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Good point. The hybrid inverter I'm looking at has dual string capability, so I can run the south face on one string and then use MIs for a second string without compromising efficiency. These MIs cost a pretty penny don't they so if I can reduce this it would be good!

We're on Octopus intelligent go, so just going through a calculation to understand our usage patterns. We're currently paying average of about 17p/kWh so there's room for improvement. I will look into this.

Would never dream of it - I actually installed the whole roof myself so there is no way I'd let someone touch it in a way that would compromise its integrity. Yes, that's the idea and also because curved standing seam roofs are so common. But following my research I have a feeling the industry has a bit of a problem with the standing seam clamps. Many of them essentially have a lip and use a grub screw, or some other type of vice clamp. The grub screw versions I wouldn't used on mine because this would almost certainly damage the coating and also potentially damage the galvanised surface. So either which way there are risks. Apparently it has been designed for retrofit - but I have some questions about how this would successfully meet the real world of a standing seam! Most other similar products are factory bonded. Apparently fine - it's suggested that it would be fine with my Greencoat PLX roof - but would need to confirm this with the manufacturer as they even had some very clear instructions on the type of sealant that's acceptable in the double seam - which is required in some installation instances where there's a very shallow pitch such as mine.

I'm no expert on solar but am on metal roofs. Never make holes in a standing seam roof. Are these glued on for that very reason? And no cables penetrating either I hope. Is there a spec on how they fix it? Very clean and dry roof as default. And mention of effects on galvanised or plastic coatings?

I see what you mean about the slight plum tinge but there is not much you can do about it now. Once you have fascia, gutters and external wall finishes installed and after a year of weathering I doubt you or anyone would notice. I had some dark grey Sandtoft 2020 clay tiles fitted on a project and was surprised that the grey colour was a coating rather than the natural clay colour.

Generally a thin film technology with a 15 year life. But can perform better than mono crystalline in low light conditions. But worth now days, most likely not. We runs ours on Cosy tariff, so you can actually size to meet just under 1/3 of peak winter consumption, as you get cheap periods to run house and charge the battery. Rest of the year I just charge to 60% and it does fine, never discharged low and never fully charged to help life of battery. We are paying 10p kWh instead of near 27-30p. Plus get a compatible battery to allow you to join a VPP scheme (virtual power plant) and earn £1 per kWh on export events. Helps justify pay back a little better.

Forget the north side, and use those panels on the second building. Defo MI’s, and then you can put them all on one string to simplify.

I've got max 7m x 2.2m minus a velux window which I can easily remove or just panel over on a south facing garage roof and could double that if I went with north facing panels. But this gets shaded by the house in the winter - so could use mini inverters. Then I've potentially got a 3.5 x 2.5, garden room roof but that's right at the other end of the garden compared to the garage. Just accepting the limitations of the garage, plus adding some batteries could be the first step, accepting the limitations.

Can you get a handful of PV panels on a garage / outbuilding / ground-mount?

This is definitely my concern particularly given the length of our panels and the expansion I had to account for when I installed the roof - I just wonder how these pv units can cope with this over the long term.

Yes but no, Post & Beam. I have had people willing to be fast and loose with such details, and then over a cup of tea show me photographs on their phone of the elaborate mm perfect TV unit / fish tank / patio slab work etc that they have done at their own home. It is things like this where if you are around at the time you can catch and correct, once it is done it becomes an issue to move. Had similar with boiler flue position through the roof which I had marked weeks before they eventually put it in. Plumber was going to forget or ignore that and run it straight up which would have put it too close to an adjacent wall. As I was around I overheard a conversation with the carpenter and politely got it cut in the right place. I still have a drain which needs moving by 6 inches to be under the rainwater pipe - a detail I didn't notice when the groundworks were done. For a lot of us we don't get the luxury of big houses like the yanks have, all the endless acoutrements of modern life have to be squeezed in somehow. Sometimes 20mm on the positioning of a door opening makes the difference between fitting an ikea wardrobe in, or not. A big chunk just goes with the territory because building is something that needs planners and doers. If you are in the trades you kind of need to be a doer. Both to be commercially efficient, and also because it is the nature of the job. Doing an occupation that conflicts with your personality type and likes and dislikes for decades is going to send most of us loopy. Doers need to do, and feel happier doing - planners need to plan, and feel happier planning. A house 'planned' by a doer can look like dogshit, a house 'built' by a planner will always be finished next year. Seems like a popular sentiment, was ever thus and ever thus will be... SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS

Erm, drop the blade down and put it on the table saw…. £60……. ???

I'm rapidly beginning to wonder if battery first step is the way to go and just use the TOU we've got and rarely use our full allocation.

£/w cost is higher than generic, so ROI is lessened. I have asked a few solar partners about these and they say the panels will likely have degraded somewhat by the 15 year anniversary, but also say these do eventually begin to become ‘un-stuck’ with heat / cool cycling over time. The pro is they look a lot nicer obvs.

Solar and efficiency isn't really that important, it's just a measure of output compared to possible irradiation. So panels are bigger compared to 25% efficiency. As long as you have space, no issues. From what I have seen price wise not a cheap solution - but maybe your only solution. Will you get payback? Maybe a long one. Would just a battery give a better bang for the buck? - possibly.

Think the issue is not you, just shows the lack of attention to detail, by so called trades people. How things look and are balanced is important. We had to get a couple ceiling lights moved, they didn't align with anything and looked crap.

Just got an email from my standing seam roof supplier but the followings stick on solar panels. I have no idea about price but given the shape of my roof, this could be a solution. At about 17.5% efficiency are these any good? https://bipvco.com/flextron/

The kinds of issues i saw during our build were not a big deal in the great scheme of things. But its also clear that they were not matters of specific trade skills being deployed that i would/could not be expected to understand. Therefore not details where the tradesman's level of knowledge would trump mine. Example #1 The 2 vertically protruding MVHR vents out of our roof were specified to ( and agreed) to appear 1 metre either side of a central dormer apex. An aesthetic and purely cosmetic issue only i know. They were actually installed with the first one 1 metre to the right of said Apex and the second a further 2 metres to the right of that. Example #2 I asked for the ASHP isolator to be mounted in line vertically down from the centre of the kitchen window that it was below. Again acknowledged and agreed by the ASHP installers sparky. It was installed 3 inches to the right. Yes i can hear some of you now saying i am a pedantic twat. I get it.

I'd do without a few beers, get the £60 wonder and just set it on top of your table saw...

Started roofing and I’m slightly disappointed that the appearance of our Danum TLE roof tiles looks almost plum coloured instead of dark grey. Will the colour change when it weathers in? Certainly doesn’t look dark grey to me 🫤

Let's go deep sea fishing... https://youtu.be/QH4NRIDjRjk?si=3G--x1TkCMqr86U-

It’s a dark day when the lunatics are running the asylum…..

He made a simple typo…..it was supposed to say gargantuangenitalboils. Easy mistake. Hope he’s recovering well.

Ask no further. Minimum of 5, if you want to keep up.

Depends how good your plumbing is…….