Photovoltaic installation: many advices before to launch

A solar installation is a long-term investment over 30 years minimum. Such a project must be well planned and implemented with care. Information is key! With the 6 useful tips below, you should be well prepared for your project so you can start working on it soon!

1. Do a field study: talk to your neighbours that already have a solar installation and listen to your feedback to learn from their experience. You will also refine your profitability calculations in this way by comparing the production estimates you have been able to make and the actual yield they benefit from. You can also try to visit ongoing work sites to find out the scope of the work to be considered. To find out where you can find these worksites and the installations already completed, you can visit www.bdpv.com.

The second step of the fieldwork will consist in contacting the town planning department of your town hall in order to inform you about the procedures and the registration of the Preliminary Declaration for photovoltaic works.

2. Find the right answers: First make a list of all the questions you have. Then go to the forums, you will already get some answers, or at least something to refine your questions. The forum-photovoltaique.fr website is a good support for these first researches. Finally, ask the professionals; it will also have the advantage of creating a relationship of trust with your reseller or installer, a sine qua non condition to get you started serenely with your project.

3. Familiarize yourself with the vocabulary used in photovoltaics: it is important to understand precisely what it is all about as well as to decipher the sales arguments of the service providers you will contact. This will also prevent you from falling into certain traps. For example, we can talk to you about two types of guarantees for your installation: the material guarantee, which generally extends from 5 to 10 years, and the module production guarantee (generally 80% of the nominal at 25 years). This second is more an estimate of the ageing of the panel than a guarantee as such because it excludes any mechanical defect.

4. Determine your roof's caracteristics: first measure the installation surface and the slope of the roof that you will find, for example, on the plans of the house or building. Determine its orientation and possible sources of shade such as chimneys, trees or antennas. The general state of your structure is also to be taken into account, as well as its structure. Identify the difficulties you may encounter in passing the wiring, in laying the production counter according to the location and space available. It is also necessary to have a sufficiently efficient earthing system at your disposal.

5. Compare: If we have convinced you to do your installation yourself, compare prices and products according to their performance. In particular, the production ratio of a panel must be taken into account. This ratio is measured by the PHOTON TEST laboratory and published monthly. It determines the performance ratio between the producible and the power of a panel for the same radiation and temperature. With ratios above 90%, you can be sure of optimal performance ^*.

6. Get multiple estimates: you are not much of a handyman? You can always ask for quotes from installers. Never stop at one. It is preferable to ask for at least 2, and you can go as far as 4 if the first quotes do not satisfy you. On the other hand, beyond 4 the step becomes useless because the comparison becomes complex.

^*The same ratios are used in the product descriptions in our shop.