Solar PV offer. Please can someone give advice on this offer

eyeofthetiger999 · 20 December 2014 at 11:25PM

Hi everyone.
I have been thinking about fitting solar panels for a while now and have just had a quote from a company Euro Energy Services in Harrogate. Here are the details:
I live in a 4 bedroom detached single,work 4 days a week(house vacant during the day.
The quote has the following points
4 KWp estimated to yield 3336 WKH
feed in tariff 13.88p
export tariff 4.77p
16 x 250w enphase solar panels black
40 degrees from south ,no shading
total order price 10,999
Total repayments of £143.43 per month for 10 years,total repayment £17211.60 with 9.90% interest.

The salesman estimated approx 60% reduction in my electricity bill from £40 to approx £15 per month.
He mentioned that the minimum amount I would gain from the feed in tariff would be £169 per month which would be higher in summer months,possibly up to £200-300
He claims after 10 years I would keep the feed in tariff.
He also claimed that the solar panels would increase value of house by 10%.
He claimed that this was subject to being approved by the government free energy scheme.

I am not an expert in this field but I wondered if people could comment on this deal.
1) Is this a good,decent,bad deal in your opinion?
2) Are these claims justified?
3) Should I consider buying these solar panels myself?
4) Has anyone who has had a similar scheme to this one , would you recommend it or not.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Ectophile · 20 December 2014 at 11:46PM

Run away very fast.

That price is massively inflated, compared with what it should be. Knock about two thirds off, and it might be about right.

You won't save anything like 60% off your electricity bill.

You won't earn anything like £169 a month in the winter - that's about what I get in the three months over winter, and I'm on a old feed-in tariff that's higher than you would get now.

If you got a sensibly priced install, it should pay for itself in about ten years, with pure profit after that. But at that price, there's no chance of breaking even before the panels wear out at about 20 - 25 years.

EricMears · 21 December 2014 at 12:05AM

The price quoted is almost as much as I paid over three years ago (when it would have been a good price). People writing here have reported sub £5k prices for similar installations.

3336 'WKH' (suspect that should read kWh !) is a reasonable estimate for a South facing 4kWp setup in N Yorks but perhaps a bit optimistic when roof is 40 deg off South. At the tariff quoted, that would produce £542 per year or £45 per (average) month.

With house empty in daytime, you'd be very lucky to make use of a third of the power you generate (a saving of £177 in a full year or £15 per average month if you're currently buying units at 16p).

In short, walk away !

I'm sure someone here from a similar area should be able to PM you with a recommendation for a firm that can offer a more competitive quote.

If you need to borrow the money, consider doing so with an additional advance from your mortgage company (so costing something like 4% pa rather than 10%)

eyeofthetiger999 · 21 December 2014 at 12:24AM

Thanks for your replies. I have money in the bank to purchase solar panels if I wanted to so I dont need a loan or an expensive one for that matter! With my current circumstances I think I would be lucky to save 20% on my electricity bill as the house is usually vacant on weekdays. The feed in tariff would be the most significant addition for me.

Martyn1981 · 21 December 2014 at 8:47AM

This trash (by the salespeople) is really starting to bug me! More and more folk this year seem to be posting similar stories/info and it's simply not fair.

Hiya Tiger, not having a go at you whatsoever, you're trying to learn about a subject new to you, and the salesperson should be helping, not confusing the matter.

I suspect the £169 figure was spoken, whereas the generation, FiT and export are written down?

I should have read Eric's post before reaching for the calculator, but as he says those numbers give an annual return of £542 or £45pm on average. So 'they' gave you the correct building blocks, but then gave you a totally bogus monthly return to draw you in.

Sorry for the rant, but these packages/prices/finance etc seem to be popping up a lot now and it's "just not fair".

I suppose if I'm being ultra fair, it's nice to see that they quoted the 1/1/15 FiT rate, so I'll score em 1 out of 100 for that.

Back to PV in general. Your situation doesn't sound bad at all. Get some good quotes (sub £6k, and as Eric says, there have been some even lower recently) work out your returns and see what you think. As you have the cash that makes it much better.

