We'll break down everything you need to know about solar equipment to prepare you. You need solar panels, inverters, racking equipment, and performance monitoring equipment to go solar. You also might want an energy storage system (aka solar battery), especially if you live in an area that doesn't have net metering.
Solar batteries can be added to your solar system to store solar energy for later or if you want to use it overnight. Storage batteries also allow a PV system to operate when the electric grid is not available. If you want your solar panels to operate during a power outage, you need to pair them with a solar battery.
Having sufficient roof space. To install a 4kW system of 350W solar panels, you’d need about 10 solar panels, requiring around 16 m² of roof space. For a 5kW solar panel system, you’d need 13 solar panels and 26 m² of roof space. It’s important to have sufficient roof space, with at least 30 cm of space around the panels.
There are three main types of residential solar panel installations: grid-tied, hybrid, and off-grid. Grid-tied systems are the most common and the cheapest because they use the least amount of equipment: solar panels, wiring, racking, grid-tied inverters, and a net meter.
Household solar panel systems are typically up to 4kWp. We spoke to more than 2,000 solar panel owners about the size of their system and how much of their electricity it provides in summer and in winter. Which? members can log in to see this data.
Although it will cost more upfront to install more panels, a larger solar panel system will always generate more electricity. However, if you generate more than you can use during the day, you'll need a storage battery to make the most of it. Learn more about this in our guide on solar panel battery storage.