A solar panel system needs hardly any maintenance at all – they even self-clean when it rains. A quick washdown with a hose a few times a year will shift any other dirt or dust. Zero expense and no need to call an expert out.

No. No red tape, no hassle – a solar panel system doesn’t need any special permission from your local authority to be fitted onto your home.

The only exception to this is if you live in a listed building or live in a designated Conservation Area or World Heritage site. Even then, you can still have solar panels installed – they need fitting onto a roof that isn’t visible from a road. Read more in our in-depth guide.

There’s a big difference between sunlight and daylight. Solar panels need daylight to generate power – not the sun’s rays.

This means you can still generate power even on cloudy days. In fact, less direct sunlight can be beneficial – too much heat can reduce the power solar panels capture by up to 25%.

Source: cedgreentech.com/article/how-does-heat-affect-solar-panel-efficiencies

You don’t have to add a smart solar battery. However, without one you will only be able to use the energy your new PV panels generate for your home at the time it is generated. When there is no solar energy to tap into, your energy supply will revert back to the Grid. A smart solar battery stores your energy ready so you can use it or store it for when you need it. How it works.

During your free home survey, one of our solar energy specialists will assess your home and rooftop – this will determine what your solar panel system options are and how many PV panels you need to produce sufficient energy for your household.

We can also give you a good idea of how much money you could make by trading your solar energy on the Grid.

By generating and using your own solar energy – instead of power from the National Grid – you can make significant savings on your electricity bills. The Energy Saving Trust calculator estimates that a typical 4kWp solar panel system can knock between £500-£700 off your annual bill with the Smart Export Guarantee SEG depending on where you live.

Using battery storage alongside your solar panels can further increase your savings – because a battery will store the surplus energy that you produce, so you can use it when the sun goes down instead of drawing it from the Grid.

*Example of annual savings based in Manchester with SEG (Sept 2020): energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-energy/electricity/solar-panels