Smart Export Guarantee on larger domestic systems

tamste

I am contemplating having solar installed on my home. We have a large roof (bungalow) which is SE and SW facing, are of the gas grid, and heat using storage heaters.

As we are likely to be heavy users of electricity (calculated ~15,000 kW/year based on previous owners bills, though he did have an EV so I have already taken 2,000 kW off the estimated use), we can import on E7 at cheap rate and export during the day at higher rate, which cuts our payback time for the solar system however, I noted that the most recent update on the solar panel guide on MSE says:

• To qualify you need certified PV solar panels with a capacity of five megawatts or less

  To qualify to receive payments from energy suppliers through the smart export guarantee, you'll need:

  • Solar panels with a capacity of five megawatts or less.
    
    
  • Solar panels that are certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.
    
    
  • A smart meter that can track how much solar electricity you export, and send this automatically to your supplier every half hour.

  Unfortunately, if you have solar thermal panels, you can't get the smart export guarantee. Solar thermal, which allows you to heat water and can cut down heating bills, isn't covered. 

I am considering having either a 15.7 or 19.1 kWh fitted with calculated annual yield of 14,700 kWh or 17610 kWh, thus way in excess of the 5 mW if I have my sums right? Is the 5 megawatts an actual limit for the scheme?

pete-20-11

They’re talking about declared net capacity I believe, not annual yield. 

So unless your roof is as big as Buckingham Palace you should be fine.