2Kw Solar PV Installation, 3 bed Semi-detached Property

The Property

A 3 bed Semi detached house in a small Warwickshire village occupied by a family with 2 adult sons, the property has been extended to the rear and the loft space converted to a room. The front aspect is south facing with uninterrupted sun from sunrise through to late evening.
The owners were keen to have a solar PV system to cover about half their annual usage which ran at around 4000Kwh per annum. Following detailed discussion with AeT on several options a 2Kw system was chosen, generating a ‘conservatively’ estimated 1600 KWh per annum. which would occupy about 50% of the area of the front roof elevation.

System Schematic

The main system components would be 10 off 200w PV Solar panels with a 2500w G83 grid connect inverter.

Site Survey

From initial survey AeT decided to place the panels centrally on the roof area. The DC cables would feed into the roof space, pass internally (and hidden) through the house then into the garage. This would keep the DC cable runs to a minimum, thus minimising any power losses. The inverter and associatedcontrols and isolators would be positioned close to the existing consumer unit and meter in the garage to ensuring ease and safety of any subsequent system maintenance and electrical work on the property.

The PV panels and mounting frame would add about 250Kg to the roof, considering that a loft conversion already existed on a traditional ‘site built’ purlin and rafters roof, AeT commissioned a structural survey on the roof accounting for the additional loading.

The survey identified the need for additional 100mm square supports from internal supporting walls to the purlins. Even with these supports in place the panels could not be placed centrally but needed to be positioned to the left hand side of the roof from the party line with the adjoining property.

Complete Roof Installation

Wiring and system commissioning

All wiring was carried out by a qualified electrician following 17th edition regulations including the supplement encompassing Small Scale Embedded Generators (SSEG’s). DC cable connection to the isolator was made at night with no current being generated from the PV panels. The system was fully tested as part of the commissioning process and all relevant data recorded for future reference.