Plan solar into your build

Bring solar into the conversation while your architect, builder and electrician can still coordinate the work. Start with the plans and how you expect to use the home, rather than choosing a package from a panel count.

Put the layout on the drawings

Ask the solar designer and building team to agree which roof areas are usable, allowing for roof windows, chimneys, vents and shade. The mounting design must suit the actual roof structure and covering. A clear rectangle on a drawing is not a structural assessment.

Mark the proposed inverter location and routes between the roof and electrical equipment. Agree access for maintenance, weather protection and any required equipment clearances. The chosen products and site assessment should determine the details, not an assumption that any garage or utility room will do.

Before work is covered up, settle who provides each route or opening, who checks it and who makes good the finishes. Ask how the roof covering, weather seals and the building’s insulation and airtightness will be protected. Changes to the building design should go back to the relevant designer.

Make room for choices, not promises

You do not have to buy a battery or an EV charger just because you are fitting solar. If either may follow later, ask what is being allowed for now and what a future installation would still need.

• Battery: which proposed inverter and battery models work together, what equipment would be added and where could it go?
• EV charging: where will the car park, how could the cable reach it and what electrical assessment will be needed?
• Heating: what electricity demand has the heating designer allowed for? Keep measured use and forecasts separate.

“Battery ready” needs an explanation in the proposal. Space or a cable route does not guarantee compatibility with every future product. Our battery guide and solar and heat pump guide explain the questions behind those choices.

Do not assume a new home gets the domestic grant

Under the standard rules, SEAI’s domestic Solar PV grant requires the home to have been built and occupied before 2021, with an MPRN and no previous solar PV funding at that MPRN. A home being built now does not meet that age condition. Renovating an existing home does not, by itself, establish eligibility either.

Specific exceptions apply to homes supported under the defective concrete blocks remediation scheme. If that is your situation, ask SEAI about the exception in its grant terms before assuming the standard rules exclude you.

Keep an assumed grant out of the budget until the applicable scheme and property eligibility are confirmed. Our home grant guide explains the other conditions and approval steps.

Ask the project designer to confirm the planning and building requirements for the proposed work. The government’s rooftop solar exemptions have conditions and limitations, including restrictions affecting protected structures and Architectural Conservation Areas. Where the position is uncertain, check with the local planning authority. A solar quotation is not planning permission.

Agree who does what, and when

1. Before the work: agree the layout, named equipment, exclusions, responsibility for building work and the connection process.
2. During the build: keep a record of agreed changes, concealed routes and the work each contractor has completed.
3. At handover: obtain the relevant electrical certificate, commissioning records, product information and operating instructions. Have monitoring and support arrangements explained.

If you are still at the drawing stage, contact us to discuss the plans and the next useful step. If you are renovating an existing home, you can request a free, no obligation solar roof survey. Drawings help start the discussion; the site and electrical work still need assessment before a final proposal.