Solar panels

[skeetly]

Any chance of an online link to the scheme flymo?

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Bluepete

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

Yep, I used this company http://www.thegreenelectrician.co.uk/ not sure if they are close enough to you or not. They do an initial assessment using Google Earth then if you want a more detailed quotation they'll come and do a survey. Its free and should tell you the details you need for your particular location.

Originally Posted by specialone

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

Thats the only downside really, its an investment but you need to find the money to make it.

Originally Posted by skeetly

Any chance of an online link to the scheme flymo?

There are a number of these around, I think the best one is the Energy Savings Trust site http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...ar-electricity

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Jabba

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

That's not entirely true (edit...yes you are right, but you dont get the main slice of the cake) . These companies are not doing you any favours as the main gain is through the FIT payments. If they own the equipment then they get the benefit of these payments, not you. You may still get the benefit of some free electricity and a reduced need to buy from the grid but the main financial benefit is in FIT.

The other thing to consider with the 'rent a roof' approach is that the installation is not owned by you even though its on your property. If at some point you decide to sell your property you will need to find somebody who is willing to take on the solar contract with your supplier at the same time. You may find it more difficult to sell.

for more information see here http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...olar-PV-offers

Originally Posted by flymo

That's not entirely true (edit...yes you are right, but you dont get the main slice of the cake) . These companies are not doing you any favours as the main gain is through the FIT payments. If they own the equipment then they get the benefit of these payments, not you. You may still get the benefit of some free electricity and a reduced need to buy from the grid but the main financial benefit is in FIT.

The other thing to consider with the 'rent a roof' approach is that the installation is not owned by you even though its on your property. If at some point you decide to sell your property you will need to find somebody who is willing to take on the solar contract with your supplier at the same time. You may find it more difficult to sell.

for more information see here http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...olar-PV-offers

so on a house that gives you free electricity when there's sunlight around it becomes harder to sell?

[tigersaw]

Originally Posted by thefallenangel

so on a house that gives you free electricity when there's sunlight around it becomes harder to sell?

Well actually yes maybe. PV panel efficiency is pretty poor just now, in 10 years things may have improved to the point it costs much less, is smaller and more efficient. Selling a house with a dinosaur on the roof which the purchaser must also commit to may be a hurdle.

[flymo]

Originally Posted by tigersaw

Well actually yes maybe. PV panel efficiency is pretty poor just now, in 10 years things may have improved to the point it costs much less, is smaller and more efficient. Selling a house with a dinosaur on the roof which the purchaser must also commit to may be a hurdle.

exactly. What if the purchaser wants to install their own, or they simply dont want to use that particular supplier. They may just not want to take part in a contract for solar energy, whatever the reason they may prefer to buy a house without this commitment.

[flymo]

just an update now that I've had this system in for around 3 weeks. I'm totally amazed by just how successfully its been generating electricity.

In 3 weeks its generated nearly 200 kWh (units) of electricity. While I was away in Spain on holiday last week it was happily generating, I came back to find that my meter had gone backwards by nearly 100 kWh! Awesome.

I've registered now for the feed in tariff payments so once I start to see some cash coming back from that it will be even better.

So, if you are seriously considering solar.....get on with it. If not, you probably should be.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by flymo

just an update now that I've had this system in for around 3 weeks. I'm totally amazed by just how successfully its been generating electricity.

In 3 weeks its generated nearly 200 kWh (units) of electricity. While I was away in Spain on holiday last week it was happily generating, I came back to find that my meter had gone backwards by nearly 100 kWh! Awesome.

I've registered now for the feed in tariff payments so once I start to see some cash coming back from that it will be even better.

So, if you are seriously considering solar.....get on with it. If not, you probably should be.

What does this mean cash wise?
My mum's wanting to do it and I think I put her off on my thoughts re. re-sale... but I've been thinking I doubt they'll ever move so if it'll be some benefit to her I want them got.

[tigersaw]

I still can't see how the maths stacks up. Assume £15k outlay (loss). Assume future governments will honour the generous feed in tarriffs. I'm led to believe I can recover my capital after 10 years, and then its all profit.. (sic)
However, if I invested £15k for 10 years, I always had my capital avaialable and my capital will now be worth £25k.
Assuming the panels still work after 10 years, then it still wont be generating an income as fast as the original investment.

[flymo]

Originally Posted by tigersaw

I still can't see how the maths stacks up. Assume £15k outlay (loss). Assume future governments will honour the generous feed in tarriffs. I'm led to believe I can recover my capital after 10 years, and then its all profit.. (sic)
However, if I invested £15k for 10 years, I always had my capital avaialable and my capital will now be worth £25k.
Assuming the panels still work after 10 years, then it still wont be generating an income as fast as the original investment.

where do your investment return numbers come from? from the Halifax savings calculator I work out that in order to raise my capital from 15K to 25K by using a savings account at 3%, that would take just over 21 years assuming that you have to pay tax.

The 15K figure you use is also a little high, especially for a typical installation. I paid just under 14K and that got me the biggest system I could buy without exceeding the limitations of the best feed-in-tariff rate criteria, thats a 3.99 kWp system using 21 Suntech panels. Most homes either would not require this many panels or could avoid spending as much as I did, but even if you do not consume all the energy it can create it is worthwhile buying as large a system as you can accomodate and afford.