Not being home 4 week days isn't so bad. PV will still contribute to baseload, and you can use timers for some items like washing machines/dishwashers.

Have you had a nose at the PV FAQs for basic info, you can also check your generation estimate in section 5. [Edit: quick check for Harrogate, would suggest a generation of approx 100kWh in Dec & Jan, which is less than £20 in FiT and export pm. May/June/July would be about 4 times more. M.]

I'm off for a lie down in a dark room now.

Mart.

tunnel · 21 December 2014 at 12:25PM

EricMears wrote: »

In short, walk away !

Er NO, I'm with Ectophile on this one....RUN...VERY FAST...in the..OPPOSITE DIRECTION and don't look back

Putting it blunt, that price and spiel is total cr*p and a rip off, there seems to be a lot of cowboys still trying to reap large rewards from unsuspecting buyers.

I've seen prices for a 4kWp system being had for UNDER £5k but on average are around £5/5.5k for more popular named brands(in the world of PV that is). If you have the cash...why take finance(PV salesman commission?). If you can haggle a system for the above prices your payback will be more in line with 7-8 years(possibly sooner) depending how you manage the electric consumption

Please take the time to read up, ask advice on here and do some homework. PV is a fantastic way of cutting bills with the added bonus of being paid TAX FREE for it. Just don't make the mistake of going with the first uninformed company that comes your way

eyeofthetiger999 · 22 December 2014 at 12:14AM

Just phoned the salesman and told them I am not interested in taking up the offer. He wasnt happy but maybe he will be more honest next time and save 2-3 hours. What annoyed me most was that at no point was there any mention during the meeting of a 10% interest loan. In the small print.there was also no mention of minimum payment of £169 per month for feed in tarriffs. I am glad I have wasted his 2-3 hours:rotfl:

I will look at buying the panels myself. Thanks to those who have helped me .

ChopperST · 22 December 2014 at 12:40AM

Eyeofthetiger we had our panels fitted in January this year by a local installer in Leeds.

We narrowed it down to two in the end both local installers with a passion for Solar.

Please pm me if you would like the details of both companies.

Martyn1981 · 22 December 2014 at 8:28AM

eyeofthetiger999 wrote: »

I will look at buying the panels myself. Thanks to those who have helped me .

So glad you did some research, and I'm sure you'll find a good price and package now you're better armed.

The reason I asked if the £169 was in writing was because similar stories have been popping up on MSE recently.

Here's one:

Solar panels

where Elaine (and family) where told of a monthly income of £103, again to cover finance payments. But whilst the 'correct' or 'reasonable' info is on the paperwork, the £103 doesn't appear anywhere.

So the latest con seems to be to cold call folk, claim a loose association to the government ("I'm ringing up about the government scheme"), say that you can have PV for free. Then go on to promote a scheme where the income is supposed to cover the loan repayments.

I've had a few of these calls. I let them run, and the first qualifying question is - "are you under 75 years of age?". I point out that there is no age restriction on the FiT scheme (though I suspect 75 is a age issue for loan finance!). At this point they always get shirty.

Anyways, best of luck.

Mart.

eyeofthetiger999 · 22 December 2014 at 4:32PM

Hi Martin
You are correct. The salesman claimed the £144 would be taken from a minimum payment of £169 per month. There was no mention of loan or interest payment until I read the contract later. The contract had no mention at all of a minimum income I would receive. What I also found was his claim that it increased the value of homes by 10%. That is plainly BS. My house has a value of 260k. Does that mean by installing solar panels my house would increase in value by 26k(even though they are selling their panels for 17k!).

I will ask a local homeowner with solar panels on their experiences.

Sterlingtimes · 22 December 2014 at 10:16PM

eyeofthetiger999 wrote: »

My house has a value of 260k. Does that mean by installing solar panels my house would increase in value by 26k (even though they are selling their panels for 17k!).

In law an exaggerate claim which has no credibility from the outset is known as a "sales puff". A representation by the seller upon which the buyer depends in contracting is not a puff. These sale people are flying close to making representations. Thankfully, you have sent them packing.

Solar PV offer. Please can someone give advice on this offer

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