Frequently asked questions

A grid-connected system without a battery shuts down during an outage, by design and by regulation, so that it cannot feed a line engineers may be working on. A battery with a backup function keeps selected circuits running.

Around 0.4 to 0.5% a year for the panels we fit, which is why a 30-year performance warranty still guarantees a high proportion of the original output at the end of it. The inverter is the component more likely to need attention first.

Yes, and it is the one maintenance item that genuinely matters here. Between Saharan dust events and months without rain, a soiled array loses a meaningful share of its output, and the loss builds quietly across the whole system.

Usually, but it is cheaper and tidier if the inverter was chosen with that in mind. If a battery is a possibility rather than a plan, say so at the survey and the design can allow for it at no extra cost.

The system stays with the property and the warranties transfer with it. A documented installation with production records is straightforward to hand over; an undocumented one is the thing that slows a sale down.

No, and plenty of good systems do not have one. A battery earns its keep when you produce more during the day than you use and what you are credited for exporting sits well below what you pay to buy back. Both of those are true for most Cyprus households, which is why it is worth checking rather than assuming.

Yes, if the system was specified for it. We fit hybrid inverters as standard for exactly this reason, so adding storage later is a battery and a day's work rather than replacing the inverter you already paid for. Ask any installer whether their quote leaves that door open.

Enough to catch the surplus you actually have, which is usually smaller than people expect. Sizing to your biggest summer day buys capacity that sits empty for eight months. The calculator above shows the point where another unit stops having anything left to store.

Only if the system has been built for it. A battery on its own does not keep the lights on: that needs an inverter with a backup output and a separate circuit wired to it, decided before installation rather than after. Tell us if it matters to you and we will quote it that way.

Yes. Under net billing the electricity you send to the grid earns the export rate, while the electricity you buy back costs the full retail price. A battery lets you keep more of your own production and use it in the evening, which is where the distance between those two values turns into money on your bill.

Technically yes, and it rarely pays. Without production the battery has nothing to store except grid electricity bought at one time of day and used at another, and Cyprus domestic tariffs do not have the price difference that would make that worthwhile. Storage earns its keep alongside a roof that is producing more than the house uses during the day.

A single 5.12 kWh module is roughly the footprint of a small suitcase against a wall, and a stack of two or three is taller rather than wider. What usually decides the position is not floor space but ventilation, a shaded wall and a short run to the inverter. We pick the spot during the survey.

Lithium storage is rated in cycles rather than years, and a home battery does roughly one cycle a day. Manufacturers guarantee a share of the original capacity after a stated number of cycles, and that pair of numbers is the useful comparison rather than a headline lifetime.

Usually on a wall in a garage, a plant room or a shaded exterior wall, close to the inverter. It needs ventilation and it does not want direct afternoon sun, which in Cyprus rules out more walls than people expect.

There is nothing to service annually. What it does benefit from is somebody glancing at the monitoring now and then, because a battery that has quietly stopped cycling looks much like one that is working until you check.

Home storage sold in the EU is built to standards that cover exactly this, and the chemistry used in home units is among the more stable available. Installation matters as much as the product: ventilation, mounting and the protection around it are part of the job.

The battery itself is silent. The inverter has a fan and a faint hum under load, which is why neither belongs on the other side of a bedroom wall.

It is covered by the EU battery regulations, which place the obligation to take it back on the producer. In practice you contact whoever supplied it. It is worth confirming in writing for the specific make before you buy.

Yes, and that is the reason to fit a charge point into the system rather than beside it. It reads what the roof is making and what the house is using, and gives the car the difference. How much of your charging that covers depends on your week, which we go through at the survey.

Yes, and it is the change most people notice first. Charging at home costs the retail price of your electricity and nothing on top, where public charging carries the hardware, the site and the convenience as well. Panels make it cheaper again later, and a charge point fitted now is ready for them.

Yes. Charge status, start and stop, a schedule, and what the car has used over the week. Most people set it up on the first day and then leave it alone.

Usually. It is a much smaller job than the original installation, and what decides it is the inverter you already have rather than the panels. Some can tell a charge point what the surplus is and some cannot, so that is the first thing we check.

No. A charge point works with panels alone, and a battery bought only for the car is rarely the cheapest way to charge it. Storage earns its place on the evenings and the power cuts first, and the car is a good reason to size it generously rather than a reason to buy one.

