Question 1

How much does solar cost for a home?

Accepted Answer

From our design software’s prices for a typical terrace, with GST: 3 kW about ₹1.79 lakh and 5 kW about ₹2.79 lakh after the ₹78,000 subsidy on DCR panels. From 6 kW, standard panels without the subsidy cost you less: 6 kW about ₹3.18 lakh, 8 kW ₹3.68 lakh and 10 kW ₹4.17 lakh. A battery adds to that. Your offer gives the exact figure, held for 30 days.

Question 2

Is there a subsidy for my home?

Accepted Answer

Yes. PM Surya Ghar pays up to ₹78,000 for an eligible home: ₹30,000 a kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third. It needs DCR panels, which cost more; up to 5 kW they still come out cheaper after the subsidy, and from 6 kW standard panels without it usually cost less. We work out both and quote the cheaper way, and we apply for the subsidy with your net meter.

Question 3

Can I pay in instalments?

Accepted Answer

Banks lend for home solar under the PM Surya Ghar scheme. At 7% over 10 years, a 3 kW plant comes to about ₹2,080 a month and a 5 kW plant about ₹3,240, often less than the bill it replaces.

Question 4

Will solar make my electricity bill zero?

Accepted Answer

Close to it, but rarely zero. On net metering the units your plant makes are set off against the units you use, but TNPDCL charges a network charge on every unit generated (about 32 paise a unit for homes up to 10 kW), and units beyond what solar makes are still billed. A surplus left at 31 March lapses, so we size the plant to your use.

Question 5

Do I need a battery for my home?

Accepted Answer

Not to save money. An on-grid plant gives the best return, but for safety it switches off when the grid fails, so it gives no power in a cut. If your power goes often, choose battery-ready (a hybrid inverter now, the battery later) or battery now. Plan my solar suggests one from how often your power goes.

Question 6

Does solar work during a power cut?

Accepted Answer

An on-grid plant doesn’t: it must switch off when the grid fails, so that linemen working on the line are safe. A hybrid plant with a battery keeps your home running on the battery and the panels. Your UPS, if you have one, keeps doing its job either way.

Question 7

Can I add a battery later?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if the plant is built battery-ready: a hybrid inverter now, with the battery added when you want it. A plain on-grid inverter can’t take a battery later without being changed, so tell us at the design stage which way you lean.

Question 8

I already have a UPS at home. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

Keep it. The solar plant connects to your main board, and your UPS goes on backing up the same lights and fans during a power cut, as it does today. If you would rather have solar keep running in a cut, a hybrid inverter with a battery can take the UPS’s place; we’ll tell you whether that is worth it for your home.

Question 9

How much roof space do I need?

Accepted Answer

About 6 m² (63 sq ft) of shade-free roof for every kWp on a flat terrace or tiled roof, and about 5 m² (55 sq ft) on a metal-sheet roof. A 5 kW home needs about 30 m² (320 sq ft). Ground plants take about 2.5 acres per MWp. Walkways and the parapet’s winter shadow need room too, so we measure the roof before fixing the size.

Question 10

How long does it take?

Accepted Answer

A home is switched on in 3 to 5 weeks and a business plant in 5 to 8, counted from your first call. Only 3 to 4 days of that are on a home’s roof, and 3 to 5 weeks on a plant’s; the rest is materials and the utility’s approvals, which we file the day you approve the design.

Question 11

What happens on cloudy days and in the monsoon?

Accepted Answer

The plant keeps making power from the light that gets through, just less of it. In our Pollachi example the dullest month, November, makes about three-quarters of what March makes. The yearly units in your offer already count every month, and the P90 figure allows for a poor year.

Question 12

Will the panels damage my roof?

Accepted Answer

On a metal-sheet roof the rails are bonded to the sheet, so nothing is drilled through it, and we lay a walkway so nobody steps on the sheets. On a terrace the frame sits on foundations and weighs about 21 kg per kWp. Every fixing is on the drawing you approve.

Question 13

How long do solar panels last?

Accepted Answer

The plant is designed for 25 years. Our offers count a 1% loss in the second year and 0.4% a year after that, so a 25-year-old plant still makes about 90% of what it made in its first year. Panels and inverters carry their makers’ warranties, and our workmanship warranty runs 20 years.

Question 14

What maintenance does a solar plant need?

Accepted Answer

Little: the panels are cleaned in the dry months, and the monitoring tells us the moment output drops. Our payback figures set aside 1% of the price a year for homes and 1.25% for plants towards upkeep, and allow for an inverter replacement around year 13.

Question 15

Which approvals are needed, and who files them?

Accepted Answer

We do. Homes need TNPDCL’s net metering and businesses up to 999 kW its net feed-in; larger HT plants run alongside the grid with a reverse power relay and export nothing. Plants above 10 kW also need CEIG approval. We file the day your design is approved, since permits are the only stage outside our control.

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