Solar Panel Installation

solar panel installation

MAC are proud to announce we now offer solar panel and battery installations as part of our range of services!

You can find out more about our solar services, request a survey, learn about solar technology and more on our new sister website MAC-Solar.co.uk!

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MAC Solar is Live!

Following an increasing number of requests for installations and information regarding solar panels and battery storage, in September of 2023 team MAC began to explore the possibility of whether we could introduce solar as a new addition to our services.

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Solar Panels for home

Commercial Solar Panels for business

Solar Battery Storage for home or business

Solar Panel Installation FAQs

What is solar energy?

A renewable form of electromagnetic radiation generated by the sun that can be converted into photovoltaic energy (electricity) or thermal energy (heat).

How does solar power work?

The electromagnetic radiation generated by the sun can be captured by what are known as solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, these panels can then convert the radiation into electricity or heat. This is achieved when sunlight hits the semi-conducting layers on the surface of the solar panel, resulting in electrons being released and attracted to the positive side of a solar cell. As the electrons move, they create an electrical current which can in turn be used to generate a flow of electricity.

How long do solar panels last?

The lifespan of solar panels is approximately 25-30 years. Although this does not mean your solar panels will completely stop working once this time has passed, it just means their efficiency will have decreased significantly.

How efficient are solar panels?

Most solar panels have an efficiency of around 20%, the main reason for this due to the laws of thermodynamics. As a result, solar panels cannot absorb all energy in the solar spectrum, with the high frequency light usually reflected or ending up as residual heat.

Why are solar panels sustainable?

Solar panels not only produce 0% emissions but they are also a renewable source of energy that do not rely on the use of fossil fuels.

What are photons?

Photons are also referred to as sunlight and are tiny particles that form packets of electromagnetic energy, sunlight is actually made of these particles.

Follow MAC's Journey To Going Solar

MAC Solar's journey started in Sep 2023

Your opinion matters greatly to us, so we reached out to ask the question; if MAC could provide you with a solar installation, would you like us to assist you?

We heard your feedback

Due to the high volume of your positive feedback, from October of 2023 MAC committed to implementing Solar PV and battery storage installations in the very near future!

Our first venture into solar panels will be the MAC’s office itself with the installation to begin in November of 2023; we’ve even designed our own solar PV system and are excited to take the next step toward building our accreditations too!

We're working towards HIES and MCS accreditations

At MAC we are dedicated to ensuring we are fully accredited in all aspects, so in order to provide you with the very best service in all things solar we’re taking all the necessary steps to ensure both you and your home are fully protected. We’re already in the process of building on our existing accreditations and in discussion with HIES and MCS with the hope we can soon add them to our portfolio.

DNO (Distribution Network Operator) play a pivotal part in verifying the proper electrical supply calculations as they are licensed companies that distribute electricity throughout the UK.

But who are HIES, MCS and the DNO?

HIES are a consumer protection agency that covers the installation of renewable energy and home energy efficiency devices.

MCS are an industry-led quality assurance scheme, dedicated to creating and maintaining high standards and quality to assure reliability of products and installations they approve.

Solar and Storage Live 2023

Keen to establish ourselves as installers of solar and enhance our own knowledge, the MAC team attended UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition, Solar & Storage Live in October 2023.

Meeting and speaking with a variety of buyers and other installers of solar systems, a huge range of training options and exhibitors were present to share their knowledge so MAC could get the clearest answers to the questions you ask us most.

CHECK OUT OUR PHOTO SLIDESHOW FROM THE EVENT!

Things are heating up in late October as scaffolding has been assembled outside the MAC office and installation equipment has started to arrive. Our brand new solar panels, inverter, micro inverters and other installation materials are now all ready for installation day.

For our installation at MAC, we selected the excellent brands and components below.

For the range of solar panels going on the office roof, MAC decided on Jinko Solar as they offer a fantastic lifespan up to 30 years, excellent efficiency reaching up to 26.4% and competitive pricing.

The inverter we’ve selected is provided by Growatt, known for their flexibility, superb performance and built in real-time monitoring features to ensure maximum efficiency and reliability.

We’re using Tigo micro inverters per solar panel, particularly as they’re renowned for being the most reliable and flexible in the industry, capable of calculating the maximum power point of its connected module using its patented software.

CHECK OUT OUR PHOTO SLIDESHOW FROM THE EVENT!

Installation begins

MAC’s first installation of solar panels has begun!

November 7th 2023 marks the first day into MAC’s first solar panel installation with the mounts and solar panels starting to be hoisted to the roof and fixed in place.

We’re expecting the full installation to complete within a week although with some bad weather on the horizon that may change, so watch this space for more information!

Storm Ciarán and Debi hit the UK

As both Storm Ciarán and Storm Debi rage across the UK, we temporarily put our install plans on hold for the safety of our installers, although the bad weather is finally starting to subside so our installation can resume November 17th!

With the last of the panels to be affixed to the roof, next up will be our electrician wiring the solar panels and installing the inverter!

We've learned a lot

It’s late November and our amazing team have worked hard to ensure MAC’s very first solar installation went smoothly, although even with careful planning it hasn’t been without its challenges. Making progress during the intervals between Storm Ciarán and Debi, we quickly found there was more to solar installations we were yet to learn.

Knowing what kind of roof tiles you have is very important.
Your view from the ground may not always be the best and you should always carefully check your roof tiles by hand to be certain of what type you have. We mistakenly believed our roof tiles were concrete when they are infact made from clay. Having clay tiles doesn’t mean you can’t have solar panels on your roof, but it does mean you need a very different roof mounting system to attach the panels because clay tiles are brittle. Several broken tiles later we found this out the hard way and it also meant we needed to change the type of roof mounts before we could make more progress.

