Before a proposal can say anything specific about a property, someone has to look at the roof and the electrical installation, and review how the property uses power. That visit is the site assessment, and what it establishes shapes everything that follows.
The roof survey
Usable surface, orientation of each roof face, pitch, covering and structural condition are recorded, along with anything that shades the roof at any point in the day or the year: chimneys, parapets, trees, aerials, and neighbouring buildings.
On a flat roof, plant, walkways and the safety zone around the edge are measured, since these often reduce the genuinely usable area well below what a plan or a satellite image suggests.
The electrical survey
The consumer unit or distribution board is inspected for spare capacity, its general condition, and where new circuits could realistically connect. The supply capacity into the property is checked, along with the practical cable route from the roof to the board.
Reviewing energy use
Recent electricity invoices establish overall consumption. Interval data, where your supplier provides it, is more useful still, because it shows the shape of demand across the day rather than just the total. Where interval data is not available, a description of the household or business routine is a reasonable substitute.
Discussing what might change
An electric vehicle, an extension, a pool, new equipment, or a change of use all affect the design, even when they are a few years away. Raising them at this stage is what lets a design reserve capacity for them, rather than needing rework later.
What to have ready
- Recent electricity invoices, or interval data if available
- Access to the roof and the consumer unit or distribution board
- Any known roof or electrical issues, however minor
- A rough sense of what might be added to the property in future
What comes out of it
A written record of the property's conditions and constraints, which becomes the basis for the technical design and, from there, the proposal.
Related: Process
This article is general, technical background written for the Solara Energy demonstration website. It is not project-specific advice.
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