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Free solar panel discussion
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I haven't read all the posts on this subject so not sure if this has been posted. Does make interesting reading though.
http://www.lovemoney.com/news/see-the-big-picture/the-environment/free-solar-panels-the-small-print-exposed-5423.aspx?source=1000001If i could i would, but i cannot so i wont, but maybe one day i will.0 -
Has anyone used a energy monitor to see how many watts is being USED by the solar circuit during the night? (ie when no solar energy is being generated).
My ASG system indicates 140W, which seems excessive, as I thought that the invertors went into 'sleep' mode when there is no solar generation??
I have tried 2 different energy monitors, and both readings are similar.
The Effekta invertor manual specs that the 'sleep' mode consumption is just 0.15W which I would expect.
Has anyone else noticed this, or have I got a fault?
i.e. 5pm - 8am = 15 hours
15 hours x 140W = 2.1kwh
2.1kwh x 15p per kw = 31.5p per day
EDIT
See post #1569 above for explanation https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/39131622#Comment_391316220 -
Has anyone used a energy monitor to see how many watts is being USED by the solar circuit during the night? (ie when no solar energy is being generated).
My ASG system indicates 140W, which seems excessive, as I thought that the invertors went into 'sleep' mode when there is no solar generation??
I have tried 2 different energy monitors, and both readings are similar.
The Effekta invertor manual specs that the 'sleep' mode consumption is just 0.15W which I would expect.
Has anyone else noticed this, or have I got a fault?
i.e. 5pm - 8am = 15 hours
15 hours x 140W = 2.1kwh
2.1kwh x 15p per kw = 31.5p per day
I'd be amazed if your system were using anything approaching 140W when it's not in use. The 0.15W sounds about right.
Are you sure it isn't other things (fridges, freezers, for example)? Not sure about your system, but on mine you could check by using the isolator switches to cut the power to the inverter/panels.0 -
I'd be amazed if your system were using anything approaching 140W when it's not in use. The 0.15W sounds about right.
Are you sure it isn't other things (fridges, freezers, for example)? Not sure about your system, but on mine you could check by using the isolator switches to cut the power to the inverter/panels.
ASG install a separate stand alone circuit, so nothing else is connected. If I throw the isolator switch, the consumption drops to zero.
Strangly, the invertor does look as though it's asleep, no lights or display figures.
Has any other ASG customer noticed this, or what is your nightime reading?0 -
M4ximillion, this could be a bona fide endorsement by a client, but I think its produnt to distrust such endorsements that companies publish by their websites when (a) hardly any details of the client's true identity are given, and (b) there's only one or two such endorsements. Salesmen have for centuries invented all sorts of ringing endorsements to encourage customers to buy.
Though in this context, that hardly applies. There are lots of endorsements on ASGs website, many more than one or two. Also there are some very good reasons why peoples names and addresses aren't published. (Some legal)
Also, there have been quite a few endorsements for ASG on THIS site by their "landlords", or you suggesting that ASG are controlling MSE?
I assume there for that your advice was general rather than just blatant scare-mongering.0 -
Just joining the discussion to say we have approached three companies for free panels - Isis, Homesun and British Gas. We have a large due-south facing roof which should be ideal for solar panels
We haven't progressed with Isis because they posted us their lease for us to sign before they have even visited us - not really happy to do that...
We have had a rep from Homesun round recently (after waiting months for an appointment). She measured up and said we should be suitable for the largest (free) system, but it depends on the pitch of our roof, and we need to have a survey from Eaga. She did mention a £100 refundable fee, but said they are waiving that at the moment, so we didn't have to pay anything. We are now awaiting a visit from Eaga in January.
Today I've had a rep from British Gas round who surveyed the property, went in the loft to check the roof pitch, and was able to tell me straight away that our roof is suitable for their largest, 3.15kW system. He said they don't use any subcontractors and do all the installations and maintenance themselves.
I have been impressed by how quickly British Gas has progressed things, but in terms of what both companies are offering, the British Gas system is only 3.15kW whereas Homesun's is 3.5kW (I think). If we bought the panels ourselves we'd probably get a more powerful system such as 3.9kW (Tesco)... so it's a shame the companies offering free panels are not offering the most powerful ones.