There is a big difference between String and Hybrid Inverters.
Whilst string inverters boast simplicity and lower pricing, hybrid inverters have a number of advantages such as being able to utilise both renewable and traditional energy. Early into our install we realised our Growatt was infact a string inverter and wouldn’t be best suited to task, as a result we switched it to a GivEnergy hybrid inverter instead. Although it wasn’t just the energy type that meant we needed to make this change. String inverters are only as efficient as your lowest performing solar panel and lack the built-in battery management needed for significantly greater versatility, especially in a location like our office.

Keen to establish ourselves as installers of solar and enhance our own knowledge, the MAC team attended UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition, Solar & Storage Live in October 2023. Meeting and speaking with a variety of buyers and other installers of solar systems, a huge range of training options and exhibitors were present to share their knowledge so MAC could get the clearest answers to the questions you ask us most.

Our Showroom gets a solar update

Alongside the ongoing solar installation on our office roof, the MAC showroom is also getting the solar treatment just in time for Christmas.

Thanks to our friends at Greenworks Power, our showroom has some new additions which are not only fully operational but will soon be ready for demonstrations too! More updates will soon be on the way, but in the meantime you can find out more about the excellent hybrid storage system from Greenworks below!

Introducing the GreenE Residential ESS, the latest addition to the range of products for viewing and demonstrations in our showroom! The GreenE is an all in one hybrid energy storage system that’s not only lightweight and compact but it is quick to install too. Utilising CATL battery technology, the GreenE also comes with IP65 triple protection as standard and available in single and three phase variations. Managing your energy couldn’t be easier as full cloud access is available via an app, allowing you access anywhere at any time!

With the last of the panels to be affixed to the roof, next up will be our electrician wiring the solar panels and installing the inverter!

What's the Cost for a Solar Installation?

On the run up to our formal launch this year, we’ve also been busy refining our solar range and that includes some great bundle prices as little as £9,300!

Working alongside our fantastic suppliers, MAC’s range of solar products has started to really take shape, although with so many different makes and models of solar equipment, having any guideline on price including full installation can be quite challenging. That’s why we decided to share some highlights to not only give a clearer idea on pricing, but what you can get for that price as well.

Starting at just £11,000 we have a large twelve panel bundle that includes a powerful GivEnergy 3.5kw hybrid inverter with 430W Jinko Tiger Neo panels. This even includes a substantial 9.5KWh GivEnergy battery, so you can not only store the electricity from your solar panels but optionally charge them with lower cost energy from the grid.

For something a little smaller that starts at £9,700, you can scale back to ten Jinko solar panels with a more modest 5.2kWh GivEnergy Battery, although this still includes a powerful GivEnergy 3.6kw hybrid inverter to ensure no reduction in performance.

MAC are now NAPIT approved!

We’re proud to announce that as of January 2024 MAC has been approved by NAPIT!

With only our MCS approval remaining, we’re a couple of huge steps closer to launching MAC Solar!

This means we are fully approved to self-certify all our electrical work so our own in house electrician can assure our high quality and safety standards throughout all electrical aspects of installations, repairs and maintenance.

MAC is a TrustMark Registered Business

We’re now registered under the only government endorsed quality scheme, TrustMark!

Established in 2005, TrustMark is the non-profit government endorsed scheme that covers work quality carried out in consumer households. As a registered business under this scheme, MAC provides full quality assurance and peace of mind when making energy efficiency improvements to homes and businesses alike.

MAC are GivEnergy Approved Installers

MAC is picking up the pace in 2024 as we are now GivEnergy approved installers too!

Starting back in December of 2023, MAC team members attended GivEnergy training in Newcastle-under-Lyme so we could hone and perfect our solar installation skills, getting to grips with GivEnergy’s fantastic range of solar and EV products.

With all our certifications in place and training complete, from February 2024 MAC are now proudly registered as qualified installers of the entire GivEnergy solar and EV product range!

GivEnenergy have been specialists in providing energy management solutions since 2012, providing not only superb products but insisting upon only the highest standard when it comes to any and all installations of their equipment.

Our first domestic solar install is complete!

As February 2024 draws to a close and we enter March, we’re pleased to announce our first domestic customer’s install is now complete!

Featuring Jinko’s all black solar panels complete with Tigo optimisers, GivEnergy inverter and 9.5kw battery, not only is our client generating electricity throughout the day, they can make use of it throughout the night too!

Choosing a GivEnergy inverter and batteries also means that our customer can take full advantage of the free all-in-one app to monitor and manage what solar-generated electricity is being produced. This also means they can keep an eye on their battery levels, manage any electrical export to the grid and even connect a GivEnergy EV charger at a later date for full control over this too.

Not to forget the Solar iBoost Plus and buddy controller, an additional item our customer also had installed. These clever devices monitor any unused energy generated by the solar panels and put it to good use by using it to heat water in the customer’s water tank. This not only maximises the use of the electricity your solar panels generate, it keeps you updated too, so you know exactly when your water is being heated, compliments of the sun.

What Our Customers Say

Recently had air conditioning fitted at our new restaurant and from the beginning of the process with Anthony coming to quote to Jamie and the lads fitting absolutely fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble and it was fitted so neatly. Happy to recommend to anyone and use again in the future.

I find it so rare these days to get a service as good as this was. I genuinely couldn't fault them. The guy who came out to price-up was really nice and we felt that he had time for us, to understand our needs and deliver on them.

Excellent Overall - House Installation. 3 off Mitsubishi MSZ-HR25VF 2.5kW units with WiFi & Remote control units plus a Multi-split Condenser unit MXZ-3F54VF3 wall mounted outside. 7 year Manufacturers Warranty + 12 month Anvillary Warranty included.