Solar Panel Megathread

[iansheff]

Would be better looking in the solar panels mega thread.

 

Oh they moved your post now I said that

Edited October 21, 2013 by iansheff

[solarlady]

Hi, does anyone have any experience of Eco Energy Smart for solar panels?

 

Tried searching but cant find anything, good or bad.

 

Thanks

 

 

Hi The Chavs

 

If you are still looking for a local supplier, we are based in Sheffield (Handsworth) and will be happy to provide you with a free quote.

 

http://www.solar-roof-solutions.co.uk

 

0114 269 1121

 

Thanks!

Edited October 31, 2013 by solarlady
updated telephone number!

[vix2000]

I have read beck a few pages and am a bit confused now. I am a childminder therefore, especially in the winter, am in during the day, but minimal electricity is used as my CH is gas. I can stick the washing in and use the dishwasher but the tv is rarely on, unless the grandkids come at teatime. I have a router & linkstation nas plugged in all the time, don't know how much they use. The kettle will be on frequently.

 

But in the evening there are often 2 tvs on, phones and laptops charging and lights being used so I am now wondering whether having solar panels will benefit me at all? Also Mr Peacock said you can now get a 4kw system for under £5000. How many panels and how efficient would a system that size be?

 

Thanks.

[solarlady]

I have read beck a few pages and am a bit confused now. I am a childminder therefore, especially in the winter, am in during the day, but minimal electricity is used as my CH is gas. I can stick the washing in and use the dishwasher but the tv is rarely on, unless the grandkids come at teatime. I have a router & linkstation nas plugged in all the time, don't know how much they use. The kettle will be on frequently.

 

But in the evening there are often 2 tvs on, phones and laptops charging and lights being used so I am now wondering whether having solar panels will benefit me at all? Also Mr Peacock said you can now get a 4kw system for under £5000. How many panels and how efficient would a system that size be?

 

Thanks.

 

You will find that you will make a minimal saving on your winter electricity bill if the bulk of your usage is in the evening. The panels only generate during daylight hours, so in winter evenings when it is dark from about 4pm you will not be generating anything. Changing usage habits is always advised, charge electrical during the day, use a slow cooker etc and if you are in during the day and only need to heat a couple of rooms you could use a low energy electric heater when you have surplus 'free' electricity.

 

Battery storage is available, but this is still a bit costly because the batteries will need replacing every 7 years or so.

 

You would still benefit from the feed in tariff payments though, regardless of whether you used the electricity. This could be used to offset the cost of your evening electricity bill. the payments are tax free and index linked, and guaranteed for 20 years.

 

The price of a decent 4kW (16 panel) system, using European inverters and panels should cost in the region of £5300 - £5800 + vat. If it were under £5k then I would have serious concerns about the quality of the materials used or the installation workmanship.

[vix2000]

Now im not just saying this because we fit them. Ive had a 2kw south facing system for over 18 months now, and based on the predicted generation, and the actual generation, I have produced more kWh than calculated. in terms of electricity savings, I have saved about a third off my bill.

 

Prices are falling, and are set to fall further with the coming Green deal scheme. You can get a 4kW system now for under £5000 (18 months ago the same system would cost between £11000 to £15000.

 

Thanks for the reply, I was just going on information from the above post. Would this not be a decent system, then? How much would the storage facility add to the cost, approximately, please?

[solarlady]

Thanks for the reply, I was just going on information from the above post. Would this not be a decent system, then? How much would the storage facility add to the cost, approximately, please?

 

Its hard to say whether or not it is decent kit without knowing what the inverter and panels are but it does seem on the very low end of pricing for a good (mid-ranged) 4kW system.

 

You also have to bear in mind that an installer needs to cover their running costs and membership to MCS and other bodies that they must be members of in order to enable you to claim for the feed in tariff. They should be issuing a workmanship warranty to cover their workmanship for 2 years or more and you would expect them to still be around for years to come to help you if your inverter were to generate a fault. This could be something that the cheaper installation prices may not factor in.

 

With regards battery systems - you would be looking at another £2-4K on top of a standard installation price. This would store up to 4kW for use in the evening.

[vix2000]

Thank you very much, thats given me lots to consider!!! The gentleman posting said he has a 2kw system, would this be much cheaper? Could you do that then add more at a later date as funds allow?

[Cyclone]

Its hard to say whether or not it is decent kit without knowing what the inverter and panels are but it does seem on the very low end of pricing for a good (mid-ranged) 4kW system.

 

You also have to bear in mind that an installer needs to cover their running costs and membership to MCS and other bodies that they must be members of in order to enable you to claim for the feed in tariff. They should be issuing a workmanship warranty to cover their workmanship for 2 years or more and you would expect them to still be around for years to come to help you if your inverter were to generate a fault. This could be something that the cheaper installation prices may not factor in.

 

With regards battery systems - you would be looking at another £2-4K on top of a standard installation price. This would store up to 4kW for use in the evening.

 

If you use a battery system, do you still qualify for FIT payments?

[solarlady]

If you use a battery system, do you still qualify for FIT payments?

 

Hi Cyclone

 

Yes you do still qualify for the FIT payments because this is paid on renewable generation. The only thing you may miss out on is the Export payment - but only if you have a smart meter installed at the property, which many don't as the national roll out of these has not started yet. So you will still get the 50% assumed export payment.

[Dazz1]

Has anyone had solar panels installed by a company called solargreen PV part of jp glasby, I would like to know what you think of the installation and if you have had any issues?

 

---------- Post added 05-12-2013 at 18:22 ----------

 

They are big installations. Eighteen panels in all. It's a 3.3kw system which operates during daylight hours. Obviously the brighter and sunnier the day is then the more leccy they will produce.

There is another thread running on this on the sheffield board but I haven't added to that one yet.

The company are technically renting the space above your roof. They get the "feed in tarriff's" as payment and in return you get to use the free electricity generated by the panels. You can use as much as you like but it only works during daylight hours. It can't be stored for later usage.

The company own the panels but after 25 years they are yours if you wish to keep them.

There is absolutely no cost to the home owner whatsoever. The company both maintain and insure the panels and will even remove/replace them twice during the 25 year agreement period at their own expense, in order for you to do any maintainance work etc on your roof.

 

You could of course pay for your own system (approx 20,000 for the one we are having) and claim the FIT for yourself.....approx £800 per year, but you would be waiting many years for the system to pay for itself. The beauty of this scheme is that you will immediately be getting literally something for nothing.

We couldn't afford to install this system so I look on it as having something that we wouldn't normally have had so therefore we aren't really losing anything at all.

 

To qualify you will need a roof space of 24 square metre's (I think) so it is quite a big roof. It will also have to be totally free from any shadowing, and south facing. These conditions have to be met in order for the system to be able to perform to it's maximum.

 

I can't wait for ours to be installed now.

you don't get something for nothing, you had a luck escape,,, once on your roof they own your roof and they get all the FIT payments and unlimited access to your house to check it,, then try selling your house,,, who would want it?