NPES SOLAR

NPES SOLAR Wolverhampton's Premier and award winning bespoke Solar PV installer. Covering all of the West Mids.

With over 12 uears of trading behind us you are in safe hands for now and the long term. Next Phase Electrical Services ltd T/A Npessolar number 09041389

01/09/2026

☀️ DO SOLAR PANELS STOP WORKING WHEN SUMMER ENDS?

No. Solar panels generate electricity from daylight, not heat, so they continue working throughout autumn and winter.

However, generation will usually be lower because:

🌥️ Days are shorter
☀️ The sun sits lower in the sky
🌳 Shading may increase
🌧️ Cloud cover is often heavier

This is why a solar system should be assessed using its expected annual generation—not judged by its best summer day.

A battery can also remain useful during winter. When there is less surplus solar available, it may be charged during a cheaper overnight tariff and used when electricity is more expensive.

The best solar-and-battery design should account for how the system will perform across all four seasons, not just during perfect weather.

NPES Solar installs solar PV and battery-storage systems throughout Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford and surrounding areas.

Would you like an honest estimate of what solar could generate on your roof throughout the year? Send NPES Solar a message.

# # ☀️ FRIDAY ROUND-UP — ANOTHER BUSY WEEK AT NPES SOLARAnother week wrapped up, and it's been a good mix of installati...
28/08/2026

# # ☀️ FRIDAY ROUND-UP — ANOTHER BUSY WEEK AT NPES SOLAR

Another week wrapped up, and it's been a good mix of installations, surveys and progress on a larger commercial project.

🔋 **Sunsynk & Fogstar installation**

This week we've installed a **Sunsynk hybrid inverter alongside a 16.1kWh Fogstar battery** for one of our customers.

A great combination for someone looking to make better use of their solar generation, take advantage of cheaper overnight electricity tariffs and have plenty of usable battery storage available when electricity prices are higher.

📋 **Plenty of surveys completed**

We've also been out carrying out quite a few site surveys this week for prospective solar and battery customers.

For us, the survey is an important part of getting an installation right. It gives us the opportunity to look properly at equipment locations, cable routes, roof access, electrical requirements and anything else that might affect the installation **before** work begins.

Hopefully we'll be welcoming a few of those customers into the **NPES Solar family** over the coming weeks. 🤞

🏢 **Our latest care home project is coming along nicely**

Work is also progressing well on a care home installation for a new commercial customer.

Commercial solar brings a different set of considerations to a domestic installation — from system design and electrical infrastructure through to DNO requirements, access, working around the operation of the building and making sure the installation causes as little disruption as possible.

We'll share more from this project as it progresses.

It's nice to finish the week with new systems installed, future projects being surveyed and another commercial installation moving in the right direction.

Whether it's a **home solar and battery system, an upgrade to an existing installation or a larger commercial solar project**, the same principle applies:

**Design it properly. Install it properly. And make sure it's right for the customer.**

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend from everyone at **NPES Solar**. ☀️🔋

📍 Wolverhampton | Walsall | Cannock | Staffordshire | West Midlands
📞 **01902 248684**

🔋 WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BATTERY CAPACITY AND BATTERY POWER?They sound similar, but they describe two very differ...
27/08/2026

🔋 WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BATTERY CAPACITY AND BATTERY POWER?

They sound similar, but they describe two very different things.

Battery capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). It tells you how much energy the battery can store.

Battery power is measured in kilowatts (kW). It tells you how quickly that energy can be supplied to the home.

A large-capacity battery does not automatically mean it can run several high-demand appliances at once. The actual output may be limited by:

⚡ The inverter’s maximum output
🔋 The battery’s discharge capability
🏠 The electrical demand within the property
📊 Any settings or limitations applied during commissioning

For example, a battery may contain plenty of stored energy, but if the household demand exceeds the system’s available output, additional electricity may still be imported from the grid.

The same principle applies when charging. A bigger battery may take longer to fill if the inverter or battery has a relatively low charging rate—particularly during a short overnight cheap-tariff window.

That is why battery systems should be designed around more than the advertised storage capacity. Your electricity usage, peak demand, tariff times and intended use all matter.

NPES Solar designs solar and battery-storage systems around how each property actually uses electricity across Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford and the surrounding areas.

Want to know whether a proposed battery has enough capacity and power for your home? Send NPES Solar the system details and we’ll help you understand the figures.

⚡ WILL SOLAR PANELS KEEP MY HOME RUNNING DURING A POWER CUT?Not automatically.Most standard grid-connected solar systems...
26/08/2026

⚡ WILL SOLAR PANELS KEEP MY HOME RUNNING DURING A POWER CUT?

Not automatically.

Most standard grid-connected solar systems are designed to switch off when the electricity supply fails—even if the sun is shining. This safety feature prevents electricity being sent back onto the network while engineers may be working on it.