That is our job rather than yours. Both of the ones we fit do the same thing well, and which suits you falls out of the inverter, the supply and how the car is used. We name one in the quotation and explain what made the difference.

Yes, and on a Cyprus property it usually is. What we look at on the day is where the cable reaches comfortably and how much afternoon sun the wall takes, because shade is kinder to any equipment through a Cyprus summer.

For a normal day's driving, a couple of hours. For a nearly empty battery, overnight. The exact rate depends on the supply, the charge point and what the car itself will accept, and we put all three in writing with the quotation.

Yes. The unit switches to grid power automatically when the sun goes down. During the day it runs on your panels, at night it works like a normal air conditioner.

Often, yes. If your current system has spare production in the middle of the day, your existing AC can use it. A dedicated solar AC makes sense when your system is already fully used or cannot be expanded.

No. Good units you already own are worth keeping. The solar AC is best used to replace an old unit or to add cooling to a room that lacks it.

No. A solar water heater uses the sun's heat to warm water. This uses solar electricity to run an air conditioner. Different products, same roof.

Usually not. The unit runs on its own panels and never feeds electricity into the grid. We confirm what applies to your property at the free survey.

One unit cools one room or open area. It comes in three sizes, from bedroom to open plan living room. For a whole house we combine units, and we size everything at the survey.

Yes. The pump runs slower rather than stopping, and slow water through the filter still cleans it. A run of dull days is the case we size for.

No. The pool is the storage: water filtered during the day stays clean through the night, so there is nothing to keep until the evening.

No. The panels feed the pump and nothing else, and nothing ever reaches the grid, so there is no export to apply for. We confirm what applies to your property at the survey.

Sometimes, but usually it is not worth it. Most existing pumps are old single phase motors that waste energy no matter what feeds them. The complete kit replaces the pump with a far more efficient DC motor, which is where a big part of the saving comes from. For larger pools with modern three phase pumps a retrofit solar drive can make sense, and we assess that at the survey.

The pool looks after itself and it costs nothing to do so. This is the case holiday homes and rental properties buy it for.

Less than the pump it replaces, in most cases. It spends most of its time well below full speed, and noise falls away faster than speed does.

Almost always, and the fuel is why. The engine costs you every hour it runs and it runs hardest in the months the crop needs the most water. Work out what your season burns in litres and you have most of the answer before anybody quotes you a price.

Yes. A hybrid controller runs the pump on the panels whenever there is light and hands over to the engine or the mains when there is not, so nothing is thrown away. On most sites a tank does the same job for less, which is the option we price first.

Usually not. A tank filled during the day carries the irrigation past sunset for a fraction of what storing the same energy costs, and on many sites nothing is needed at all because the watering happens in daylight anyway.

Often, yes. An existing alternating current pump can be driven from panels through a solar drive, which is the cheaper route when the pump is sound. Where it is old or badly matched to the borehole, a direct current pump usually pays for itself in what it saves.

The pump runs slower rather than stopping, so it moves less water rather than none. A run of dull days is what the tank is sized for.

Not where the panels feed the pump and nothing else. Nothing reaches the grid, so there is no export to apply for. We confirm what applies to your land at the survey.

Deeper than most boreholes on the island, but the honest answer is that depth, flow and distance together decide the design rather than any one of them. We measure all three before quoting.

It depends on the property and on how quickly approvals come back. We give you an expected timeline in writing with your quote, and we tell you as soon as anything moves.

No. Many sites start with panels only. We plan the system so a battery can be added later without rewiring, and we show you the numbers for both options so you can decide.

We coordinate them. The EAC application and the approvals are prepared and submitted through the appropriate licensed specialists, and NorthWatt is responsible for making sure they progress. You deal with us rather than with each party separately.

You receive the documentation for your system and a named contact at NorthWatt. If something needs attention later, you come back to us and we arrange it with the right specialist.

NorthWatt designs the system, owns the project and stays your point of contact. The installation and the regulated electrical work are carried out by qualified specialists we select and coordinate. You are not asked to manage them.

Heat reduces panel output, so we account for it when we size the system rather than quoting a best-case number. Equipment is chosen for high-temperature performance and for being serviceable on the island.