VIDEO CASE STUDY: More Coverage, Bigger Savings, Less Hassle - SolarTyle

Visiting solar installs can be a gamble. What if it's tipping it down? What if the site hasn't performed like we're told?

This site was no different, but not in the way we were expecting.

In the spirit of open reporting, SolarTyle got us access to one of their customers so we could understand how one of their systems was working, what really was important to the customer and why they chose this in-roof solar approach, rather than traditional roof-mounted systems.

This was quite an eye-opener.

The Entrepreneur and His Wife

Paul, the homeowner we interviewed for this visit, was one of those Essex entrepreneurs who puts Alan Sugar to shame. No City boy backing, no VC leg-ups. Paul has built a business doing first-class graphics and marketing for companies across the UK.

It turns out business is well and truly in the family too, with Paul's equally talented partner running her own business delivering essential schoolwear to a host of local schools in the area.

But the businesses don't run at their home. In fact, their home didn't exist at all for a year or two.

It was built from a field of nothing, only after Paul and his family camped out in a caravan whilst they waited for council permission to build their dream home.

Finally it got built. Seven years passed, but they had a problem.

The Energy Problem

Aside from some niggles with the existing roof installation, one of the driving factors that got Paul searching for solar solutions for his home was the energy it was consuming, and the prices they were paying.

"The bills were eye watering. Then with all these wars and conflicts. It got worse." Paul, Homeowner

Why didn't he get solar when he built the house? Paul is pretty adamant about the decisions he made at that time.

"It's ugly. Big solar panels...And this is my dream home"

Paul is a sober, reserved sort of guy who prefers to spend his time tinkering with mechanical problems on his classic cars, and as his business developed, so did his passion for ever bigger projects.

Combined with a family who he wanted to treat to the benefits of his and his partner's success, the planned pools, super garage and eco-friendly electric vehicles all demanded one thing.

Electricity.

Then Paul found SolarTyle.

Aesthetically and Wallet Pleasing

As problems increased with his roof build, and electricity prices rose faster than his business could shift graphics, Paul had a simple choice. He needed to generate electricity.

Having examined the 'whole of market', the SolarTyle team offered him a solution that won twice over.

Replacement roof tiling that generated energy. A lot of it.

As Liam Dennis from SolarTyle told us:

"You can increase the [solar] yield from a roof because we can get into places other panels can't reach." Liam Dennis, MD, SolarTyle

With a battery primed for a time-of-use (TOU) tariff and 80 SolarTyle tiles fitted, Paul has a very helpful 7.4 kWp solar system installed in his roof, without breaking the sleek, designed skyline he originally envisaged for his dream house.

Even with increased usage from two EVs, a bespoke car garage and some pretty fun times for his kids in the new pool, Paul managed to shave his energy bills by 75% - in his own words.

Which means his payback on this roof retrofit is going to be fairly swift.

A Tile for Everyone?

Let's look at the reality of the SolarTyle solution and consider if this integrated solar roof tile system is a solution for lots of homes in the UK.

We contacted Matthew Goldschmied, Retrofit Consultant at RVI Architectural Design, about SolarTyle and what it could offer his clients.

We weren't contacting Matthew out of the blue. We knew he was already circling around the idea of using integrated solar tiles for many of his projects in London and the South East of England.

"Integrated solar tiles are a great solution to use for two reasons. They are really quite pleasing on an aesthetic level. The second benefit is the fact these tiles can replace existing roof coverings without adding extra load onto the roof, I mean their no real wind load on a tile." Matthew Goldschmied, RVI Architectural Design

We have a large number of homeowners trying to avoid the excessive charges from rocketing electricity prices, and Matthew's clients range from the big to the small, but often have common challenges. Matthew followed up with this:

"These types of tiles are fantastic for hipped roof renovations, or other roofs with elevations that can't fit conventional larger panels. The form of these tiles adapt to the shapes of the roof, which for me is a winner. And to be honest it - just looks so much better as well."

SolarTyle roof tiles have standard configurations, which means they fit into the existing space left by many modern tile shapes. They have integrated hidden gutters to drain away the rainwater and connecting details which will make roofers who begrudgingly want to install solar very happy.

What About Performance?

SolarTyle has performance specs that put them way ahead of the older style of solar tiles, probably down to the improved Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) technology they use.

One advantage, which comes with a trade-off, is that you really need 4-5 tiles to equal the output of a standard panel. But the truth is, those 4-5 tiles might fit into a roof plane or elevation that wouldn't have been suitable for a standard panel.

We actually witnessed the tiles being fixed and fitted to roofs, and with all the fixings in place, these tiles do not really have much risk of being whipped off, unless we finally get hurricanes here in Blighty.

The tiles are warrantied when sold for up to 25 years' performance and a 15-year workmanship warranty. SolarTyle are already getting requests for installations from companies as far afield as Northern Ireland, Scotland and even France. That's possibly an indicator of how well they have positioned their product offering and its performance.

Batteries Too

To top the offering off, SolarTyle got themselves accredited as Tesla Powerwall, Fox ESS and Sigenergy installers. So I'd say not only is the retrofit market a growing base for this product and solution, but I can see the new-build and self-build market opening up for this British team.

On Paul's installation, he fitted a 10 kWh battery system using the SolarTyle team, and he's indicative of a much wider move towards solar, batteries and good-looking roofs...