With the renewed solar policy for 2019 released recently, residents and commercial establishments are seeking professional assistance in setting up solar rooftop in their homes. Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), an NGO which has many experts on this matter is keen to help residents.
Vishnu K, an expert in energy-related subjects said that the installation process may be a tedious one, especially with the decreased availability of net meters which is crucial to run a solar rooftop. “There are two criteria to choose the capacity of solar panel that a resident wants to install. One is the amount of non-shade area available and second is their bi-monthly electricity consumption,” he said.
A solar panel of one kilowatt (KW) capacity that can generate up to 1,500 units a year, requires a minimum of 120 sq ft. Refer to the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency’s website which has a list of approved solar panel vendors. “One will have to shell out a minimum of `60,000 to install a one KW solar panel. One must carefully check the vendor’s quotation along with the capacity of panel, origin of the inverter,” he said. Make sure that the vendor visits the site of installation before dispatching the parts. After this, the surface of the panel needs to be checked for any cracks or defects.
For the panel to export solar power generated to the grid, a bi-directional meter is needed. Hence, the resident needs to submit necessary documents to Tangedco. “An acknowledgement number needs to be obtained from the local EB office to register to get the meter. After installation, solar power generated will be taken into account only from the second billing cycle. For this, the resident must settle pending dues recorded by the old meter,” he said Residents who require help contact CAG at 24994458.