If you are having a solar panel installation Yorkshire done on your home you will probably end up having PV modules fitted on your roof.

This is for a good reason as these particular panels convert sun and daylight directly into electricity. Thermal panels, however, heat water and for that you would have to have a tank fitted. For domestic use the latter will only heat your water and not power your lights, appliances and heating.

With our weather as it is there is not always an abundance of sunshine, so you need to understand that you will not always produce enough energy. This is especially true in the winter months and in Yorkshire it is also not as sunny as in the South East of the country.

In the winter you will use a combination of home produced energy and electricity supplied by your provider for some of the time. In the summer, however, you are most likely to go into overproduction and you will be able to sell the surplus back to the National Grid.

You may wonder how these payments are made to you. You will receive amounts via your chosen payment methods. These will be made when generation and export meter readings are received. If you do not have an export meter you will receive estimated payments that are based on a 30kW system.

Any good installation company will assess your roof space before giving you a quote. You will need to know whether your roof is strong enough to carry an array of panels. Moreover the position of your roof is very important. If it is north facing it will not be worth your while having panels installed as they will not generate enough amount of energy.

If your roof needs strengthening, you will understand that this will be an extra cost over and above the installation price.

There may be other costs involved before you can apply for the Feed in Tariff. If your home does not have an energy performance certificate, you will have to have one prepared at a cost.