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Not at all. Solar panels don’t work on sunlight, they work on daylight. The stronger the light, the better the yield, but any amount of daylight will convert into electricity via the photovoltaic cells.

They do, but they tend to do it themselves if they are fitted at the correct angle. Rainwater and snow will clean most of the normal, day to day dust and debris straight off. However, if you are unlucky enough to have been in the path of a flock of birds, or any other messy little critters, you may need to have your panels cleaned by a professional. Someone with one of those massive brushes that window cleaners use these days would do the job.

South facing roofs are the best for solar panels in the UK, as they will get the best light all day. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have panels facing in other directions. East/West splits are a great way to get the strongest light hitting your panels from the minute the sun comes up until dusk. Even a North facing panel will pick up a fair bit of light but will obviously suffer from severe shading at certain times of the day.

Decades! That’s not an exaggeration. Solar cells degrade at 0.5% per year so, after 30 years, they are still at 86% of their original efficiency. 86% is the point where most manufacturers say that the panel is no longer useful in a solar array, but the truth is they can go on producing electricity for another couple of decades. Most panels will come with a 25-year performance warranty … and some even 30 years.

This would depend on the size of your array, but most domestic installs take a matter of hours. You should, however, book a few days out for the whole process. The first thing to happen will be erecting the scaffolding, which will take a full morning, or afternoon, if you live in a 2-floor home. Then, the panels will be fitted, usually the day after. On the final day, the scaffold will be taken away.