Most people work out how many panels fit on the roof. Connection, though, starts from the capacity of your metering point — how many kW your connection is allowed to draw and to export. For a typical household that number rarely moves without work on the connection itself, and it is the real ceiling.
Three limits, smallest wins
| Limit | What sets it | Can it move |
|---|---|---|
| Consumption | Your annual bill | Yes, but oversizing does not pay because surplus is credited lower. |
| Roof | Area, pitch, orientation, shade | Partly — another roof, an outbuilding, or ground mounting. |
| Connection capacity | The connection agreement and metering point | Only by applying to increase it, at a cost and a wait. |
So "how many panels fit" is the third question, not the first. The calculator handles the first two limits and says plainly when the roof is the binding one; the connection capacity you have to check on your bill or with your operator.
Where the time goes
- An incomplete approval request — one missing document puts the file back at the end of the queue.
- Waiting for the meter swap, which follows the operator's schedule, not your installer's.
- Unsettled co-owner consent in apartment buildings, discovered too late.
- A system sized above the connection capacity, forcing the design to be redone.
Ask the installer to state in the quote who files which application, and what happens if the approval comes back for less capacity than was quoted. That one sentence settles the most common dispute in this business.