Would solar panels put you off buying?

[fake]

I'm not sure where you are getting your figures from?

 

If you have been quoted 13K for a system by an MCS approved installer then you must either 'A' have a huge roof and would be looking at something way and above 20 panels or 'B' you are been massively overpriced!

 

Example: For a 18 panel system we would be looking in the region of £9/10K - A 18 panel system will give you a yearly FIT payment of: £1077. Depending on the site we work to having a system installed in a day.

 

 

http://swinny.net/House_and_Home/Solar_Electicity/-3632-Compare-Solar-PV-Installers

 

The average cost seems to be around what I have quoted. Some smaller systems can be installed for around £10k but the prices for similar systems seems to vary a lot.

 

Plus..My son is an electrician and wires these up so I know about the costs. For him to travel around the country North and South and being paid travel expenses and expenses for digs shows its a lucrative business at the moment.

 

Rupert_Baehr is also correct as a tax is put on suppliers by the Government to force them into buying this electricity when its not needed and that tax is passed on to the normal consumer.

 

Money saving expert dot com has a good thread about it and I'm sure Which magazine will be doing a piece on them in the future. They have already exposed the lies about having solar heating panels installed so I'm sure PV's and the FIT scheme will be next.

 

Having said that, as its newish technology and also a new scheme it would be worth waiting a year and seeing just how much these panels produce over that period.

[Rupert_Baehr]

In Germany (as I've said before) the electricity companies are obliged to buy the electricity generated by solar, wind or hydro-electric power. They pay twice the 'going rate' (the rate at which they sell electricity.) That cost is passed directly to the consumer 'let the polluter [or user] pay'.

 

As a direct result (and given that Germany has a significant amount of wind, PV and hydro generated power) electricity costs about twice as much as it does in the UK.

TANSTAAFL.

[kidley]

am i reading this right the more solar panels, or put it another way the more houses with solar panels the more expensive electricity will be?

[truman]

am i reading this right the more solar panels, or put it another way the more houses with solar panels the more expensive electricity will be?

 

That's how I read it too....why is "renewable" power more expensive?

[Mercenary]

am i reading this right the more solar panels, or put it another way the more houses with solar panels the more expensive electricity will be?

 

Yes, to the consumers not using solar panels. The cost is passed onto those using the regular supply from the electric company, the theory being that this will force more people to install solar panels until it is a better choice to have them than to not have them.

[Cyclone]

The panels WILL pay for them selves within this time frame because of the Feed In Tariff the Government will pay you for having them. On average you will stand to get around £800 per year. If your system costs you £7-8,000 it will be paid for in 9/10 years. Your payments via the FIT is over 25 years so you will have made a profit before even considering the money saved on generating your own electricity and the power you sell back to the grid.

 

That ignores the profit you'd have made by putting 8k (about half the cost of an normal system isn't it) into a savings account or other investment.

Even at a measly 2% it would make £1750 in interest, so you can add on another 2 years to the break even point of your system. If interest rates go up then you can add on more (as your investment would have paid more elsewhere).

[Rupert_Baehr]

That's how I read it too....why is "renewable" power more expensive?

 

Because it costs an additional amount to make - particularly when you factor in the cost of the equipment which makes it. Solar panels don't work at night (and the nights are 16 or more hours long in winter) Wind power doesn't work when the wind isn't blowing, yet people want electricity all the time, so conventional (usually gas-fired) and nuclear power stations will still be needed and they will still cost money to run.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Yes, to the consumers not using solar panels. The cost is passed onto those using the regular supply from the electric company, the theory being that this will force more people to install solar panels until it is a better choice to have them than to not have them.

 

Is there anybody in the UK who has solar panels and no connection to the mains electricity supply? When do you think that is likely to start happening?

 

If you could generate 1/3 of the electricity you use and the supply company paid you twice what they charge per KwH, then you would indeed get your electricity for nothing (apart from the connection charge) but you would, of course, have to find the money to purchase and install the panels and you would use the 'time value' of that money. If you can get somebody else to do that for you, then you (personally) are on to a good thing, but the cost of electricity in the UK will still rise.

[Riche]

Not all they are cracked up to be. They take years to pay themselves back and by the time they do need to be repaired or replaced. Like free mins on ya phone they make you use more elec cos you thinks it free. A well insulated house with an habit for turning lights off is the best policy. Water collection for toilets is good, but once we start to save then the Power and water companies will have to put the price up to get thier profits back. Its fasionable at mo so thats a good thing. I now see that people are having their PVC window replaced after 10 or more years, and painted also. I thought they were supposed to last forever and not need painting? GIMMICKS.

[JFKvsNixon]

Not all they are cracked up to be. They take years to pay themselves back and by the time they do need to be repaired or replaced. Like free mins on ya phone they make you use more elec cos you thinks it free. A well insulated house with an habit for turning lights off is the best policy. Water collection for toilets is good, but once we start to save then the Power and water companies will have to put the price up to get thier profits back. Its fasionable at mo so thats a good thing. I now see that people are having their PVC window replaced after 10 or more years, and painted also. I thought they were supposed to last forever and not need painting? GIMMICKS.

 

That may be the case with you, but I've never considered this to be an issue.