Poringland Roofers installs solar PV panels on pitched and flat roofs across Costessey, handling every roofing element from mounting systems to weatherproofing so your roof stays sound for years to come.
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A solar PV installation is not simply a matter of bolting panels to tiles. The roofing work underneath matters just as much as the panels themselves. We assess the pitch, structure and condition of the roof, install the correct rail and bracket mounting system, flash every penetration properly, and ensure the finished result is completely weathertight before the electricians make the final connections.
Solar installations typically involve certified electricians working alongside roofers, from the initial roof survey through to switch-on. Any roofing defects we spot during the survey get reported to you before work starts, because fitting panels over cracked or slipped tiles creates problems that are expensive to sort out later.
Cost is the question most homeowners in Costessey ask first, and it deserves a straight answer. Solar panel installation for a typical three-bedroom semi-detached house with a 4 kWp system currently runs in the region of £5,000 to £7,500 fully installed, including all roofing work, mounting hardware, inverter and the electrical connection. A larger five-bedroom detached property with a 6 kWp system can range from £8,000 to £12,000 or more depending on the specifics.
These are realistic mid-market figures for the Norfolk area. You may see lower prices quoted online, but they often exclude scaffolding, specialist mounting for certain roof types, or the electrical commissioning. Ask any installer to itemise what is and is not included before you compare.
Several things can add meaningfully to the base price, and knowing them in advance helps you budget accurately and ask the right questions when getting quotes.
Not every job is more expensive than average. Several factors work in your favour.
Getting three quotes is sensible practice. When you compare them, look beyond the headline figure. Ask each contractor to state the panel brand and model, the inverter brand, the panel wattage, whether scaffold is included, how the roof penetrations will be weatherproofed, and who carries out the electrical work.
A quote that does not mention the roofing weatherproofing at all is a warning sign. The most common cause of problems with solar installations is water ingress at poorly flashed fixings - not electrical faults. The roofing element deserves as much attention as the electrical element in any quote you receive.
Check that the electrical contractor named in the quote is registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT. This is required for the installation to be self-certified under building regulations, and for the system to be eligible for the Smart Export Guarantee.
A south-facing system generates a useful amount of electricity each year, although the exact figure depends on system size and site conditions. At current electricity unit rates, the annual saving in imported electricity and the payments from the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) for exported surplus typically combine to give a payback period of between eight and fourteen years on a system without battery storage.
Adding battery storage extends the payback period in most cases, but increases the proportion of your own generation you actually use. Whether that makes financial sense depends on your household's pattern of electricity use - a household that is home during the day gets more value from direct solar use; a household that is out all day gets more value from a battery.
These figures are general guidance. Your actual generation will depend on pitch, orientation, shading and local conditions. A properly conducted site survey will give you a more accurate forecast for your specific roof.
Where a roof is unsuitable - because of its condition, orientation, shading or listed status - a ground-mounted system on a garage forecourt or garden plot is worth considering. Ground-mounted frames can be angled precisely for maximum output and are easier to access for cleaning and inspection. The additional costs are the ground frame and any trenching needed to run cables back to the property. For homeowners in Costessey with a suitable south-facing garden plot, it is a practical alternative to a roof-mount.
Battery storage lets you use electricity generated during the day in the evening and at night, reducing the amount you export to the grid at the lower SEG rate and buy back at the higher import rate. The economics have improved significantly as battery costs have fallen.
For most households, the greatest benefit comes from a battery sized to cover typical evening demand - for many homes, 5 to 10 kWh is sufficient. Oversizing the battery beyond what you can realistically charge and discharge daily adds cost without proportionate benefit. We can discuss the options at survey stage once we understand how your household uses electricity.
The mounting system used depends on the roof type. On a pitched tiled roof, purpose-made hooks or brackets are fixed through the tiles to the rafters. The fixing points are individually flashed and sealed to prevent water tracking down the fixings into the roof space. On a flat roof, a ballasted frame system is typically used, which avoids penetrations into the waterproofing membrane altogether.
Rails are then run across the fixings, and the panels clip onto the rails. The cabling runs from the panels down through the roof space to the inverter, which is usually fitted in the loft or on an internal wall. Every penetration through the roof covering - for cable conduit or fixing bolts - is sealed and flashed to a standard that matches or exceeds what we would apply to any other roofing detail.
We inspect the underlying roof structure during the survey for any sign of rafter damage, felt deterioration or tile cracking that would need addressing before panels are fitted. If a section of the roof needs re-tiling or re-felting, we will tell you clearly and give you the cost separately, so you can decide how to proceed.
Alongside Costessey, we install solar panels across the wider area including Wymondham, Norwich, Hellesdon, Drayton, Cringleford, Taverham, Mulbarton, Long Stratton, Loddon and our home base in Poringland. If you are in a nearby village not listed here, call us and we will confirm whether we cover your area.
If you are considering solar panels for your Costessey home, the most useful first step is a roof survey. This tells you whether your roof is structurally ready for panels, which sections are best suited to the installation, and what - if any - preparatory roofing work is needed before the system goes in.
A roof assessment is a sensible step before committing to any work. We will give you a clear picture of the roofing work involved, the mounting approach we would use, and the costs broken down so you can compare them properly against any other quotes you receive.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
