How Many Solar Panels Does a Reading Home Need?

Three constraints, not one

System size is set by whichever runs out first: usable roof area, your electricity consumption, or what the supply and inverter can sensibly handle. On most Reading homes it is roof area.

Start with your consumption

Find your annual kWh figure on a bill or in your smart meter app. That, plus when you use electricity, is what a designer needs. Sizing to consumption rather than to the maximum the roof will hold is usually the better call — a bigger array that exports most of its output at a low rate is not necessarily better value.

Then the roof

Usable area is the slope minus obstructions and minus edge clearances. A hipped roof, dormers, chimneys and vents all take a bite. This is why remote estimates and survey figures often differ.

What we will not do

Tell you a panel count from a postcode. The quotation you receive will include an MCS performance estimate for your actual roof, and that is the number worth having.