Your initial consultation with us is designed to capture the key information we need to assess your site and your power requirements.
- Contact details for the site including the full address and any in house electrical technician(s) you may have.
- Your current electricity consumption via obtaining your last 12 months half-hourly demand data and a copy of your most recent electricity bill.
- Understanding any planned changes which would require additional power generation
As much as possible we would obtain this information upon meeting you at your premises giving you the opportunity to meet us in person and allowing us to discuss aspects such as roof access for panel delivery, existing consumer unit(s), inverter placement positions, and assess rough DC and AC cabling routes. This can be obtained however through distance means such as images being provided and a supporting teams / zoom meeting.
- The design placement of the solar panel ‘array’ on your roof
- The size and estimated power generation from the system
- How much solar generation would be utilised
- The cost of the system
- Your projected savings
- Return On Investment information
- Positive carbon reduction information
Following initial design assessment and of course your interest in proceeding further, our technical representatives would attend your premises to assess the particular requirements of delivering a solar PV solution for you.
A technical survey assesses:
- Existing roof condition and structural assessment
- Scaffolding and roof access
- Current electrical infrastructure
- Inverter placement
- Most effective routing of DC and AC cabling
- Health and Safety and Risk Assessment
- Health and safety and Risk Assessment for safe delivery of works
- G99 application
Our Final Proposal would outline any changes to our initial design and any applicable changes to the information contained within. Additionally we would discuss and confirm any power outages that may be required, roof access arrangements, and how long we envisage it will take to deliver the project.
Should you be content to proceed, our Final proposal would incorporate an agreement section between us signed by both parties to initiate works.
Most commercial PV projects satisfy the conditions of Permitted Developments.
Permitted Developments are systems which:
- Produce less than 1 megawatt of power
- Roof-mounted or wall-mounted arrays do not project more than 200mm from the wall surface or roof slope
- Pitched roof and flat roof arrays are situated at least 1m from the external edges of the roof, or the wall joint that they sit on
- Flat roof arrays only, panels should protrude less than 1m from the roof surface. Aside from chimneys, they cannot be the highest part of the roof
- If ground mounted the footprint of the array is less than 9m2
If a solar panel array cannot meet these criteria then a full planning application will be required
Once appropriate permissions are satisfied, we will liaise to begin your installation process.
We will revisit important aspects such as how long we envisage to complete the project and other aspects previously discussed such as any required power outages, noise considerations whilst work is underway and any additional health and safety or risk avoidance measures that need to be put in place to ensure a safe and efficient delivery of the project.
Your dedicated Project Manager will remain on hand to support the installation journey, and on completion outline important elements such as how to shut down and restart the system in case of an emergency and other key areas of knowledge including how to use your monitoring platform which provides you with a ‘live view’ your solar power generation; view how much of your generation is being utilised and how much is being exported to the grid and or battery storage facility.
Following satisfactory operation of your new system for 2 to 3 weeks, we will revisit with you areas such as how to shut down and restart the system in case of an emergency and other key areas of knowledge including how to use your monitoring platform.
Also you will be provided with a comprehensive handover pack including full warranty and the continued levels of Sterling Energy support that accompany all completed projects.
To maintain the highest levels of customer experience we take the opportunity also to gather your feedback on how we delivered your project for you and ensure you feel fully supported on your new clean energy future.
Whilst your installation journey may be complete; the continued management of your installation is guaranteed.
Post installation, your system is intelligently monitored via its integrated platform.
- We monitor it and receive performance data and / or alerts
- Our manufacturers also monitor its performance and can remotely carry out diagnostics
- You receive performance data and / or alerts via your monitoring platform
As a team therefore, we ensure your system remains fully supported through its entire lifespan and performs to its optimum in delivering you clean energy.
Periodically we will carry out a full review of your system performance and keep you aware of additional opportunities that may interest you towards a more efficient and greener future.