Enquiring about solar panels

I had recently decided that I really should take steps towards making my own household more renewable. I had decided that it is worth to find out if it was feasible to get solar panels on the roof. And I made progress with that! I contacted a plausible looking firm about this. And one early evening, a polite man appeared in front of my door. He said he had already had a look at my roof. He must have had a good torch! Or help from the streetlights on the parking lot next door. So he could just come in and to be could talk about the panels. No need to traipse around in the dark!

While the cat scrutinised him intensely, he explained he could put 4 kW of panels on my roof; five panels on the south-facing part of the slate roof, and five on the flat roof of the extension. And he could deliver a battery that would allow me to use the energy in the evening I generated during the day. All of this together was quite a lot of money, but I didn't expect anything else. The hardware did come with good guarantees, though. And he created a big spreadsheet with all the data in, and sent it to me there and then.

I was happy with the service, but given that we are talking a five figure sum here, (including battery, that is) I did not want to rely on one quote alone. I contacted another firm. And only a few days later they had a representative in my living room.

This man, also scrutinised by the cat, was a bit more optimistic; he figured he could fit six panels on each roof, generating 4.5 kW. And he talked me a bit through batteries. This offer sounded good as well. He said he would send me a report that very same day. And he did!

The next step will be to compare the two offers, and potentially ask both companies about specific important differences. And then I will have to decide! I hope I can have solar panels on my roof before spring properly hits. I'm not decided on the battery yet. The battery would only be for financial reasons; it doesn't make any difference to how much power I generate, of course. And my energy use is quite low. Maybe I should not prioritise this. I will have to do some thinking during the weekend! But watch this space. The wheels have been set in motion!