Roof and site
Roof dimensions, orientation, pitch, usable area, shading, obstructions, access and the practical suitability of the property for solar.
About Tom Solar
Start with the property. Then design the solar system.
Tom Solar provides independent solar surveys and system-design guidance for Scottish homeowners who want to understand what their home actually needs before committing to a major installation.
Scotland-focused
Evidence-led surveys
Independent system guidance
Why Tom Solar exists
A solar quotation should not be the first time your home is properly assessed.
Solar is a significant purchase. Yet homeowners can quickly find themselves comparing panel brands, battery capacities and quotation totals before anyone has properly established what the property actually requires.
Tom Solar starts earlier in that process.
The aim is to examine the practical facts first, build a sensible picture of the system the property needs, and give the homeowner a clearer basis for evaluating whatever installer proposals come next.
What gets considered
More than simply counting how many panels fit on a roof.
Household energy demand
Electricity consumption, occupancy, heating, electric vehicles, heat pumps and the way energy is actually used throughout the day.
Solar system design
Sensible panel numbers and layout, likely generation, inverter requirements, string and MPPT considerations, and the relationship between generation and household demand.
Battery sizing
Battery capacity should relate to the home's actual consumption, solar generation, tariff opportunities and the way stored energy is expected to be used.
Installation practicality
Electrical supply, meter position, equipment locations, loft access, cable routes, Wi-Fi connectivity and other issues that can affect the real installation.
Grid connection
Larger systems can introduce G98 or G99 considerations, export limits and inverter choices that need to be understood before a design is treated as final.
The approach
Evidence first. Equipment second.
A bigger battery is not automatically a better battery. More panels are not automatically the right answer. A larger inverter is not automatically an upgrade.
Each decision should have a reason behind it.
✓ Start with the homeowner's actual electricity demand
✓ Assess the usable roof rather than assuming the whole roof is available
✓ Consider shading, orientation and practical installation constraints
✓ Size storage around how the household is likely to use it
✓ Consider EVs, heat pumps and future changes in demand
✓ Explain why a particular system specification makes sense
Physical survey evidence
There are things satellite imagery cannot tell you.
Roof evidence
Where appropriate, roof measurements and photographic or drone evidence can help establish usable space, obstructions, condition and layout constraints more clearly.
Electrical evidence
Metering, electrical supply and likely equipment locations matter to the installation just as much as the panel arrangement on the roof.
Cable-route evidence
The practical route between roof, inverter, battery, meter and other equipment can affect both the appearance and complexity of an installation.
Independent guidance
The objective is understanding before commitment.
Tom Solar is intended to help homeowners understand the property and likely system specification before making a major buying decision.
That gives you a clearer starting point when you begin comparing equipment, installers, warranties, tariffs and prices.
Sometimes the result may support the system you already had in mind. Sometimes it may suggest a different panel count, battery capacity or inverter size. And sometimes the sensible recommendation may be to avoid buying equipment that the property is unlikely to use well.
The recommendation should follow the evidence rather than the other way around.
Scotland-focused
Designed around Scottish homes and Scottish conditions.
Roof orientation, weather, seasonal generation, property type, electricity demand and grid constraints all influence the economics and practicality of domestic solar.
Tom Solar focuses on Scottish homeowners and on making those decisions understandable before thousands of pounds are committed.