Holme Lacy, Herefordshire

Steadily increasing electricity prices in the first half of 2022 were a wake up call to consider reviewing the way electricity was being used in the home, the use of more energy efficient appliances and ultimately the generation of power. It was the installation of solar panels on a neighbour’s property that was the catalyst for considering a solar installation, especially after realising that a Southwest facing roof would be appropriate.

“After some initial research into solar energy systems I decided to approach a number of installers to get quotations for a suitable domestic installation and Solarkinetics was subsequently chosen,” commented our client. “I felt that the personnel from Solarkinetics were professional, knowledgeable and helpful in designing an installation that was wholly adequate for the property using quality equipment. Whilst not essential it was good to know that the REC solar panels were not made in China!”

The installation mainly comprised 16 x 405W REC Twinpeak black solar panels, a SolarEdge 5Kw inverter and a SolarEdge Energy Bank 10kW battery.

“Scaffolding was required to ensure the panels could be installed on the southwest facing slate roof. Installation was completed with the least amount of disruption; the necessary cabling being installed to be as unobtrusive as possible.”

“All the calculations indicated a significantly better return by way of reduced electricity costs compared to a fixed investment return from a Building Society. Whilst the initial installer’s calculations indicated a payback in 11 years this was based on a very modest rate for export of surplus energy to the Grid. On the basis of current actual rates offered by Octopus Energy payback is expected to be sooner.”