Knowledge Hub & FAQ’s
Whether it’s solar panels or heat pumps, no matter what your question, our renewable energy experts will have it covered.
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The suitability of your home for solar panels depends on several factors, including roof orientation, available space, shading, and the structural condition of your roof.
Our solar team can conduct a professional evaluation to determine whether solar panel installation is feasible for your property.
In most cases, planning permission is not required to install solar panels. However, there are exceptions to be mindful of, such as if the panels exceed your roof size or are mounted separately on the ground. It’s always a good idea to check with your local planning office to ensure compliance.
- The amount of electricity a typical home in Northern Ireland can generate through solar PV (photovoltaic) depends on factors such as system size, roof orientation, and local weather. On average, a well-positioned 4 kW solar PV system in Northern Ireland can produce around 3,000 to 3,800 kWh of electricity per year.
- Key considerations include:
- System size: A 4 kW system (typically 12-16 panels) is common for residential properties.
- Weather: While Northern Ireland receives less solar radiation than sunnier areas, solar panels remain efficient, even in cloudy conditions.
- Roof orientation: South-facing roofs with little shading generate the most energy, while east- and west-facing roofs are also viable options.
- Consumption: The average UK household uses about 3,700 kWh annually, so a 4 kW system can meet a large portion of a home’s energy needs.
For a more precise estimate and guidance please contact Daly renewables on 028 9266 7745.
The cost of installing solar panels for a typical home in Northern Ireland varies based on system size, panel quality, and installation factors. Here’s an overview of estimated costs:
4 kW Solar Panel System (ideal for most homes):
- Price: Typically ranges from £5,000 to £7,000. This covers the solar panels, inverter (which converts DC to AC electricity), and installation.
6 kW Solar Panel System (for larger homes):
- Price: Typically costs between £7,000 and £9,500.
Battery Storage (optional):
- Adding a battery for energy storage can cost an extra £2,000 to £5,000, depending on the battery’s size and brand.
Download our budget cost guide!
Daly offer an Ecoforest Heat Pump which has a built in energy manager. This device monitors solar Pv production and will activate the heat pump to boost the hot water in the house and the UF heating to ensure that the system operates during the hours of solar production. This minimises the electricity taken from the grid and results is very low running costs.
(Enter Pic of Barry Mc Carron stat on Linked In here)
You might need a battery storage solution if:
- The house is unoccupied during the day.
- You use most of your electricity in the evening or at night.
- Your solar panels produce more energy than you use during the day.
- You want to reduce reliance on the grid and lower electricity bills.
- Export tariffs for selling excess energy to the grid are low.
- You do not have an EV or if you do you only have the option to charge your EV vehicle in the evening after work.
If your energy usage mostly occurs during the day or you get good rates for exporting excess energy, a battery may not be necessary. Daly Renewables can guide you to the best solution to meet your home needs.
A heat pump is a versatile heating system that provides warmth in winter, cooling in summer, and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) year-round. A heat pump draws power from two renewable and eco-friendly energy sources:
- the earth/geothermal, also known as Ground Source Heat Pumps.
or
- ambient air, also known as Air Source Heat Pumps.
Heat pumps are incredibly efficient, generating up to five times more energy than they consume, making them the most efficient system available today. Heat pumps are also cost-effective, reducing energy consumption and lowering utility bills.
- Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP): Extract heat from the ambient air to provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water (DHW) year-round. They work even in cold weather by utilising the heat available in the air outside.
- Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP): Extract energy from the earth to deliver heating, cooling, and DHW all year. These systems are quiet, require little maintenance, and have a renewable, inexhaustible energy source.
Ecoforest’s Ground Source Heat Pumps with Inverter technology are the most efficient on the market.
Thanks to advanced technology, with the Ecoforest GSHPs, you will obtain perfect comfort in your home or office and reduce the building’s consumption by up to 80% thanks to the use of a natural and free energy source, the earth.
Ecoforest’s Air Source Heat Pumps efficiently harness renewable energy to provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water in one comprehensive system. Ecoforest’s ASHP has an innovative defrosting system, that works without stopping the compressor, increasing the working time by 10%. When other heat pumps are still defrosting, the Ecoforest ASHP is already in service therefore making it more efficient.
