Solar panels
 

Just had PV Solar panels installed over the past few days, 21 panels on my roof. I never knew that watching the elec meter could be so fun ;-)

The best thing is, even though today hasnt been the sunniest, my system is pushing out just under 3KW and my elec meter is going backwards!

:-)

Re: Solar panels
 

Cool, you should be able to sell some back to the leccy board :)

Bet them cost a small fortune didn't they?

Re: Solar panels
 

How much did they cost?

Re: Solar panels
 

+1

Theres a lot of these being fitted locally just lately and ive been considering this myself. Do they require any maintenance?

Re: Solar panels
 

Yep, the way it works is under a government scheme that includes a 'Feed In Tarrif'. This is what makes it financially viable, its aim being to encourage adoption and help to reduce the cost of the technology over time. If you dont have a smart meter (which I dont) then the assumption is that you will supply 50% of what you generate back to the grid, wether or not that is really the case. So, cool thing is that you can be paid for supplying it, actually use that same energy yourself and in addition not have to buy what you would have done previously from the grid. :)

Totally depends on the size of an installation but for 21 panels, all the accessories and installation cost me just under £14K. Pay back time is calculated at around 8 or 9 years, after that its pure profit. The feed in tarrif is index linked and guaranteed for 25 years.

No real maintenance no, unless something fails of course. One point that got raised by Which was over the inverter, its a box that sits in your loft and inverts the incoming DC to useable AC. If these fail then they cost about a grand to replace, they have fairly long warranties though at around 10 years, the panels even longer.

For my system, over its 25 year predicted life span it should earn around £55K profit and save me a cr@p load of electricity purchase.

Re: Solar panels
 

I'll post some pics a little later.

Re: Solar panels
 

Which is why Deborah Meadan said on Dragons Den the other night its better than having money in the bank as you're getting about 10% return on your investment, don't know if her figures are correct, but anythings better than the current interst rate.

Interesting to know that the Feed In guarenteed for 25years, thats good to know

Re: Solar panels
 

We're thinking of going down this route as it's a heck of a saving for us given the huge lecky bills we have. Need to get in fairly soon though, as the govt are proposing changes to the feed-in tariff starting next April.

If you don't have the up-front dosh there are schemes to allow the company to bear the cost of the install and to effectively "rent your roof". You'll still save dosh :thumbsup:

Trouble is, I've seen some installations that are not the best aesthetically......

Re: Solar panels
 

Can I have a link to the company you used please? We are intending to do this and would like a recommendation, rather than trolling around.

Pete ;)

Re: Solar panels
 

Its the £14k i couldnt stomach, but i love saving money as much as the next person.