Solar Panel Installation
Save money on energy bills, Increase the value of your house, & reduce your carbon footprint
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- Book Your Free no obligation Consultation Now
- installation date within 28 days
- Be covered by extensive warranties & an insurance backed guarantee
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Your Green Journey Starts Here
Trusted Local Solar Panel Installers
CEV Ltd are a family-run renewable energy company dedicated to providing quality solar panel installations. We have years of experience in providing a wide range of renewable energy installation services at competitive prices. We work with you to design and install the most beneficial system for your individual needs and pride ourselves on providing quality customer service and will be ready to any of your questions on every step of your green energy savings journey.
We install PV panels, storage systems and EV chargers in the following areas in the Home Counties and South East; Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Essex, Surrey and London.
We’re fully accredited and have long lasting relationships and membership with Napit, RECC, CPA, MCS, Trustmark and more.
We work alongside top quality manufacturers such as Tesla, Myenergi, Givenergy, Puredrive, Trina and more to provide our customers with an array of options using only high quality warranted products with up to 25 years guarantees .
Our 5 Step Process For Your Green Journey
- 1. We Review Your Energy Usage & Current Costs
- 2. We Analyse Your Location, Roof Details, Orientation & Shading
- 3. We Combine Your Results to Present Your Best Options To Save Money From Your Fuel Bills and Earn Money From Selling Excess Power
- 4. We Install The System And Provide Full Training To You & Commission the System, leaving You With All the Final Paperwork
- 5. We Provide Ongoing Support, Advice & Maintenance So You Don't Have To Worry About Settings and Changes
Recent Installations
Are Solar PV Panels Worth It?
Are you thinking about using Photovoltaic (PV) systems to harvest energy? These are a great choice for homeowners who are looking to lower both their electricity bills and carbon footprint. You can also generate you money as well as the electrical power by exporting electricity you don’t use. The government has incentives such as the older Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and the current Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). These incentives guarantee a minimum amount paid to the homeowner per Kwh exported to the grid. This assists the owners by reducing the payback periods and generating a passive income.
As the PV industry has grown there have been some amazing technological advancements. We have seen large increases in the efficiency and output of all parts of the system with PV panels now able to produce up to 550w output and versions that are able to generate much higher outputs while the sky is cloudy or less than optimal. Overall unit costs have been steadily decreasing as the volume of installations increase. With the addition of readily available and lower cost battery storage systems, your PV system can be more efficient and more effective than ever. Most pv & storage systems have a return on investment (ROI) of 10-15% and a payback of 6-9 years.
Overall, there has never been a better time to invest in a solar PV system in the UK. Beyond the savings and incentives, the environmental perks make it a compelling choice for those wanting a cleaner, greener lifestyle. Stay ahead with sustainable living while enjoying the long-term economic benefits of clean green energy.
We work with the best solar manufacturers
How many panels do you need?
You might be wondering, what size system do I need? The answer depends on a few different factors. Our design team will ask for: your address, your annual consumption including the electricity usage and a couple of other questions to establish your existing situation and from this design a system which best suits all your needs. It is a quick, easy and informative process.
If you are in a conservation area or have a listed building you may require planning permission and other considerations, we are experienced in assisting and advising you how to navigate these additional challenges and still maximize your systems potential.
Most general areas are allowed as many panels as they want due to permitted development rights depending on the size of the roof and its shape we can work out the optimal layout. Factors we consider include:
1. What size is your roof?
2. What is its orientation and angle? Is it a South or West facing roof?
3. What type of roof do you have?
4. How much electricity do you use?
5. Are you adding battery storage?
6. Is there shading from trees or other sections of the roof?
7.How much roof space is available?
8. Do you need any planning permissions?
9. Are you interested in an in roof solar panel system?
Why add battery storage?
1. Store energy to use when its most economically beneficial to you.
2. Back Up Power in the event of power cuts
3. Increase the Efficiency of your solar system
4. Increase the Value of Your Home
5. Increase your Return on Investment
What type of inverter do I need?
There are 4 types of inverter typically used. Here is a brief explanation on them.
- Grid tie/ string inverter: A Grid tie inverter is used when you only have PV panels installed. They have been the most common type of inverter for the past 20 years.
