October 2023
The panel was made up of three people whose solar panel expertise comes from different angles: an architect, a system designer/supplier and a user. Each of them explained briefly their knowledge and experience and then answered a deluge of questions. Popular topics were:
- How long is payback for solar panels? (answer around 7 years but it depends on energy costs at the time, how much you use and the weather.
- How to make the best use of your energy; selling back to the grid; batteries and charging electric cars.
- Installation and maintenance
Our panelists:
Simon Davis, Penn Design Architects
specialises in designing sustainable, low-carbon new homes and renovations. With 35 years experience in the design and construction of greener buildings, primarily housing, he has wide experience in how solar panels for electricity or water heating can be used effectively and integrated into buildings. He also has personal experience of using solar PV in his own Passivhaus that he designed and built.
Chris Sadler, Kimbletech
specialises in designing solar energy systems and installing them to meet customers’ usage and lifestyle needs while reducing energy bills and minimising their carbon footprint. Chris is an engineering graduate with a family background in construction. He founded Kimbletech in 2011, developing an outstanding team of diligent electrical installers and attentive support staff. At the beginning of 2022 he shifted the company focus into renewable energy, particularly solar, batteries, ev charging and related smart electric management. A self-confessed renewables nerd, Chris continually dedicates time to researching the best existing and emerging innovative technologies.
M A Martin Leon
M A had solar panels installed by Halo Energy in March of this year in her 3 bedroom terraced house.
The system is a 10 panel array of Jinko Solar elements adding up to 4.1 kWp plus an additional 4.8 kW battery. The cost was around £11k with the battery itself costing £4k and has a calculated payback time of 8 years.
The system is working beautifully so far with an overall production of 3 Mwh and currently covering our whole electricity usage with quite a bit extra that gets exported by SEG to Octopus.
Speak up for our Planet 