Solar Panels at Home – How to Prepare Your Electrical Installation?

The decision to install solar panels usually comes at the finishing stage – which is a mistake. A well-designed photovoltaic installation requires adequate space in the distribution board and pre-installed cabling. This way, panel installation will be quick, cheaper, and non-invasive to the facade.

If you are still at the planning stage, treat solar as part of the full electrical design, not an afterthought. The PV route affects conduit runs, breaker sizing, surge protection, and spare module space in the board.

What to Plan for a PV Installation?

• Cable route from distribution board to inverter mounting location,
• Conduit for DC cables from the roof,
• Free modules in distribution board for protection devices,
• Dedicated circuit for inverter and energy metering.

What Protections Are Required?

A PV installation must meet AC/DC protection standards:

• Type 1/2 DC SPD – surge protection,
• AC SPD in distribution board,
• Type A or B RCD for inverter,
• Overcurrent breaker + PV isolation switch.

These protections should be coordinated with the rest of the distribution board design, especially when the building already includes a heat pump, EV charger, or other high-load circuits.

Inverter Mounting Location

Best locations are garage, utility room, or plant room – cool, dry, with good ventilation. Inverters don't like high temperatures.

What to prepare before the installer arrives

• Confirm the inverter location and cable route length.
• Reserve board space for SPDs, breaker, isolation, and metering.
• Check whether the AC connection should share design assumptions with heat pump electrical installation.
• Size cables early using the same rules you apply in the cable selection guide.

If you prepare the installation in advance, PV installation will be quick, neat, and free from unnecessary wall chasing.