Solar power solutions

Rooftop solar is a photovoltaic system installed on a roof, terrace or other suitable structure that generates electricity from sunlight. In a grid-connected system, that electricity supplies the building first, and subject to the applicable regulations and metering arrangement, surplus generation can be exported to the grid.

Sunlight falling on the solar modules produces direct current. An inverter converts that to alternating current at the voltage and frequency your building uses, and it feeds your loads directly. When generation exceeds what the building is consuming, the surplus goes to the grid where an export arrangement is approved. When generation falls short, the grid makes up the difference.

The right capacity comes from your electricity bill, not from how many panels fit on the roof. What matters is how many units you consume, how much of that consumption happens during daylight, your sanctioned load, the usable shade-free roof area, and the metering rules your distribution company applies. Sizing from the bill and the site is the difference between a system that pays back and one that exports power you are not credited for.

An on-grid system works alongside the grid and has no battery, so it is the cheapest way to reduce the units you buy, but it shuts down during a power cut for safety. A hybrid system adds battery storage and can keep selected circuits running through an outage. If backup is the priority, that changes the system design and the budget substantially.

No. A standard grid-tied inverter is required to disconnect when the grid goes down, so that it cannot energise a line that someone may be working on. If you need power during outages you need either battery storage, or a generator, or both, which is a conversation worth having before the system is designed rather than after.

Net metering is an arrangement where a bi-directional meter records both the electricity you import from the grid and the surplus you export to it, and your bill is settled on the net. The rules (eligible capacity, the settlement period, and how any surplus is treated) are set by your state regulator and distribution company, so they differ from state to state.

Central and state government schemes for rooftop solar do exist, and eligibility, the amount and the process depend on the scheme, your consumer category, your capacity and the rules current at the time you apply. Because those terms change by notification, we will not quote you a figure from a website. Tell us your consumer category and location and we will help you work through the current official process. The final decision on eligibility and amount rests with the government and your distribution company, never with us.

The main central residential scheme is aimed at residential electricity consumers, so a commercial or industrial connection should not assume it qualifies. Commercial and industrial rooftop solar is usually justified on its own economics instead: daytime consumption, the tariff you pay, demand charges and the payback period. Those numbers are often the stronger argument anyway.

The physical installation is rarely the long part. Site survey, system design, approvals from the distribution company, metering and inspection typically set the schedule, and those steps vary by state and by consumer category. We will give you a realistic sequence for your specific site rather than a headline number.

Yes, and the integration is the part most solar installers are weakest at. Solar, the grid and a generator all feeding one installation needs the changeover and the controls thought through properly, otherwise the inverter and the genset end up fighting each other. Sizing gensets and engineering changeover is what we have done for four decades, which is the main reason we are extending into solar at all.