Installation
Every roof penetration is a future leak unless the detail is right
Mounting an array means passing fixings through the weatherproof layer of a building, and the difference…
· 4 min read
Installation
Roofs, inverters, permissions and what goes wrong on the day.
20 articles · page 1 of 2
What the roof has to carry is mostly wind, not weight
Panels add a modest dead load and a considerable uplift force, and it is the force trying to lift the array off the building that governs the fixings.
By Tara Mukherjee · · 4 min read
Installation
The inverter is the part most likely to fail first
It performs the most complex job in the system, contains the components with the shortest service life, and…
· 4 min read
Installation
String length is decided by the coldest morning of the year
A panel produces its highest voltage when it is cold, so the number of panels that may be wired in series…
· 4 min read
Installation
What actually goes wrong on installation day
Most defects in a domestic solar installation are ordinary workmanship failures, and nearly all of them are…
· 4 min read
Installation
An ageing roof should be replaced before the array goes on it
Panels outlive most roof coverings, and removing an array to re-cover the roof underneath costs the access…
· 4 min read
Installation
Access and scaffolding drive more of the price than the panels do
Modules are now among the cheaper parts of an installation, so the cost of a job is set largely by how…
· 4 min read
Installation
Export limitation is how a large array fits a constrained connection
Where the local network cannot accept full output, an inverter can be told to throttle what it sends out…
· 4 min read
Installation
Direct current is the part of a solar system that cannot be switched off
A lit array is live whatever the inverter is doing, and direct-current faults sustain arcs that…
· 4 min read
Installation
The gap behind the panels is doing more work than it looks
Air moving through the cavity between modules and roof carries away heat that would otherwise be paid for…
· 4 min read
Installation
Whether the house has one phase or three changes the whole design
Most homes are fed by a single leg of a three-phase network, and which arrangement arrives at the meter…
· 4 min read
Installation
What an electrician is working out when they look at the consumer unit
Adding generation, storage or a car charger is an electrical question before it is a solar one, and the…
· 4 min read