To keep the property powered during an outage, a system needs to be specifically designed for full-home backup. Depending on the chosen equipment, this can include:

🔋 A compatible hybrid inverter and battery
⚡ An automatic backup gateway or changeover arrangement
🌍 Correct earthing and electrical protection
📊 An assessment of the property’s maximum electrical demand
🧪 Proper commissioning and backup testing

At NPES Solar, we only offer full-home backup rather than a small selection of essential circuits. However, full-home backup does not necessarily mean every high-demand appliance can be operated simultaneously without limits.

Electric showers, cookers, heat pumps and EV chargers can place a significant demand on the system. The available backup power is still determined by the inverter output, battery discharge capability and remaining battery capacity. Some appliances may therefore need to be managed during a prolonged power cut.

Having solar panels and a battery does not automatically mean a property already has backup protection. It must be designed and installed as part of the system from the outset—or carefully assessed as a later upgrade.

NPES Solar designs full-home solar and battery-backup systems across Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford and the surrounding areas.

If there were a power cut, how long would you want your home to remain operational?

25/08/2026

⚡ CAN SOLAR PANELS CHARGE AN ELECTRIC CAR?

Yes—but using surplus solar isn’t always the most financially rewarding way to charge it.

Your solar system supplies the property first. A compatible EV charger can then monitor the electricity being imported or exported and use available surplus solar to charge the vehicle.

However, the electricity tariff matters.

With some export tariffs currently paying around 12p per kWh, and certain EV tariffs offering cheaper overnight electricity, it can actually make better financial sense to:

☀️ Export your surplus solar during the day
⚡ Charge your EV from the grid during the cheap overnight period

For example, if you receive 12p per kWh for exporting solar but can charge your vehicle overnight for less than that, you retain the difference—although charging losses should also be considered.

Of course, this won’t apply to every household or tariff. Other factors include:

🔌 Whether the car is at home during daylight hours
☀️ How much surplus solar the property produces
🔋 Whether there is also a home battery
⏱️ How quickly the vehicle needs charging
💷 The customer’s actual import and export rates

Solar charging is still a useful option, particularly where there is no attractive overnight tariff. But the best setup isn’t automatically “use every spare unit of solar”—it’s about using and selling electricity at the right times.

NPES Solar designs and installs solar PV, battery storage and EV charging systems throughout Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford and the surrounding areas.

Are you currently charging your EV from surplus solar or using a cheap overnight tariff?

24/08/2026

☀️ WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS AFTER YOU ACCEPT A SOLAR QUOTE?

You’ve chosen your installer and accepted the quotation.

So… do we just order some panels and turn up?

Not quite. 😄

There’s actually quite a lot that happens behind the scenes before a solar PV system is installed.

📋 1. The system design is finalised

Panel layout, inverter sizing, cable routes, electrical protection and equipment locations all need to be confirmed.

⚡ 2. We deal with the DNO

Depending on the size and type of system, your local Distribution Network Operator may need to be notified or give permission before the system can be connected.

On some installations this can also determine how much power you're permitted to export back to the grid.

📐 3. The electrical design is completed

Cable sizes aren't chosen simply because “that's what we normally use”.

Length of cable run, current carrying capacity, installation method, voltage drop and protective devices all have to be considered.

Sometimes what looks like a straightforward installation can require a surprisingly substantial cable run or electrical upgrade.

🏠 4. The installation is planned around the property

Where will the equipment go?

How do we get the cables there?

Can it be installed in the customer's preferred location while still complying with current requirements?

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Sometimes we have to explain why it needs to go somewhere else.

🔧 5. Then we install, test and commission it

Once installed, the system doesn't simply get switched on.

The AC and DC sides are tested, protection is verified and the system is commissioned before being handed over to the customer.

📄 6. And we're still not finished

There is then certification, DNO documentation, MCS documentation where applicable, warranties and the customer's handover information to complete.

So when you're comparing solar quotations, you're not only comparing the panels and inverter listed on the page.

You're also choosing the company responsible for designing, installing, testing, commissioning and certifying the complete system.

That's a much bigger part of a solar installation than most people ever get to see.

📍 NPES Solar – Solar PV & energy storage installers covering Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford, South Staffordshire and surrounding areas.

Next Phase Electrical Services Ltd t/a NPES Solar

⚠️ WHY IS ONE SOLAR QUOTE CHEAPER THAN ANOTHER?This week we returned to a system we posted about recently — a 5-year-old...
21/08/2026

⚠️ WHY IS ONE SOLAR QUOTE CHEAPER THAN ANOTHER?

This week we returned to a system we posted about recently — a 5-year-old solar installation where we discovered the inverter had only been operating on one of its two PV strings.

This time, the work involved removing the panels and replacing the original roof mounting system.

And once the panels came off, it highlighted something we get asked about all the time:

“Why is another solar quote cheaper?”

