Ludlow, Shropshire

Seeing that the technology behind solar power generation had matured over the past 20 years, Dr Steve Hall, himself a technologist, decided to explore which were the best products on the market.  After much research, Steve selected SolarEdge based on advanced monitoring and optimisation capabilities.

Then came the electricity price rise of 2022 with ensuing volatility so Steve decided to find a solar installer with SolarEdge expertise and one that was local to him in Shropshire. Solarkinetics based in Hereford fitted the bill being a SolarEdge Advanced Installer with many years’ experience.

“I checked out the reviews on the company and that gave me the reassurance I needed. They weren’t cowboys but were a professional outfit who cared about their customers. Having a 5 year warranty on workmanship was a definite plus too,” said Steve.

After an initial quote, Gordon Yule from Solarkinetics did an on-site survey and as part of the solar system recommended battery storage with a SolarEdge 9.7kWh Energy Bank. “I wanted to maximise self-usage so being able to store the power we’d generated during the day for use later on made perfect sense,” continued Steve.

The system Solarkinetics installed comprised 12 x 405W REC Twin Peak 5 solar panels, a SolarEdge 3.68kW Home Hub Inverter plus the battery bank. “My experience with Solarkinetics has been very positive, from Gordon who was informative to the installation team who were friendly and a pleasure to have on-site. The fact that the install was brought forward so I could have it up and running before Christmas was an added bonus.”

Steadily increasing electricity prices in the first half of 2022 were a wake up call to consider reviewing the way electricity was being used in the home, the use of more energy efficient appliances and ultimately the generation of power. It was the installation of solar panels on a neighbour’s property that was the catalyst for considering a solar installation, especially after realising that a Southwest facing roof would be appropriate.

“After some initial research into solar energy systems I decided to approach a number of installers to get quotations for a suitable domestic installation and Solarkinetics was subsequently chosen,” commented our client. “I felt that the personnel from Solarkinetics were professional, knowledgeable and helpful in designing an installation that was wholly adequate for the property using quality equipment. Whilst not essential it was good to know that the REC solar panels were not made in China!”

The installation mainly comprised 16 x 405W REC Twinpeak black solar panels, a SolarEdge 5Kw inverter and a SolarEdge Energy Bank 10kW battery.

“Scaffolding was required to ensure the panels could be installed on the southwest facing slate roof. Installation was completed with the least amount of disruption; the necessary cabling being installed to be as unobtrusive as possible.”

“All the calculations indicated a significantly better return by way of reduced electricity costs compared to a fixed investment return from a Building Society. Whilst the initial installer’s calculations indicated a payback in 11 years this was based on a very modest rate for export of surplus energy to the Grid. On the basis of current actual rates offered by Octopus Energy payback is expected to be sooner.”