In England, Scotland and Wales you are not required to apply for planning permission for most of the domestic solar panel installations (both heating and electricity). It is important to note, however, that the installation must be below a certain size. If your solar panels protrude more than 200mm, you will need to apply for permission first. There are also other local restrictions that might affect whether you need permission or not; especially in Scotland. For example, when the building is within a conservation area of World Heritage Site. Therefore, it is advised to ask your solar panel installer to check, whether your installation meets all the requirements.

We can fit systems that automatically allow you to run independently in the event of a power cut, however normal solar inverters shut down when they sense that there’s no power from the grid, so that you can’t energise the power lines while engineers are working on them. Ask us about the possibility of fitting an off-grid ready system if that’s what you need.

It’s entirely up to you, but if you have solar panels and are out during the day a very basic rule of thumb would be to multiply your annual generation by 0.5 (multiply by 0.3 if you’re in during the day), then divide that number by 365 to get the battery size in kWh.

For example, say you generate 3650kWh per year from your solar panels and you’re out at work during the day, your recommended battery size would be: (3650 x 0.5) ÷ 365 = 5kWh

If you don’t have solar panels and plan to charge up on cheap rate energy just divide your annual usage in kWh by 365.

A typical domestic battery is 600mm wide and about 200mm deep so will fit easily in a garage, cupboard or loft space.

Potentially you could be in profit immediately with solar and storage adding to the appeal and value of your property, and you will own the system outright so no paperwork to deal with. In addition you could see complete repayment of the cost in as little as five to ten years (depending on energy usage) and you can cash in on the Smart Export Guarantee and get paid for any electricity you don’t use.  As energy prices increase your savings will increase with them, and for electric vehicle and electric heating users the benefits are increased even further.

If you own a second hand electric vehicle, you will also be eligible for the grant provided the application for the grant is made within four months before or after receiving your vehicle..

For the Workplace Charger Scheme first we’d recommend applying for the OLEV/OZEV grant online, and once you’ve been issued the voucher (which is valid for 6 months) send it to us and we’ll arrange a convenient date to come and fit your charger.

For the Homecharge Scheme you just need to fill out a form and we will apply for you.

Once the charger has been fitted and set up we’ll put together a handover pack which includes the instruction manual, Electrical Installation Certificate, Part P building notification, DNO notification, a handover certificate and any warranties, and we’ll also invoice the job at this point.

This video covers many of the things you might need to consider when having an EV charger fitted, very useful and well worth a watch.