Archives: FAQs

We are currently working with five local installers, who between them, cover the whole of Cumbria. We can support anyone who wants a quote – please visit Solar Made Easy – CAfS.

If you wish to proceed independently, we would recommend that you look out for the following when you seek quotes : 

• Are they MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) accredited? You can search for installers in Cumbria here. 
• Are they a member of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code? 
• Do they have good reviews? 

Check their quote includes: 

• A realistic estimation of electricity generation and percentage of electricity that is likely to be used. 
• A financial assessment of savings over time and estimated payback period. 
• Technical information on the system they are proposing for you. 
• Warranty information. 

Installers may not visit your home initially and may not provide complete information until they are more confident that the job might go ahead. If this is the case, check that this will be done at the next stage before you place the order with them.

Generally speaking, no. This is to protect anyone repairing the line from electricity coming from your panels.

Solar PV systems are not really designed to be back up power systems. This is because the generation is intermittent. Even if you had a battery, it may not be full at the time of the power cut, and the electricity held within it might not last very long.

That said, certain systems can be adapted to work in a power cut. If this is something that is of particular interest to you, make sure you discuss this with your installers at the outset.

If you are installing a large system (your inverter has an output greater than 3.6kW), you need to apply to connect to the national grid (via Electricity North West). This is to ensure that if you are exporting 100% of your electricity at any particular time, the network in your local area can cope with the additional electricity. Your installer should be able to apply on your behalf. Unfortunately, there is often a wait of several weeks before permissions are granted.

There is a possibility that you may be charged for any upgrade works to the grid that are required to enable your electricity to be exported. If this is the case, you can avoid this by asking your installer to set a restriction on the amount of electricity that can be exported, so that it is below the threshold where permission (and the associated network upgrades) are required.

If you have a small system with an inverter with output 3.6kW or less, you do not need permission in advance, but you should notify Electricity North West once the installation is complete. Again, your installer should do this on your behalf.

Generally speaking, no. Installing solar panels is considered to be permitted development (as long as the installation doesn’t extend beyond certain limits). However, for domestic properties, you will need planning permission if “in the case of land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site, the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a wall which fronts a highway”, or if “the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a building within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse or block of flats if the dwellinghouse or block of flats is a listed building”.

For non-domestic properties you will need planning permission if “in the case of a building on article 2(3) land (i.e. land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site), the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a roof slope which fronts a highway”, or if “the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a listed building or on a building within the curtilage of a listed building”. 

See here for more details. See class A for domestic and class J for non-domestic.

There has been a recent government consultation about these rules, so keep an eye out for updates.

There are numerous conservation areas in Cumbria and the Lake District National Park is a World Heritage Site. If you are in doubt, please check the planning advice page on your local planning authority’s website, for Cumbria that is either Cumberland Council or Westmorland & Furness Council. 

Solar PV systems are generally very low maintenance. 

There seems to be a difference of opinion on whether it is necessary to clean panels and you can find advocates for annual cleaning (this could cost £100 – £200) while others say that this isn’t needed in UK conditions (but check more carefully if pigeons roost nearby!). Investigate further before getting this done or trying to do it yourself. 

The amount of time it takes for you to recoup the initial cost of the solar panel system (the payback time) depends on: 

• The amount you paid for your system 
• The amount of electricity that you generate – see more below 
• The amount of generated electricity that you use – see more below 
• How much you pay for your electricity from the national grid via your electricity supplier 
• How much you get paid for electricity that you export (the Smart Export Guarantee, which varies from supplier to supplier) – see more below  

If you can optimise these variables (i.e. a reasonably priced system, good generation, good self-consumption, low rate for buying electricity and high rate for exporting (selling) electricity), your payback could be around 10 years. Once an installer has designed your specific system, payback can be estimated, but will remain difficult to pin down exactly due to the factors that are outside of the installers’ control. 

Yes, and you should shop around for the best electricity tariff. The things to look out for are: 

• Who is charging the lowest unit cost for the electricity that you need to buy from the grid; 
• Who is offering the highest rate for the electricity that you export into the grid? This payment is known as the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payment. As of September 2023 best rate is around 15p per kWh. You do not have to sign up for SEG from your current supplier. You can find SEG rates for different electricity suppliers here; and 
• If you have a battery, are they offering a ‘time of use’ or ‘agile’ tariff? These offer cheaper rates at off-peak times. If you have one of these tariffs, you can charge your battery overnight with cheaper grid electricity and use it during the day to avoid higher day time rates.   

At present, Octopus energy seem to be offering the best tariffs, but keep on the look out for others who might catch up. 

Any excess, over and above what you are using at any time gets automatically exported to the national electricity grid. Conversely, if your panels are not producing enough electricity to power your home the extra needed comes automatically from the grid. You only have to pay for what you take from the grid. 

Solar panels produce most of their electricity in summer and much less in winter, whereas most homes use more electricity in winter and less in summer. On a sunny day in summer your panels could produce 30kWh and not many houses use this amount in a single day. On a dull winter’s day they may produce less than 1kWh.

Typically, for solar panel systems without a battery, you will use about 30% of the electricity that you generate, and the rest will be exported back to the national grid.

If you add a battery, your self-consumption can increase to around 60% as you can store excess electricity generated during the day to use at other times.

Solar panels can be fitted on a variety of different roof coverings. Newer systems can actually replace your tiles or slates and be in-line with the rest of your roof.  

It’s important to think about your roof condition before you install solar. It needs to be able to take the weight of the panels, and you need to be confident that you won’t have to remove the panels after a few years to maintain or replace your roof covering. You can seek an independent roof survey or ask your installer for advice. 

Also do consider whether you have a sufficiently clear space on your roof. If you have lots of dormer windows or chimneys or other features, they can cast shadows and reduce the amount of space available for the panels. An average panel is approximately 1.7m long by 1m wide (although a variety of different sized panels is emerging) and you need to be able install enough in one area to make it worth the cost of scaffolding.