Roof mounted solar panel installations on houses:

• The solar PV array must not protrude more than 200mm above the roof line;
• The solar PV array must not be higher than the highest part of the roof excluding chimneys;
• The solar PV array must not face onto or be visible from the highway if located within a conservation area or a world heritage site;
• As far as practicable the array should be sited to minimise the effect on the external appearance of the building.

Roof mounted solar panel Installations on garages / sheds / stables and other outbuildings:

Assuming that the outbuildings are already built and they are located within the curtilage of a residential property such as barns, garages, sheds and other outbuildings the installation of a solar PV system is classified as 'permitted development' with the same conditions applicable as to houses (see above).

Ground Mounted Installations

The installation of small ground Mounted solar PV systems comes under 'permitted development' when:

• The solar PV array must be no more than 4m high;
• The solar PV array must be installed more than 5m from the property boundary;
• The size of the solar PV array must not exceed 9m sq (4-5 large solar panels);
• The solar PV array must not face onto or be visible from the highway if located within a conservation area or a world heritage site.

Ground mounted systems of greater than 9m sq (4-5 large solar panels) will require planning permission.

Solar PV Canopies & Solar PV Carport Installations

The installation of solar PV canopies and carports may or may not come under 'permitted development' depending on the nature and size of the installation and the local authority.

In general, considerations when building solar PV carports and canopies to be aware of include:

• Carport and canopies should be open on at least two sides;
• The carport or canopy should not extend further than the front of the house;
• The carport or canopy should have a coverage of under 30m2;
• The carport or canopy should be under 4m high (highest point);
• The carport or canopy should be no wider than half the width of the original house;
• The carport or canopy should only be used for residential purposes i.e not used for conducting business;
• The carport or canopy should not take up more than 50% of the available outside space.

In all cases, as so much comes down to interpretation, we advise contacting the local authority before commissioning work on bespoke structures such as solar PV canopies & carports.

Commercial Roofspace solar panel installations

• Pitched roofs: The solar PV array must not protrude more than 200mm above the roof line;
• Flat Roofs: The highest part of the solar PV array must be less than 1m higher than the highest part of the roof (excluding any chimney);
• The PV array must be sited more than 1m away from the external edges of the roof;
• As far as practicable the PV array should be sited to minimise the effect on the external appearance of the building.

Ground mounted installations on commercial, agricultural or industrial land

The installation of commercial ground Mounted solar PV systems only comes under 'permitted development' when:

• The solar PV array is no more than 4m high;
• The solar PV array is installed more than 5m from the property boundary;
• The size of the solar PV array does not exceed 9m sq (4-5 large large panels);
• The solar PV array does not face onto or be visible from the highway if located within a conservation area or a world heritage site.

As most commercial solar PV system installation are much bigger than 9m sq, planning permission will be required for commercial ground mounted solar PV systems in nearly all cases.

Commercial solar PV canopies & carports

Planning permission is required before building carports, canopies, smoking shelters and other PV mounting structures that will serve commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings.

Deliveries to anywhere in the UK are quick, tracked and accurate, technical support (by phone and on site if needed) and design/product advice is available before, during and after installation. The recording and collating of serial numbers, factory and other test results, manuals any other information required for equipment warranties, add ons and extensions is included.

Trade, DIY and Retail Clients Welcome.

A whole house surge protector is installed to provide protection from transient overvoltages originating from the mains/grid. A whole house surge protector is installed directly inline and as close as possible to the incoming mains/grid supply meter, this allows for surge protection for all circuits and equipment including solar inverters, routers, stereos and other sensitive electrical equipment within the network. The addition of a 100Amp lockable isolator also allows for safe and convenient isolation of all electrical equipment within the network including consumer units, solar inverters, battery storage units and EV chargers from the mains/grid in one place.

Surge protectors are in compliance with the recently updated 18th edition amendment 2 of BS7671.

DC surge protection devices (SPDs) are installed between the solar panels and the solar inverter to protect both the solar inverter and the downstream electrical equipment from transient overvoltages of an atmospheric origin impacting the electrical system via the DC side of the system / the solar panels.

DC Surge protectors are in compliance with the recently updated 18th edition amendment 2 of BS7671.

Engineering Recommendation G98

Grid Connections for Micro-Generators including Solar PV Systems and Electricity Storage Systems in the UK. Under 16Amps Per Phase, grid synchronised.

BSI - PAS 63100:2024 - Protection Against Fire of Battery Energy Storage Systems for use in Dwellings

This Publically Available Specification (PAS) from the British Standards Institution (BSI) was sponsored by The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Although not yet a British Standard, this guidance was developed in response to an urgent demand for clarity as to good practice across the industry including product, service and process standards.

How to provide backup power to a house using a portable generator

In this article we show you how to provide backup power to your home using a portable diesel, petrol or LPG backup generator. We look at changeover switches, the importance of earthing, backup generator loadings, how to isolate non essential loads. We ask where to locate the backup generator when it's in operation, how best to safely isolate the grid/mains power supply and switch to a backup generator supply.

Ground Faults, Isolation (ISO) Faults, RISO Low Faults and Insulation Resistance Faults with Solar PV Systems

After a number of years exposed to wind, rain, snow, ice and sometimes animals; solar panel systems can start to develop faults. The most common faults we find related to exposure are ground faults, isolation (ISO) faults, RISO low faults and insulation resistance faults. In this article we take a look at what these faults are, the possible causes and what steps are taken to identify and resolve them.