What are solar panels?
Solar panels are a green way of making energy in this eco
driven world. It is one of the most popular green ways to power homes and uses
the sun’s rays to produce electricity. The power is fed into your home and used
throughout the day. Sometimes batteries are installed to harness excess power
for when the sun isn’t shining, at night. Some electricity companies let you
feed you excess power into the national grid and they pay you for what you
supply so not only are solar panels good for the environment but also for your
pocket! Here’s my insight into the world of installing solar panels.
Location
More than likely solar panel will be installed on your roof.
Think about it logically as your roof up high, away from obstructions and more
importantly is hit by the sun for most of the day. Sometimes this isn’t
possible but the higher the better. Try to have them south facing as this will
ensure you maximise the amount of sunlight hitting your solar panels and it
will increase the productivity of them, this is important if you plan on
feeding some into the national grid!
Before You Begin
As with any project safety should be paramount! If you are
working on your roof then ensure you have the correct ladder and safety
equipment in place to help you prevent injury. You need to make sure the area
you are working on is clean and tidy and you have all the tools and supplies
you need to complete the job as you wouldn’t want to waste time and constantly
be up and down a ladder looking for your tools.
The Installation
The installation is pretty simple when you look into it in
more detail. Solar panels are mounted on a frame to ensure they don’t slip or
move around while on your roof. Line up your frames with the roof rafters to
ensure you are securing them to something solid. This is extremely important as
solar panels aren’t cheap and if they fall you might as well just cry because
of the money you lost.
When you have finished marking your rafters then it’s time
to secure them. Using the fixings provided secure them to the correct tension
and give them a little pull to be 100% sure they are not going anywhere. Now
the easy bit!
The solar panels should just clip onto the frames, sometimes
its better if you can get someone to help you with this as it can be tricky
trying to support the solar panel and line it up with the frame. Make sure you
are careful of any wires and you know where they are as you don’t want them
trapped underneath.
Finishing the Job
This part you should get a qualified electrician to do as it
involves your electric supply. They will connect the solar panels output wires
to your home’s fuse box and the solar energy will start powering your home
straight away! Make sure you clean up after yourself and remove all you tools
from the roof as you wouldn’t want them falling if they should ever slide off.
Platinum Energy Solutions provide Solar Panels in Manchester and Liverpool, we are solar panel specialists based in the UK.
