Solar Panels

If I had 10k spare I'd just pay it off the mortgage or pay other bills off.
Imagine what would happen in 10 years time when they have paid for themselves and something goes wrong and you have to buy them again

[tigersaw]

As you can guess, its not for me, but there is a 4kw system here for £8250 fitted
http://www.greenltd.com/offers
Plus scaffold costs

[tigersaw]

how **** can you make your house look?

[Traders]

I remember the days when the first slimline tv's arrived £4.5k for a 32"...now look how much it will cost you today. These items in 10 years time will cost a fraction to what they charge now... save your money.

[flymo]

I disagree, think about how much your electricity will cost in 10 years time.

These are a good investment if you plan on sticking around in the same house, I do and so I invested in this. I bought a 21 panel 4kWp installation that will have paid for itself in 8 years, along with saving me a fortune in electricity bills. Its generated 1200 kWh already since it was installed 4 months ago and at least half of that time has been little sunshine through the winter.

On a sunny day my elec meter spins backwards

You sign up to the feed in tarrif and provide meter readings once a quarter. They pay you an indexed linked amount per unit for a 25 year period. You also get to use the electricity that they are paying you to generate ???? and as a result dont need to buy the same amount from the grid. Happy days.

If you want an unbiased sensible assessment from somebody who has put their money where their mouth is then feel free to PM me.

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Traders

I remember the days when the first slimline tv's arrived £4.5k for a 32"...now look how much it will cost you today. These items in 10 years time will cost a fraction to what they charge now... save your money.

On that logic you would never buy anything, when you are sitting there in 10 years time with your stone aged TV you'll be chuffed to bits I guess. No reason to buy the very latest technology as soon as it ships of course, but then you dont normally get to buy a brand new TV with a government funded scheme that pays you generously for every programme you watch.

[Traders]

Don't get me wrong.. I believe these are an amazing piece of kit and I would love to have them installed, but not at todays prices. When Afghanistan start to mass produce these you will be able to pick them up for a tenner on the market..

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Traders

Don't get me wrong.. I believe these are an amazing piece of kit and I would love to have them installed, but not at todays prices. When Afghanistan start to mass produce these you will be able to pick them up for a tenner on the market..

Thats kind of the point of a feed in tarriff though, to kickstart that demand for the development in this technology. Without demand there is no point in developing, so it simply becomes a decision about the point in time you choose to get on the merry go round. There are benefits and disadvantages to joining early, part way through or a way down the road.

You earn your money, you get to make the choice.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by tigersaw

<snip> considered the fad that was solar water heating 20 years ago?

I think you'll find that solar water heating is now a very sensible option given the cost of conventional fuels. If I was staying put in this house, both PV and thermal solar would be fitted.... unfortunately divorce makes that impossible

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I think you'll find that solar water heating is now a very sensible option given the cost of conventional fuels. If I was staying put in this house, both PV and thermal solar would be fitted.... unfortunately divorce makes that impossible

yep, if we still had a water tank I would have fitted a couple of solar water panels also. Makes very good sense to do so.

Another alternative to look at is ground source and air source heat exchangers to reduce the amount of gas that you buy for central heating, but my funds were limited.