Ownership of your Solar PV system is linked to the installation site. This means that in the case of a change of ownership of your home or other building, the ownership of the installed technology would transfer to the new owner.
FiT eligiblity stays with the installation. If the system is already registered for FiTs then the ownership should be transferred to you. If the system is not registered for FiTs, it may be eligible to be registered if it meets certain criteria.
It is up to the landlords and tenants of both domestic and commercial properties to come to an agreement about the reciept of payments and on-site electricity use benefits. However, whilst the tenant will benefit from the free electricity being consumed as that cannot be transferred to another property, the landlord is the normal recipient of the tariff payments.
The generation of the system must be metered and the FiTs payments are made on the basis of metered generation. A generation meter will be fitted as part of your installation and will meter how much electricity (kWh) has been generated by your system.
An export meter, or smart meter will record how much of the unused electricity (kWh) has been exported back to the grid. On smaller systems this is not compulsory as yet and the DECC has provided for the time being for export tariffs to be deemed (estimated) until the specification for smart meters are finalised or if an export meter is already present or if installed at the generater's expense.
Yes you can. However you will have to sign a declaration stating that all of the electricity generated on site will be used and not wasted.
No. Your photovoltaic system uses daylight to generate electricity and only produces electricity during daylight hours. You will still need to purchase electricity from grid supply through your electricity supplier at night.
In addition, the amount of electricity your system produces during daylight hours will vary on the size (kWp) of your system and what your electricity usage is during daylight hours along with how much your system is generating at that time. If you have a smaller system, say 1.1kWp and you are in all day using lots of appliances it is likely that you will still use electricity from the grid. However, if you have a larger system, for example 3.76kWp and are out all day at work and therefore using minimal electricity it is likely that you will not be needing to purchase electricity from the grid. It is worthwhile remembering that using energy efficient appliances and turning them off if possible (eg television, computers, dvd player etc) will all assist in reducing your electricity bill.
You should always ensure that you read the terms and conditions of the electricity supplier that you are registering your installation so that you are aware of any specific clauses that would commit you to them for a set period of time, or if in any doubt to contact them direct. However changing supplier should not be an issue. In addition you do not have to register with your current provider for the FiT scheme who will be paying you the generation tariff. With regards to the export tariff, the registration form will ask you if you want to 'opt in' or 'opt out'. This means that you have the option to sell this payment (currently 3.1p per kWh) to the company you are registering with or if you wish to sell the electricity to someone else. At present there is no competition on prices for purchasing exported electricity but this may change in the future. You will have the opportunity once a year on the anniversary of your installation to 'opt in' or 'opt out'.
We are often asked this question in the showroom and people have visions of having to dash home to flick a switch before their freezer defrosts. This is not the case at all and there is no disruption to your supply whatsoever for grid connected installations. Once the system stops generating at sunset electricity will automatically be drawn from the grid. This will also happen if your consumption of electricity during daylight hours exceeds the generation of the system.
Your generation meter will display how much electricity has been generated by your PV installation since commissioning and this will be where you take your readings from when you submit meter readings to your electricity supplier. Some inverters have a display panel which tells you what the system is generating and there is also a wide choice of monitoring systems available.
Whilst the majority of customers cannot take their eyes of their generation meter or monitoring system we do strongly recommend that you check regularly the generation of the system as this will show you that the system is generating well and also show if the system is not functioning correctly. If this is the case then you can contact us immediately and we can check if the system is working correctly and take any remedial action if necessary to ensure the system is up and running again as soon as possible. Please note that this is not a regular occurrence but like everything nothing is fail safe and it is always beneficial to take precautionary measures.
The great thing about solar photovoltaics is that it uses daylight and not specifically sun light. Whilst you will generate more in the summer months when the sun is at its strongest and daylight hours are longer, you will also generate electricity during the winter months or more cooler and cloudier days but generation will be reduced during the winter months due to decreased daylight hours.
The specialist software specification that we provide in your quote will show a bar chart detailing the estimated generation of your system during each month of the year which will provide you with an idea of how generation differs throughout the year.
Yes. We provide a 5 year guarantee for our workmanship and we also provide you with manufacturer warranties for the main components of your system such as the modules and inverter. Manufacturer's warranties differ but you will always be provided this information in your quote pack which is detailed on the technical data sheets enclosed for the products we include in our quote. Extended warranties are available from the manufacturers for many products.
Most solar photovoltaic module manufacturers provide a warranty of 25 years but the actual working lifetime can be 40 years and beyond. The lifetime will vary from system to system but it is designed to last the duration of the Feed in Tariff scheme. Once 25 years have passed your system will continue to generate electricity (the efficiency will decrease over time) for you but we cannot guarantee that there will be another incentive scheme such as FiTs.