Solar panels and storage

Solar panels are generally suitable for most homes and the team of experts from Egg are on hand to use satellite images to talk things through with you over the phone.

However, some of the most common reasons a home would not be suitable are:

• not enough roof space (an 8-panel system requires a space of 2 small car parking spaces)
• roof is in a state of disrepair or very unstable
• roof is thatched or natural stone
• very uneven roof or lots of obstacles (like lots of skylights or dormer windows)

If you are not sure - contact Egg and they will be able to talk you through.

In many instances, the installation of solar panels is covered by the General Permitted Development Order and therefore does not require planning permission.

However, you should check with your local planning authority if you live in any of the following areas:

• conservation area
• area of outstanding natural beauty
• national park
• live in a listed building

A battery storage system is a great way to ensure that you store any excess energy you generate from your solar panels to use later in the day when you need it – for example, in the evening when the sun has gone down.

This is especially beneficial if you’re not using as much energy during the day when your solar panels are generating energy, a battery makes sure you don’t lose out on that hard earned green energy – as without a battery, if you don’t use your solar energy it gets lost to the electricity grid. This means you’d instead have to rely on more expensive, less green energy from energy suppliers instead.

Installing a battery at the same time as your new solar panels means your battery qualifies for the same VAT rate as solar (instead of 20%) – so getting them together gives you an extra smart saving! 

All of the home battery options from Egg come with an app which allows you to monitor the performance of your solar and battery system, including a live view of how power is moving between your solar panels, your battery, and your home!

Installation will be carried out by an Egg qualified installion team.

Solar panel installations will almost always require scaffolding to allow the team to safely access the roof. An installation job will generally run over a day or two and involves securely fixing your new panels to your roof, wiring up all the associated cables, and then setting up your inverter (which is what takes the electricity generated by your panels and turns it into electricity that can be used in your home).

Once that’s all complete, Egg installers will talk you through a detailed handover and also set you up with a solar monitoring app so you can track how much clean energy you’re generating through the year.