Solar Panels

[monkeybiter]

Just been visited by a salesman, quoted ~£8.5k for installation of 12 panels + inverter etc. Declined the credit spiel as it would be cash if we eventually decide to do it.
15Mins later a 'phone call from the installation team, got a warehouse full of surplus panels for a delayed project, so could do it for £6.9k.

http://www.libra-energy.co.uk/cat/12340/solar-panels This is the link to their supplier of panels, I don't think they're 62p each, but at £62 what's all the other money for? Or maybe it's £620 retail.

Anybody got any recent experience with Solar Panels/Feed in Tariff etc.?

 

[Roxie]

Had my 11 panels installed 18 months ago for £8k and the full 0.43p/kWh and guaranteed for 25 years with 10 years on the inverter. At the present rate they will be paid for in 8 years.
John

 

[NikNak]

Mike.... i'm just off to work in 10 mins so no time for a long answer, but search my previous postings for solar panels and how much i paid.

what inverter are they specifying..?



Nick

 

[Harbo]

I think the payment has gone down to 14p - the papers reckon it will now take 16.5yrs to cover a £7 k installation?

Rod

 

[gregmcateer]

Mike.... i'm just off to work in 10 mins so no time for a long answer, but search my previous postings for solar panels and how much i paid.

what inverter are they specifying..?



Nick

Ditto,

and I think the payments have dropped, too - definitely check - though v pleased with ours

Greg

 

[NikNak]

Mike....


See here for a good read re solar panels....

anybody-in-devon-with-pv-solar-panels-please-t70181.html?hilit=solar%20panels


Yes the feed in tariff has dropped.... we now get (incl the export part too) 17.69p per kw generated (or thats what my missus calculates it at.... must be right... she's a human calculator :shock: ) ..... and that's index linked, so each year for the next 20 year's (in our case) it'll go up...

As for reaping the benefits.... got to be honest and say the best way of doing it is by actually using all the free 'lecky you'll be making i.e. you have to be at home during peak hours to make use of it. Sure... you're gona get paid for generating it, and paid for sending 50% back to the grid.... but if you're generating it then you might as well use the stuff too. Just as i went off to work earlier my missus put a beef joint in the oven, closely followed by a banana bread she quickly whipped up too... all cooked by the power of the sun 8)

She rung our energy provider last Friday and where we've been paying £42 per month for electric, not only will we be getting a BIG rebate but our monthly direct debit is likely to be going DOWN to around £20 per month.... :mrgreen:

As for the £8.5k suddenly down to £6.9k..... for 12 panels... we managed 14 panels for...... £4.6k. It's a buyers market....



Nick

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Many people need to think carefully now that the rest of us are not subsidising the feed in to the same extent. The largest part of many people's electricity consumption is for water heating : why not forget electricity, and have solar water heating?

 

[monkeybiter]

NikNak:- thanks for that link, I'm working through that thread as time permits, lots of interesting experiences. Our electric bill is enormous and I ought to be able to save more just by pinning down the culprit items, but if I could get 12 panels installed for less than £4.6k then it's very 'do-able'. The visit/quote today is just a starting point as far as I'm concerned, interest is piqued and while the salesman may have sold me a system it will probably be somebody elses!

phil.p:- our water is heated by a gas combi, but thanks anyway.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I'm sure there must be a simple way of pre heating water before it gets to the boiler? It's only water storage. I'm just now going through all this because of an impending house move.

 

[andersonec]

I really do not understand why every one is so concerned about 'Payback' time on these things, same as with heat pumps, surely the point of buying them is solely to cut down on energy bills. I do not hear anybody quoting payback times when spending £20,000 on a kitchen or £20,000 on a car, obviously if it does nothing for the image then it has to pay back in some other way.
I would also be very dubious about 'payback' because like anything else that comes in a bit cheaper than the average we tend to use a little more because "we can now afford it," like shopping at the supermarkets, fill the trolley, '2 for 1' and then at the end of the week chuck half of it away.
How long will these feed-in tariffs last anyway? the Government is always looking for cuts and like winter fuel allowance and child benefits it seems like it's another luxury given out by a party to win votes which can so easily be removed.
Saving costs on energy bills must start with the end users, how long have they been banging on about switching off items at night and not leaving them on standby? turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees, energy saving bulbs (12volt
LED's are a bit more expensive to buy but last a lifetime) etc. etc. etc.
It also makes me mad when the planners dictate what style your roof tiles must be when self building then allow these panels to be installed :? is that not defeating the object of choosing roof tiles to be 'inkeeping' with the surrounding area?
I think if I were looking at any type of energy saving device then it would be ground or air source heat pumps, then when the energy bills soar in the future (they certainly will not come down) you are protected in your own little way.

 

[No skills]

I'm sure there must be a simple way of pre heating water before it gets to the boiler? It's only water storage. I'm just now going through all this because of an impending house move.

I think you can tie in solar water heating tubes with a combi system with the correct multi-input tank and controls.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I'm looking into solar water heating and rainwater harvesting purely to reduce future bills - I'm not attempting to save the planet : ergo, every pound spent (and more) has to come back. I need the money to waste on a Triumph Rocket Three.

 

[Eric The Viking]

See our YouTube video on solar water heating.

I did the calculations for the other thread (bottom of page). Theoretical maximum of around 1kW/sqm. We get about 36% efficiency on sunny days. The vacuum ones are better but much more expensive. It's also a DIY possibility, although I didn't in our case. it's not at all complicated.

Personally I think it's a practical and 'green' way to collect solar energy. Photovoltaics are not, unless in very specialised applications such as remote, off-grid sites. The present subsidy scheme is a ghastly distortion.

 

[andersonec]

There's lots of home made solar water heaters on youtube but this old fella does it with fizzy-drink bottles,,,and it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehDgXrpRlTU

Andy

 

[johnf]

I use a ground source heat pump for heating and hot water last year we used £960 worth of lecky.
We also have 15 solar pv panels the FIT payed us £1720 so a suplus of £760
Who cares about pay back time

 

[Jacob]

Depends on what you paid at the start, how it devalues, cost of maintenance/repair/replacement and what rates you get in years to come.
The cost if anything is the value of the sacrificed alternative - how would you have spent the cash otherwise?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Good luck to people making the most of the FIT's, those who could afford to get in while it lasted are on a winner - the rest of us merely pay for it.
Any discussion involving realistic costs would be welcome.