- It’s appropriate to study the past electricity bills, of about three years, to ascertain variations in the power consumption pattern. The average electricity bill should be considered for the selection of an appropriate system.
- Scan the surrounding environment of the house and select an exposed, sunny South sloping roof area to locate the panel and inverter.
- In Colombo, solar panels need to be orientated at an angle of 7 degrees to the horizontal in the southern direction.
- The solar panels should be purchased accompanied with a suitable inverter and other appropriate items, known in the PV industry as Balance of System (BoS), and installed conforming to wiring regulations governing such installations.
- Solar tracking systems are capable of tracking the motion of the sun throughout the day to get maximum power generated from the solar panels. Such tracking systems can be installed for better results, but are significantly expensive.
- The customer is required to enter into an Agreement, with the utility (CEB or LECO). namely, the Agreement and Grid Interconnection Standards for Net-metering of an On-grid Renewable Energy based Generating Facility.
- The electricity distributor would take necessary steps to install the net-metering setup, after which the facility could start generating. The surplus could be banked to the grid legally as per the contract.
- What is the warranty period of the main components? For PV modules, manufacturing defect warranty is typically 10 years. For PV modules, performance warranty is typically 25 years and no more than 20% degradation performance at the end of 25 years. For inverter manufacturing defect warranty is typically between 5 to 10 years.
- Ensure your PV system is labeled accordingly, what to do and what not to do/touch, the single line diagram, and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) manual should be handed over to you at the end of the work
- Be sure to keep a file of al I papers an d documents/contract pertaining to your project. This includes the contract, any written changes, all bills and invoices, receipts of payments and all correspondence with your Registered PV Service Provider. This should also include photos of the installation work in progress
- Look at the quality of materials especially the main components i.e. PV modules and inverter. PV modules and inverter must have IEC orTUV certification
- Get 3 to 5 quotations from the Registered PV Service Providers
Source: News
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