From the ground, two solar installations can look very similar. It's only when you start taking one apart that you sometimes see where the savings were made.

Once we stripped this array back, we found:

🔧 Roof hooks secured using only one screw, rather than being adequately fixed to the roof structure

🔧 Poorly executed rail extensions and joins instead of rails being properly measured and cut to suit the installation

🔧 Panels installed with clamps outside the manufacturer's specified clamping zones, leaving the modules inadequately supported and allowing them to noticeably flex and bounce

🔧 General shortcuts within the mounting system that simply aren't how we would expect a professional PV installation to be completed

⚡ And, as we discovered on our previous visit, one complete PV string wasn't operating, meaning the system hadn't been performing as it should.

The original installation was carried out around five years ago by a company that was known for being very competitively priced. Unfortunately, that company has since ceased trading.

For the upgrade, we have removed the original roof mounting and replaced it using the Solar Slate Plate ERIC-TILE mounting system, giving us a properly engineered fixing arrangement and allowing us to reinstall the array correctly.

We're not posting this simply to criticise another installer. It's a real-world example of something customers rarely get the opportunity to see.

Two quotes can specify similar panels, similar inverters and appear to offer exactly the same thing — but that doesn't mean you're buying the same installation.

The parts you can't see matter just as much as the ones you can.

✔️ Correct roof fixings
✔️ Correct panel clamping zones
✔️ Properly measured and installed mounting rails
✔️ Correct cable routes
✔️ Correct string design
✔️ Thorough testing and commissioning
✔️ Quality mounting products installed correctly
✔️ Taking the time to do the job properly

All of those things have a cost.

This system now has its electrical issues rectified and its original mounting replaced with Solar Slate Plate ERIC-TILE, with the panels correctly supported and secured.

Sometimes the difference between the cheapest quote and the more expensive one isn't what you can see written on the quotation.

It's the workmanship behind it — and unfortunately, sometimes you don't discover the difference until five years later.

📍 NPES Solar

Solar PV • Battery Storage • EV Charging • System Upgrades & Remedial Works

21/08/2026

🔋 What size home battery do I actually need?

The right battery size isn’t simply based on how many solar panels you have.

A proper battery-storage design should consider:

✅ Your average daily electricity consumption
✅ How much surplus solar energy is available
✅ Whether you use a cheap overnight electricity tariff
✅ Your highest-demand appliances
✅ The battery’s usable capacity—not just the advertised figure
✅ The inverter’s maximum charge and discharge rate
✅ Whether you want backup power during a power cut

A battery that is too small may regularly run out before the end of the day. However, fitting the biggest battery available isn’t automatically the best answer either—it needs to have a realistic way of being charged and discharged.

For many homes, the best solution is a battery that can store surplus solar during the day and, during winter, charge at a cheaper overnight rate for use when electricity is more expensive.

At NPES Solar, we size battery-storage systems around the property’s actual electricity usage, tariff and future plans—not simply the largest system we can sell.

We install solar panels and battery-storage systems throughout Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford and the surrounding areas.

Have a question about battery sizing? Leave it below and we’ll give you an honest answer.

20/08/2026

🌙 Do solar panels and battery storage still benefit you at night?

Yes. Solar panels stop generating after sunset, but a correctly sized home battery can continue powering your property using solar energy stored during the day.

During winter or periods of low solar generation, the battery can also charge using cheaper off-peak electricity—helping reduce your reliance on expensive peak-rate energy.

At NPES Solar, we design solar PV and battery-storage systems around your property, electricity usage and tariff, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all package.

📍 Based near Wolverhampton, we install across Walsall, Cannock, Stafford, Telford, Dudley, Stourbridge, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

📩 Contact NPES Solar for honest, practical advice about solar panels and home battery storage.

20/08/2026

🔋 WHERE SHOULD A HOME BATTERY BE INSTALLED?

A home battery should be installed in a suitable location that complies with the manufacturer’s instructions and current safety guidance.

When choosing the location, an installer should consider:

🔹 Fire safety and escape routes
🔹 Proximity to doors and windows
🔹 Ventilation and temperature
🔹 Protection from weather and accidental damage
🔹 Safe access for future maintenance
🔹 Battery cable lengths and electrical requirements

This means the closest or easiest position isn’t always the correct one.

For some properties, the safest and most appropriate solution may be to install the battery in a garage or another suitable area. This can require a longer and more expensive cable route, but safety and compliance should always come before convenience.

At NPES Solar, every solar and battery-storage system is designed around the individual property. We will always recommend the location we believe is safe, compliant and suitable for long-term use—not simply the quickest or cheapest place to install.

📍 Serving Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and the surrounding areas.

☀️ NPES Solar
Next Phase Electrical Services Ltd t/a NPES Solar

Address

Unit 31 Four Ashes Business Centre, Latherford Close, Four Ashes
Wolverhampton
WV107BY

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441902248684

Website

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