Dubai solar: Your complete guide to installing panels on your home

Contractors favour economies of scale offered in commercial projects but say even domestic installations offer payback within eight years.

A solar installation on the roof of the Al Fahidi Souk in Dubai. Silvia Razgova / The National

Contractor interest in the nascent market for installing solar panels in Dubai is growing, but remains skewed towards ­commercial rather than domestic users.

Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has just published a guide for homeowners on how to get panels installed, which includes a list of approved consultants and ­contractors.

Homeowners need to engage these companies to help secure a no-objection certificate from Dewa and approval for their system designs, as well as getting permission to connect to the network once completed works are inspected.

Within masterplanned communities, homeowners may also need to gain separate approval from the developer or owners’ association before installing panels.

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Step-by-step guide: How to install solar panels in your home

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For example, Union Properties requires residents to gain no objection certificates and gate passes for contractors before carrying out any modification or alteration works, and tenants need to submit various papers including a connection agreement from Dewa, ­technical drawings and method statements.

A spokesman for Nakheel said that it also requires owners to submit modification proposals before doing any work, however, it said that “the installation of solar panels is both permitted and encouraged in Nakheel communities”.

One of Dubai’s biggest contracting companies, Al Jaber Engineering & Contracting (Alec), set up a division last year targeting the solar panels market but its focus is on commercial and industrial buildings.

Gipin Mani, the account ­manger for Alec Energy, said that Dewa’s introduction of net metering had opened the door for all property owners to be able to capitalise on solar ­energy.

Net metering allows property owners to effectively “sell” ­excess power generated during the day to Dewa, which gives credits that can be redeemed on future energy bills.

This means property owners no longer need expensive storage batteries to benefit from solar generation.

Mr Mani said the length of the payback period for those installing solar panels varies because Dewa charges homeowners and commercial users different rates based on energy usage ­levels.

However, even conservative energy users should see a payback for solar installations within eight years, he said.

“It’s a very good initiative. A lot of people are interested in investing,” he argued.

Mr Nami said that it generally takes about 10 square metres of roof space to generate 1kW of power, so a typical three-bed villa with 100 to 200 sq m of roof space would be capable of generating between 10 and 20kW of power.

Alec Energy typically targets projects capable of generating at least 500kW. It installs the systems for free under lease deals lasting for 20 years. It then provides electricity at a discount to Dewa’s regular rate but requires a minimum level of power use.

In October, the company agreed a deal with Al Nabooda Automobiles to install 25,000 solar panels on the roofs and car parks of its body and paint shop. The panels will generate about 6.8MW, or about 70 per cent of the shop’s energy requirements.

Zohal Renewable Energy, a company set up in May 2015 as a joint venture between Gargash Group and Green Energy Systems, is one company that sees opportunities in the residential market.

It has spent more than a year ensuring that all five of its engineers gained accreditation from Dewa and has already installed panels at a mosque within Dubai Silicon Oasis as well as at a labour camp for fisheries workers in Jebel Ali.

Muhammad Ansari, Zohal’s sales and marketing engineer, said that its first two residential projects are in the design phase. It is calculating a more aggressive payback period than Alec – six years – on the basis that “current electricity prices will increase” over time.

He said that installations cost about US$1.50 (Dh5.50) per watt produced but is more ­conservative in his target of how much a typical villa roof can produce, given that many also have to accommodate chiller units and other plant equipment.

“It is tough to accommodate more than 4 to 5 kW on a single villa,” he said, unless the ­property has been specifically designed to accommodate ­panels.

Mr Ansari said the high demand for power in the region and the weather conditions makes solar an ideal power source but added that “the process to apply for a solar connection for domestic users should be simple, not time consuming, which is the case now.

“If the government eases the procedure for end users, that will be a significant kick for the market,” he said.

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