We're definitely not just putting panels on roofs willy-nilly. We are definitely looking at when they're going to be using them, and where they're going to get the maximum benefit. We're trying to match it up with their consumption as best we can, or their future consumption requirements. So potentially we might be looking at a growing family. At what time of day will they be coming home into their house, and who don't necessarily want to put everything on North roofs, we might want to put more on the West roof. There are other factors sometimes not within our control, but for example, if we have a feed-in tariffs that are greater in the afternoons, perhaps having it on the Western roof is a better option. And even East roofs, we might look at East roofs. If they have a family and there's a big usage in the morning in that period before mid day, well, despite it not being the best orientation for maximum yield during the day, it might be the right orientation for this particular family.
The time of day is a very important consideration. The traditional solar equation might suggest that that goes on your North roof, get the maximum amount of sunlight hours. That's not always the best situation if you're going off to work and not using electricity during the day. Sometimes it's best to orient those on the West or even the East roof and make use of the sun that's coming in the morning and the afternoon, before you go and when you come back from work. That being said, if you consider ways of being able to put your usage into the daylight hours. So if you can programme your dishwasher or your washing machine to come on during the day, there is definitely a way of making best use of the solar gain, rather than feeding it back into the grid, the feeding tariff being less than the charge. We are certainly not in the business of putting on systems that we don't believe are the right system for the house, whether it be that now for their present needs or for their future needs.
We have a great reputation and we do that without trying to flog product onto people that's unnecessary. And that's why we look at the whole picture, rather than just trying to put a system that's too large for a household, or conversely, a system that's too small.
Does the time of day that you use electricity change the design of a solar power system?
Video Transcript