DNO stands for Direct Network Operator, and it’s just a posh way of saying: “the company that supplies the electricity cables for my area”. You can find out who your DNO is for your area by visiting this page: https://www.nationalgrid.com/electricity-transmission/contact-us/who-is-my-distribution-network-operator

kWh stands for kiloWatt hours, (also known as “electricity units”, or just units) and it’s a measure of how much energy can be stored in your battery. By way of a quick example: if you have a full 8.2kWh battery, then it’s storing 8.2kWh, or 8.2 units of energy. If you have an electric oven that uses 2kW of power, then you could run it for around 4 hours from the battery: 2kW x 4 hours = 8kWh

kW stands for kiloWatts, and is a measure of the power of something. So a 2.4kW kettle uses 2.4kW of power.  Why is this useful to know? Well, let’s say you have the kettle on for half an hour in total every day, then it will use this many units: 2.4kW x 0.5 hours = 1.2kWh or 1.2 units of electricity. By adding up the total kWh of all of your appliances, you can begin to see how much total energy you use in a day, and this will influence how much battery storage you’ll need, and the total number of panels to be placed on your roof.

SEG stands for Smart Export Guarantee, and is just a posh way of saying: How much you’ll be paid by a utility company if you export your excess energy to the grid. At the moment, this is a tiny fraction of the cost you pay for importing energy, so it’s a much better idea to store any excess your panels produce with a battery backup, so that you can use it when it’s cloudy, or when the Sun isn’t up in the sky.

Yes, definitely, as you might need to charge your vehicle when the sun isn’t shining.

To ensure the electricity grid is protected from sudden power surges, The DNO needs to assess if your installation fits within their limits. Usually this is a straightforward process.

DNK Renewables Ltd does this, included as standard as part of your installation.

If you want to export excess power to the grid, you’ll definitely need a smart meter. Some utility providers might require a smart meter regardless - email or call your provider to double check.

The latest generation of panels are around 20% efficient or more, and their efficiency decreases very slowly with age; most panels have a 20 year guarantee of 80% of their original output. So if you purchased a 400W panel today, in 20 years time it will still be producing 320W, and therefore still beneficial to reducing your energy consumption.  

Because solar PV panels have no moving parts, they should still be outputting meaningful power even after 30 years, and in most cases even longer. 

A modern Lithium Iron Phosphate battery is typically guaranteed to produce its rated capacity for typically 5000 to 6000 complete discharge cycles, when charged to 80% of its maximum. By way of a quick example: if you purchased 10.4kWh of FoxESS batteries, and charged them up every day to 8.32kWh (which is 80% of the maximum), then they should last you between 13 to 16 years without any performance loss. After that period of time, they’ll operate at reduced capacity - typically giving you 70 to 80% of their original maximum - so still very useable! 

We will run through our recommendations based on both your current day/night time usage, total annual usage, and expected future changes. For example, if you know you’ll be getting an electric vehicle in the next 7 months, or purchasing an air or ground sourced heat pump, then we’ll make a different recommendation than just looking at your current usage alone.

It means that when the sun is shining directly above the panel and the panel’s temperature is at around 20 degrees celsius, then it should output 400W of power.

In most cases its advisable to add battery storage at the same time as having solar panels installed, because otherwise you’ll potentially lose 50-70% of the power generated to the grid.

If you know there are pigeons in your area, we can provide pigeon guards to prevent this from happening.

Yes, modern Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are very safe.

In most cases, batteries and inverters will come with a 10 year warranty, and panels will come with a 20 year performance warranty. We provide all warranty information as part of your installation.

Many companies are now providing 10 year standard manufacturer’s warranties, and in addition a performance warranty that guarantees that the battery will perform over a 10 or even 15 year period. Do ask us for specifics if that’s something we can help with.

A modern solar inverter comes in two main flavours:

• A standard “Grid tie” inverter

• A Hybrid inverter

Both types take DC voltage from your panels and convert it to AC so that it can be used by your home. The main difference with the hybrid inverter is that it also converters DC voltage from your batteries to AC, and can charge them up (either from solar power, or from the Grid).

It’s a device that minimizes the impact that partial shading can have on a solar panel’s power output.If you have a chimney that partially shades your panels, for example, then we can install optimizers for those particular panels, which significantly improves the total performance of your panel array.

The short answer is that if you can take advantage of cheaper night-time tariffs (either Economy 7, or some other similar night-time tariff that your supplier might provide), then your inverter can charge up your batteries whilst you’re asleep, and then during the daytime, when you switch on your kettle, toaster etc, the inverter will take that stored power and use it, instead of pulling in the more expensive daytime power from the Grid. 

There are many different scenarios where one inverter or set of panels will be more suitable for your energy usage, so it’s very helpful that we can help provide a solution that tailored to your current and future needs.

Give us a call on 01709862026, or you can email us on [email protected]

If you’re not sure what you need to order, and you’re in a hurry, then do give us a call on 01709862026, or you can email us on [email protected]

Yes, our MCS Certification Number is: NIC-600239

Yes, our HIES Membership Number is: DNK/A/0809

Yes, our VAT number is: 404790991 Remember that if you’re purchasing a solar & battery installation before 2027, then there is 0% VAT to pay, which is great news.

Our company number is: 6581635

We’re focused on delivering a solution that is properly priced, and with treating our customers the way we’d like to be treated. There’s never any “magic” to finding a good company, but we’re aiming to be still operating in 20 years time, so we fully understand the importance of making our customers happy. We don’t use referral schemes or employ a sales team, and this reduces the overall prices significantly. If you have any questions, then do give us a call on 01709862026, or you can email us on [email protected]