How do Solar Panels connect to supply power to the house?

Okey00001

How do solar power acutally work in the home from solar panels?  When they are installed, fitted on the roofs, where is the connection between panels  to power the house?

How does it change from original electrical power supply to the whole house?  Does re-wiring need to be done to connect solar energy to work in the house?

A simple diagram from panel to mains would help too. The only information I have is for installation of solar panels and that it is cheaper.

I have no idea how it actually generates the electricity in the house!

QrizB

Okey00001 said:

How do solar power acutally work in the home from solar panels?  When they are installed, fitted on the roofs, where is the connection between panels  to power the house?

Kinda like this (a 4-panel system, but the same principle applies for larger ones):

How does it change from original electrical power supply to the whole house?  Does re-wiring need to be done to connect solar energy to work in the house?

A simple system doesn't involve any re-wiring, and doesn't change any of the wiring to the rest of the house. The solar panels connect into your consumer unit as a new dedicated circuit.
When the sun shines, electricity flows from the solar power system into your consumer unit. It replaces some or all of the electricity coming from the grid. Any shortfall is made up (imported) from the grid; any excess flows back out (exported) to the grid.

Okey00001

That's great thanks!

Okey00001

Good to see how it works without major disruption.

Seen an estimate online £8000 approx for 4 panels which is a lot of money upfront. I wonder if this is really cost saving in the UK considering sunlight is mainly in the summer. How many years before I reap any benefits.Does it increase the value of the house?

MWT

Okey00001 said:

Seen an estimate online £8000 approx for 4 panels which is a lot of money upfront.

That is not going to be for 4 panels, it might be for 4kWp which would typically be 10-12 panels and should include a small storage battery as well for that price.

MattMattMattUK

MWT said:

Okey00001 said:

Seen an estimate online £8000 approx for 4 panels which is a lot of money upfront.

That is not going to be for 4 panels, it might be for 4kWp which would typically be 10-12 panels and should include a small storage battery as well for that price.

If you have seen what has happened to the cost of solar installs at the moment that probably does not include a battery. Most of the installers seem to be considerably more expensive than last year. A friend was going to install 6kW of panels last year but delayed, the price is now £3k higher.

brewerdave

Okey00001 said:

Good to see how it works without major disruption.

Seen an estimate online £8000 approx for 4 panels which is a lot of money upfront. I wonder if this is really cost saving in the UK considering sunlight is mainly in the summer. How many years before I reap any benefits.Does it increase the value of the house?

Payback ? - Dependent on where you are in UK and the direction of your roof -also how much of the generated power you can make use of - can be anything from 7 years to  ??years.
Can be a problem when you come to sell - some mortgage providers apparently don't like them, mainly because some installations are badly done and can adversely affect the stability of the roof. 
You are better off asking such questions in the specialist forum on Green matters       Green & Ethical MoneySaving — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Alnat1

You are reaping the benefits as soon as the system is installed as you'll start using the "free" electricity from the roof instead of importing from the grid.

If you have the money available to install solar then try and find out as much as you can about it first, do lots of research. Many are now adding battery storage into the system. The battery charges up during the day and your household can use the power overnight. How much electric do you use annually in kWh? Is your roof big enough, which way does it face, is it shaded during the day?

Ectophile

If the installer doesn't like the look of your existing consumer unit, or if it's obsolete and you can't get the breakers for it any more, then an alternative is a separate mini consumer unit added in next to the existing one.

Bhavv

I was quoted 6K for 2.5kw panels 4 years ago and refused as I wouldn't make that back in over 30 years based on the rates back then.

And it turns out the new Eco4 scheme is only for houses below energy rating D so that also rules me out.

You would think it would be a good idea for the government to continue to offer solar incentives to all homeowners especially in the current climate, but ofc they don't really care about people that can't afford them.

[Deleted User]

Bhavv said:

I was quoted 6K for 2.5kw panels 4 years ago and refused as I wouldn't make that back in over 30 years based on the rates back then.

And it turns out the new Eco4 scheme is only for houses below energy rating D so that also rules me out.

You would think it would be a good idea for the government to continue to offer solar incentives to all homeowners especially in the current climate, but ofc they don't really care about people that can't afford them.

The costs of these schemes are added to consumer bills: Governments of any colour have to decide how best the money added to consumer bills should be used. Should it be for domestic solar; heat pumps; insulation; EV charging points etc? Is it fair to support those who have a property that can take solar properties and disadvantage those who live, say, in an apartment? 

FWiW, I doubt that solar panel installers are struggling to find work at the moment. Even without Government support, PV solar panels are a good investment.