- Micro inverters: Microinverters are a newer type of inverter. They are installed behind each of the PV panels and invert the electricity from DC to AC. They are safer than any other type of inverter because of the localized inversion. They double up as optimizers meaning if you have shading your system will perform at the most optimal output for each panel and in the event of a panel failing, only that panel will stop working. Whereas, if you had a string inverter, if there is shading the lowest output on the string determines the strings output and if there is a single panel failure the entire string (circuit) will stop generating electricity.
- Hybrid inverter: A hybrid inverter is used when the solar panel installation will also have a battery storage system installed. A hybrid inverter can send DC electricity directly to the battery and doesn’t need to invert the electricity until the house load requires the battery power. This make it the most efficient inverter to install with a storage system.
- AC coupled inverter: An AC coupled inverter is used when adding a battery to an existing solar panel system. It is not as efficient as a hybrid inverter as they invert the electricity on more occasions but they are more flexible in allowing various manufacturer combinations to work together giving greater choice of system components.
Start Your Savings Journey
Let us answers your questions on the way to your energy savings.
Remember everyones journey is different because every house and the people in it are different. Lets plan your journey towards clean energy together.
Knowledge Centre & Blog Posts
Solar Battery Storage Is Now VAT Exempt
UK Government Introduces 0% VAT on Battery Storage Systems In a groundbreaking announcement made in December 2023, the UK government has announced changes to the
Solar Panels London
CEV ltd are local solar panel installers based in St. Albans. We have completed numerous solar panel installations in London and the surrounding areas and
Solar Panels Essex
CEV ltd are local solar panel installers based in St. Albans. We have completed numerous solar panel installations in Essex and the surrounding areas and
Why should you get solar panels
- Save money on your electricity bills
- Reduce your carbon footprint.
- Earn money for exporting using the SEG tariff.
- Get free Fuel for your EV
How can I get paid?
When you generate any excess electricity it is fed back into the grid via your DNO connection. The Government now guarantees you can get paid for feeding back in this amount.
Originally the scheme was called the Feed In Tariff (FIT) but it has since been updated to the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Scheme.
One of the best export Tariffs is provided by Octopus Energy who offer a range of Tariff schemes with peak and off peak periods where you can be paid to export at rates up to £0.27p per Kwh, please check for latest prices.
These schemes include timed options so you can choose when to charge an EV car, use domestic appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers so that you do so during a low rate period and if you use a battery to make your system even more efficient.
Working locations
If you’re looking for a solar panel installer near me then please check if we cover your area and we would be happy to help you. We are the most trusted solar panel installers London and the following areas.
- Hertfordshire
- Bedfordshire
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Essex
- Surrey
We check the size, layout and orientation of your roof. If it is suitable we confirm its construction and strength are also suitable. If there are problems which prevent using the roof of your house you can always consider other roofs you have access to such as garages and outbuildings or a ground based array.
The main factors which effect the panels performance are orientation of the roof, which direction is it facing, with south being the optimal and is there any shading which could effect use. If there is shading we can mitigate some of these effects using a different type of inverter.
Battery storage is simply using a battery to store energy at one point in time so you can then use it at a later time when you wish to. This provides significant advantages in two main ways:
1. You can store energy generated by panels so you can use it later when either the panels are no longer generating or you have a hgher load than the panels are generating at the time you need it.
2. You can work more efficently with tariffs that feature peak and off peak rates as you can time when you use the battery to avoid buying electricty during peak rate times and you can also time using it so you sell electricty at peak rate times.
Both of these issues will make your system more efficient and provide a greater return on investment and more value for your home.
See our Battery System Deep Dive blog.
On average, our installations costs are between £500-1,000 lower than the MCS average price for system installs in September 2023. The average cost of a PV panel and storage system in September 2023 was £10,380.
The cost of your installation will depend varies factors such as the size if the system and the capacity of any storage. The size of system, power of inverter and the capacity of storage we recommend will depend on your average energy usage and the size, layout, shading and orientation of your roof.
With your PV system you will have warranties for the following:
- PV Panels
- Inverter
- Battery
- Workmanship
Solar panels have two types of warranties a performance warranty which is usually between 20-30 years and a product warranty which is usually between 10-20 years.
Inverters have a 5-10 year warranty period. You can buy a warranty extension from most manufacturers.
Batteries have 10 year warranties for 6-10,000 life cycles depending on the manufacturer.
Our insurance backed workmanship warranty is for a 2 year period.
We are local installers near me for; Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, London, Surrey. We cover other areas by request please contact us for details.