty with their system.
Workmanship warranty / system warrantyIn the unlikely event that there is something wrong with the way that your Solar Panels or Home Storage Battery has been installed, Brimstone Energy Ltd provide a workmanship warranty for 5 years.
Manufacturers warrantyYour Solar Panels benefit warranties provided by the manufacturer. Manufacturers always offer 2 forms of warranty. One is the product warranty, and the other is the performance warranty.
Product Warranty. The product warranty relates to the product itself, and whether it functions as intended during the warranty period. This will usually be for a minimum of 12 years, but some manufacturers offer up to 25 years.
Performance Warranty. The performance warranty relates to the expected performance of the product after a certain time period. The performance of solar panels degrades over time. This degradation follows a predictable path. A performance warranty will specify that – for instance – at year 25 the panel will achieve a certain percentage of its “nominal output”. An industry standard warranty would state that at year 25 output will be 84.8% of nominal output.
It is highly unlikely that you’ll need to claim on these warranties. They are a sign that the panels are robust and will stand the test of time.
To put this another way, no other piece of electrical equipment that you buy will have such long a warranty as your solar panels.
ComplaintsBrimstone Energy Limited aim to deliver a 5-star service to every customer every time. However, on rare occasions, we recognise that there may be times where our customers may not be completely satisfied.
To ensure we are able to put things right as soon as we can, please read our complaints procedure below and we will respond promptly to make things right and ensure complete satisfaction. As soon as possible after the completion of the works, please inspect the work to ensure everything has been carried out to our usual high standards.
Procedure:
- In the unlikely event there is anything you are not completely satisfied with, please contact us as soon as you can in order for us to rectify any problems swiftly.
- Call us on 07971414349.
- Write us at Brimstone Energy Limited, 15 Langley Way, Hemingford Grey, PE28 9DB.
- Email us at support@brimstone-energy.uk
- We aim to respond within 2-3 working days of receiving your complaint and will provide you with a date to remedy any issues raised.
- Where we are unable to resolve your complaint using our own complaints procedure, we handle our dispute resolutions in compliance with the guidance laid out by the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC).
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