Air Source & Ground Source Heat Pumps have an insulated internal lining which keeps noise levels at a minimum. They are also designed and constructed to minimise vibration levels. In houses for example with 150mm cavity walls, the heat pump will not be heard outside. The Ground Source Heat Pumps are designed to be installed in the dwelling and not in the Garage.
Heat Pumps are a perfect fit for low energy dwellings which have a lower than normal heat load. Compared to an oil fired system, the maintenance is minimal and the fact that it is a low temperature system, there is no blending of the heated water down to 35 degrees. Underfloor Heating fed from an oil fired system requires blending of the water at the manifold with cooler water, which makes it inefficient. Underfloor Heating is very hard to control off a high temperature oil system as you are bringing 70-80 degree water from the boiler and mixing it down to 35-50 degrees at the manifold to run through the UF Heating System. This leads to inefficiencies straight away. The other thing is that an oil boiler for most dwellings oversized as the smallest boiler you can get is 15kw. When underfloor heating is connected to an oil boiler there are additional controls such as pumps, mixing valves, actuators etc which are items that can require more maintenance after it is installed.
A full service every year is recommended. Carrying out preventative maintenance ensures that we keep on top of your system and unexpected call outs are therefore minimised.
The lifespan is 20-30 years for each technology, though the Solar PV inverter may need replaced after 10-15 years. Daly will set up your system to ensure it runs at its most efficient giving you the comfort levels you require without putting undue pressure on the compressor. We will advise you on how best to manage your system and we can be called upon after commissioning to ensure it is running at its optimum.
An average sized property will require typically 400-600 sq m of ground. It is best installing the pipe in 2 or 3 x 100m long trenches, 1.2m deep. Each circuit is 200m and travels out 100m and back again. The proper sizing of loops is critical. The Ground type and the heat loss of the property are the two main determining factors when sizing the ground collector.
Heat pumps provide ample hot water to a high enough temperature to avoid the need of using top up immersion heater devices to top it up. Daly will size your pump to suit both your property and your lifestyle ensuring it provides all your heating needs, including hot water.
We set our systems to run at 21°C throughout the house, with bedrooms at 18°C. Intelligent technology means that the systems are weather compensated, meaning that they adjust to variations in the weather throughout the day. The systems flow in harmony with the outside temperature.
A backup heat source is not required on a New Build. We will design the heat pump system to provide 100% of the heating & hot water requirements all year round.
There are a number of critical design and installation factors which have not been understood by all installers in the infancy of underfloor heating in the UK and Ireland.
The quality of pipe, floor covering and understanding of the most efficient way to manage underfloor heating is key to its success. Underfloor heating does not give out the intense heat we are used to with conventional radiators but rather emits a more ambient heat over a longer period of time.
It is ideally suited to heat pump technology as it is ‘on’ all the time, with the intelligent technology adjusting temperatures as necessary. Larger heat-radiating areas produce effective and efficient heating. Room temperatures are generally 1 ºC to 2 ºC lower than with conventional radiators, but the flow temperature is constant and produces an energy saving of 6 to 12%.
Underfloor heating has the added bonus of creating a healthy living environment, reducing dust mites as the dryness of the heat deprives mites of the moisture they need to thrive. This not only reduces housekeeping chores but frees up wall space.
We use Roth underfloor pipe which is the leading underfloor system in the German market. Daly has been to the Roth manufacturing plant and been fully trained in its installation. Site visits to manufacturers gives us the confidence in the quality and durability of materials.
Drilling boreholes increases the capital cost significantly of a domestic Ground Source Heat Pump System. When a horizontal collector system is designed and installed correctly, it is every bit as efficient as a borehole system. If your ground is not suitable for a horizontal collector system, we would advise installing an Air Source Heat Pump System instead.
With modern houses now a lot better insulated and more airtight, the importance of air quality becomes more critical. Having a Controlled Ventilation System guarantees filtered fresh quality air into each habitable room which is very hard to achieve with trickle vents or a Positive Input Ventilation System.
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