18 June 2026

Is your roof suitable for solar panels? The pre-quote checklist

Orientation, shade, roof covering, structure and fuse box: five things the installer checks during the survey — and that you can walk through yourself first.

Start with orientation. A south-facing roof surface delivers the highest peak per panel; an east-west layout spreads generation across morning and afternoon, giving a lower peak but a wider profile. Which of the two works out better depends on when you use electricity — and that weighs more heavily now that self-consumption matters more. A surface facing almost due north is rarely the first choice; if you have several surfaces, the installer spreads the panels across the most favourable combination.

Then look at shade, and do so at different times of day. A chimney, dormer, aerial, neighbouring tree or taller building on the south side can switch off part of the roof surface for hours. Shade is rarely a reason to skip an installation, but it is a reason for a different plan: laying panels outside the shaded zone, or using optimizers or micro-inverters so a shaded panel does not drag the rest of the string with it. State in your request what casts the shade — then the quote is right first time.

Next, the roof covering and the structure. Tiles and slates need roof hooks under the covering; bitumen and EPDM on a flat roof need ballast frames and therefore a roof that carries the extra weight; a steel or profiled sheet roof on a shed or business building needs its own fixings. More important than the type is the condition: panels sit on your roof for decades, so roof maintenance that is due within the foreseeable future is best done before mounting — otherwise you pay later to remove and refit them. If you live in a listed building or protected cityscape, check with your municipality beforehand what may be visible; on ordinary homes, panels on your own roof are generally permit-free.

Finish in the fuse box. A single-phase connection handles an ordinary home system fine, but with a larger system or a combination with an EV charger or heat pump, three-phase comes into play. Also check whether a free circuit remains and where the cable can run inside from the roof. If you are considering a battery later, have the connection prepared right away — a free circuit and the right inverter now save breaking open walls later. Unsure about any of these five points? The survey and the quote are free and without obligation, and the price index shows in advance which band fits your situation.