Bright Spark help local residents save on their electricity bills

We were contacted by Dr Smith to design and install a Solar PV system at their home in Horsham, West Sussex.

As a very energy conscious household, the Smith’s main focus was to be able to generate their own electricity in order to reduce the properties electricity usage throughout the day and the impact this would have on the environment, as well saving on their electricity bills. They had wanted Solar Panels for many years, but with an east/west facing roof they never thought it would be beneficial as they thought that solar panels could only be installed on a south facing roof.

Panel efficiency has come along way over the years and at Bright Spark we do install East/West systems to maximise the morning and evening sun. Our design for this PV system was also to a very high specification with commercial quality equipment.

The quotation was evaluated and agreed by the owners who were keen to start installation as soon as possible.

Installation

We installed a 4KWp Solar PV system using Jinko Solar Panels and a hybrid Solis 4G Single Phase Inverter. Eight solar panels were installed on each side of the roof to balance the system. We also installed bird netting and a MyEnergi EDDI system to use solar energy to heat water during the day.

The installation was planned to be completed over a 2 day period, however, the great British summer weather had other ideas and we had to down tools halfway through day 1 due to extreme downpours. But luckily the sun was back the next day and we could carry on. Overall, there was minimum impact to the clients and noise levels were kept to a minimum.

In a move to reduce our carbon footprint, we decided to install solar panels despite our roof facing largely West and East. Following a review of several suppliers and discussions with friends who already had panels, we invited two companies to conduct a free survey and make recommendations to meet our needs. Bright Spark Energy was one of these.

Both companies responded quickly to our request. Bright Spark Energy offered a 4.27kW 14 panel system with initial surplus power fed to our hot water tank prior to exporting to the grid. They also informed us of the Smart Export Guarantee proposal to be implemented next year whereby your utility provider pays you for power exported to the grid. The other company proposed a 6kW system with battery to enable power to be sold at variable rate depending on time of day. They also offered additional controls to our gas boiler, thermostat and a voltage stabiliser.

The price quoted by Bright Spark was close to that advised by Which Magazine, while the quote from the other company was twice that amount. Bright Spark answered all our questions such as the relative merits of including a battery, details of the efficiency of the panels to be fitted, the best configuration for our roof orientation and Apps available to monitor output. During installing, they discovered a rotten batten in the roof which they replaced without charge. The workmanship was of high standard and they cleaned up any mess as they went along. They also returned to adjust the monitoring system. Monitoring the output since the installation in early September we have had a maximum daily output of 18.7kWh and a minimum of 5.2kWh and an average daily output of 12.8kWh.

We are very satisfied with the work, advice and support provided by Bright Spark Energy.

Dr T Smith