Also, Homesun as they let you buy out of the contract at any time, with a straight line of depreciation. British Gas let you buy back the panels after 5 years, but the rep couldn't produce the buy-back figures (he said he'll email them to me).
I'm not sure who we'll end up going with. It sounds like the paperwork will take a couple of months to sort out anyway so we shall see...0 -
A couple of things on HomeSun have popped up in this thread, which we would like to clarify.
How we work in a nutshell
For the vast majority of our customers, we install a solar PV system at our own expense on our customers’ roofs at little or no cost to customers. They benefit from free electricity and we take the feed-in-tariff paid by utilities for the electricity generated. This means that we can only afford to install on those roofs that are optimum in terms of orientation, shading and location in the country. The following is a breakdown of the guidelines that we work to when deciding whether a property is suitable for our Free Solar and Solar Share schemes.
Firstly a desktop review is carried out, certain criteria are used to ascertain whether a roof is suitable or not. These criteria are put in place to ensure that any PV system which we install will reach its highest potential in generating substantial amounts of energy. If a roof meets all of these, the applicant will be notified and later visited by one of our solar specialists in their local area.
The roof must be a minimum of 20m2. This is the size of our smallest Photo Voltaic system. It comprises of 12 panels each measuring 1x1.6m. The ideal situation is that all the PV panels be installed together rather than scattered, this is how they are most productive. Any obstructions to the roof space available, such as windows, could reduce and restrict the area available for PV panels. Additionally, these windows can cause shading.
There should be no shading on the roof from any object at any point in the day, so that the panels receive the maximum amount of light. Even as small an amount of shade as 3% on any panel in the setup can reduce the efficiency of the whole system by a significant 25%.
The orientation of the roof needs to be pitched (ideally at 40°) facing South or South East / South West within 60°. Due to the UK’s geographical position in relation to the equator a South facing roof will be in the sun’s path throughout the whole day.
In many cases we receive applications where the roof will not meet one or more of these specifications. On average 20-30% of all roofs that we screen will be eligible for our Free Solar or Solar Share product.
EAGA & HomeSun
It seems though a lot of the members on this forum have just realised that our installation partners are EAGA. You can find a press release on this at Eaga’s website for more information.
£100 Deposit – Explanation and Good News!
There also seems to be a lot of confusion about the £100 deposit therefore we would like to clarify that point. Firstly the deposits (£100) which our customers pay at the initial meet with the HomeSun Solar Specialist is a refundable deposit and to secure a survey date. The HomeSun Solar Specialist then arranges a Technical Survey with Eaga. Once the survey is completed by Eaga no matter what the results are your £100 deposit is refunded (For SolarShare the £100 is used towards the £500 leaving a balance of £400 for the customer)
Good News
Our customers told us what they wanted and we listened. We are not asking for the £100 deposit anymore therefore customers are not asked for this initial payment.
Krish Patel - HomeSun Ltd.“Official Company Representative"I am the official company representative of HomeSun. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com "This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
HomeSun_Customer_Team wrote: »A couple of things on HomeSun have popped up in this thread, which we would like to clarify.
£100 Deposit – Explanation and Good News!
Once the survey is completed by Eaga no matter what the results are your £100 deposit is refunded (For SolarShare the £100 is used towards the £500 leaving a balance of £400 for the customer)
Krish Patel - HomeSun Ltd.
I'm sorry to disagree with you but the £100 was not refundable "no matter what the results are" (as stated above). If you were refused 'free solar' and accepted for 'solarshare' you were denied your money back.
I'm pleased to see that this has now been rectified by dropping the so-called 'returnable deposit'.
I got my money refunded with the help of 'consumer direct'.0 -
HomeSun_Customer_Team wrote: »A couple of things on HomeSun have popped up in this thread, which we would like to clarify.
How we work in a nutshell
For the vast majority of our customers, we install a solar PV system at our own expense on our customers’ roofs at little or no cost to customers. They benefit from free electricity and we take the feed-in-tariff paid by utilities for the electricity generated. This means that we can only afford to install on those roofs that are optimum in terms of orientation, shading and location in the country. The following is a breakdown of the guidelines that we work to when deciding whether a property is suitable for our Free Solar and Solar Share schemes.
