Connection and notification
The network operator may need to be told about your system or approve it. Settle who prepares and sends that notice, and when, so it is not left until after the work.
Evidence: A copy of the notification or approval.
Bright Ray / Your home, considered
Grid connection, metering and export: four separate questions
A home solar system touches your electricity supply in several different ways. Connection, metering, export arrangements and paperwork are separate matters, and each can have a different person responsible. This guide helps you ask about them one at a time.
Separate tasks, named responsibilities
Metering
Your meter type can affect how generation and export are recorded. Someone needs to check whether it is suitable and arrange any change with your supplier.
Evidence: Written confirmation of the meter arrangements.
Export arrangement
Payment for surplus electricity is a separate agreement from the installation. Decide who looks into the available options and who applies for one.
Evidence: The written export terms and eligibility conditions.
Records and handover papers
Commissioning and notification papers are useful long after the work finishes. Agree who supplies them and when you will receive them.
Evidence: A handover list naming each document.
Does my supply need to be told?
Most homes with solar are connected to the local electricity network, and the network operator may need to be informed or asked for approval depending on the size and type of system. The rules and thresholds change over time, so check the current requirements with your network operator or an authoritative source rather than relying on a general guide.
The practical question for any quote is who will make the notification or application, when it will be made, and what happens if the operator asks for changes.
Who notifies the network operator?
Ask whether the installer, you or someone else submits the notification, and whether this happens before or after the work.
Who makes the notification, and at what point in the project?
Is approval needed before installation?
Some systems may need approval before going ahead. Ask the installer to explain whether yours does and how long they expect it to take.
Does my system need approval before work starts?
What if the operator objects?
Ask what would change if the network operator limits the system size or asks for equipment adjustments, and how that affects the quote.
What happens to the quote if the operator asks for changes?
What about my meter?
Your existing meter may or may not suit a solar system. Whether you have a smart meter, a traditional meter or a prepayment meter can affect how generation and export are recorded, and your supplier may have its own requirements.
Solar generation is normally recorded separately from what you buy from or send to the grid. Ask what readings you will be able to see and where they are shown.
Meter type
Tell the installer what meter you have, and ask whether it needs to be changed or checked before or after the system is fitted.
Will my current meter need changing?
Smart meter
If you have a smart meter, ask your supplier how it records exported electricity and whether anything needs to be set up.
Will my smart meter record what I export?
Generation readings
Ask whether there is a generation meter or in-app reading, and who can see the figures if a question arises later.
Where will I see how much the system generates?
Do I get paid for exporting?
Sending surplus electricity to the grid is a separate matter from connecting the system. Whether payment is available depends on the arrangement offered by your supplier or another provider, and the terms vary between them and over time.
Do not treat an export payment as part of the system quote unless the terms are given to you in writing. Ask for the eligibility conditions, the payment basis and any notice period before you rely on them.
Which arrangement applies?
Ask who provides the export arrangement, whether you need to apply separately and whether your own supplier is the only option.
Which supplier or scheme would pay for my export?
Terms in writing
Request the rate basis, eligibility conditions, contract length and how either side can change or end it.
Can I have the export terms in writing before I commit?
Export limits
Ask whether the system will be set to limit how much it sends to the grid, and what that means for how it behaves.
Will my system have an export limit?
What documents prove it?
Keep a record of what was done and who confirmed it. These papers are often asked for later, for example by a supplier, a buyer of your home or an insurer.
Ask for the documents at handover rather than waiting until you need them, and check that your name and address are correct on each one.
Commissioning record
A record showing the system was tested and set up when it was brought into use.
Will I receive a commissioning record at handover?
Notification or approval record
Written confirmation that the network operator was told or gave approval, where that applies.
Can you show me the notification once it is sent?
Export agreement
Any contract or confirmation from the provider paying for exported electricity, including its terms.
Equipment and settings summary
A list of the equipment fitted and how the inverter and any export limit are set.
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Ask which steps Bright Ray handles
If you are planning home solar, tell us about your property and supply and ask which of these steps Bright Ray can help with before you decide.