Firstly a desktop review is carried out, certain criteria are used to ascertain whether a roof is suitable or not. These criteria are put in place to ensure that any PV system which we install will reach its highest potential in generating substantial amounts of energy. If a roof meets all of these, the applicant will be notified and later visited by one of our solar specialists in their local area.
The roof must be a minimum of 20m2. This is the size of our smallest Photo Voltaic system. It comprises of 12 panels each measuring 1x1.6m. The ideal situation is that all the PV panels be installed together rather than scattered, this is how they are most productive. Any obstructions to the roof space available, such as windows, could reduce and restrict the area available for PV panels. Additionally, these windows can cause shading.
There should be no shading on the roof from any object at any point in the day, so that the panels receive the maximum amount of light. Even as small an amount of shade as 3% on any panel in the setup can reduce the efficiency of the whole system by a significant 25%.
The orientation of the roof needs to be pitched (ideally at 40°) facing South or South East / South West within 60°. Due to the UK’s geographical position in relation to the equator a South facing roof will be in the sun’s path throughout the whole day.
In many cases we receive applications where the roof will not meet one or more of these specifications. On average 20-30% of all roofs that we screen will be eligible for our Free Solar or Solar Share product.
EAGA & HomeSun
It seems though a lot of the members on this forum have just realised that our installation partners are EAGA. You can find a press release on this at Eaga’s website for more information.
£100 Deposit – Explanation and Good News!
There also seems to be a lot of confusion about the £100 deposit therefore we would like to clarify that point. Firstly the deposits (£100) which our customers pay at the initial meet with the HomeSun Solar Specialist is a refundable deposit and to secure a survey date. The HomeSun Solar Specialist then arranges a Technical Survey with Eaga. Once the survey is completed by Eaga no matter what the results are your £100 deposit is refunded (For SolarShare the £100 is used towards the £500 leaving a balance of £400 for the customer)
Good News
Our customers told us what they wanted and we listened. We are not asking for the £100 deposit anymore therefore customers are not asked for this initial payment.
Krish Patel - HomeSun Ltd.
I am currently in talks with homesun and i have been told that the solarshare £500 fee has been dropped and that just the £5 a month fee applies to which i am not happy about so this is being looked into at the moment. I have this in a final lease from you, so why are you now saying that the £100 will be used towards the £500.
Also why should you charge the £500 and £5 a month when british gas are offering a similar size system for free???
also now you have stated the size of your panels then i find something strange about you/eage only offering me the solarshare option 2.6kw at 14 panels rather that the free system at 16 panels.
if you are all ok to fit 14 panels then this must be in two rows of 7 which by your sizes means 7m across my roof and 3.2m up.
i know for a fact that at the front of the house where the panels will be fitted my bedroom is just over 17ft long and the third bedroom is at least 7ft not including any walls so i make that at least 24ft if you include just 1ft for interanl and external walls then i could fit one more panel in across so 8m and 3.2m up.
i have heard of a lot of people being offered the solarshare option is this so you make additional money from the £500 fee and £5 a month fee.
Really not happy about your information!!0 -
I'm sorry to disagree with you but the £100 was not refundable "no matter what the results are" (as stated above). If you were refused 'free solar' and accepted for 'solarshare' you were denied your money back.
I'm pleased to see that this has now been rectified by dropping the so-called 'returnable deposit'.
I got my money refunded with the help of 'consumer direct'.
Hi JenR8,
The £100 deposit was only a token that we required from the customer to ensure we have their full commitment to our offers and services. The £100 deposit has always been a "refundable deposit".
- If you are accepted for Free Solar the £100 deposit will be refunded AFTER the installation.
- If you are accepted for SolarShare £500 we will keep the £100 which means the customer does not need to pay the full £500 however only pays the balance of £400.
- If the customer no longer wishes to proceed once the survey has been carried out, the £100 deposit will be refunded.
However, as mentioned in my previous post we are no longer asking for any deposits from customers.
I hope this has clarified the matter.
We regret the decision you have chosen to no longer be a HomeSun Customer, but wish you the best for all future endeavours.
Krish Patel – HomeSun Ltd.
“Official Company Representative"I am the official company representative of HomeSun. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com "This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0
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