Solar Panels

paul_h

Cardew wrote:

Let me be cynical.
I don’t think you have a hope in hell of getting a system installed for £1,100.

I agree.

Cardew wrote:

If they give it a life of 10 years why only a 2 year guarantee? You will be extremely lucky not to have servicing/repair costs in the 10 years..

The ten year lifespan would tend to indicate that they are using a standard alternator and gearbox. This will most definitely require regular maintenance.

Cardew wrote:

I think most people will be lucky to get a useable 50% of the claimed maximum output..

I believe the standard rule of thumb is 30% of rated output in ideal situations.

Cardew wrote:

I summary I think there is zero chance of it being financially viable.

I agree. The only systems which can reach financial viability are large installations which have taken advantage of the maximum subsidy available in Scotland, and also sell the ROCs and export surplus electricity. The problem is that the ROCs are a discretionary payment which can (and will) change in the future. Even a five year contract for them will not help as they are such an important factor in the overall cost - things may be very different in five years.

FirstClassMale

A lot to think over there. This posting is primarily to get rid of the spam currently showing on the forum list page but thank you Paul_H and Cardew for your indepth advice

thor

I really think we are at breaking point now when it comes to the the UK's supply of conventional energy. One little mishap in eastern europe with a gas line and we would probably be facing blackouts. In my opinion over the next few years the government will realise that we are even more dependant on energy from overseas than they thought and will be begging us to get into renewables. I can see 100% grants coming in with wind, solar, and wave power being subsidised to the tune of billions of pounds. In my utopian view - mini windturbins will become as common as tv aerials and people will actually begin to care about how much electricity they use and become less wasteful. I would have no problems with tax payers money going into this kind of area especially if it means we don't have to plow mega billions into new coal and nuclear generators. It's a no brainer isn't it?

tabath

This is a very good read on the economics of solar water panels:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2003/03/05/pjeff02.xml

Cardew

tabath wrote:

This is a very good read on the economics of solar water panels:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2003/03/05/pjeff02.xml

The article confirms what a few of us have been saying, I like this quote:

"But solar water heating in the UK is still something of a cottage industry, and most of the practitioners I have spoken to seem to be evangelical to the point of eccentricity, not to say downright barmy. Maybe they've been spending too long out in the sun."

It is significant that he could'nt get anyone to allow him to evaluate a system!

Despite this you will still get cowboys peddling systems!

tabath

I think the only way to make this a money saving idea is to DIY. I am going to look into the costs of the materials and will post back . In my case this will also include new HW tank and new condensing boiler(lol)hehe.

Ken68

Same here Tabath. Have a free hot water cylinder (fortic) and hardwood to make the casing. Thought of using standard corrugated zinc , and insulation could be the sort used in lofts.
A plumber has told me that un-pumped system would require minumum 22ml copper tubing, and relies on the cylinder being higher than the collector. Early pricing say £50 plus the cost of cylinder. Angle to sun 35 degrees. Have fun.

tabath

This site has a good guide to diy solar panels.

tabath

https://www.navitron.org has reasonable evacuated tube panels for 295 - using one of these along with second hand cylinder and doin the rest of the install myself could work out very reasonble

gromituk

Bear in mind that if you replace a gas boiler with a condensing one, you also need to replace the cylinder with a part-L compliant one which has a more efficient heat exchanger. Getting a solar cylinder (larger and with two heat exchangers) at this point would be a good thing to do if you are thinking of installing solar panels.

Navitron does seem to be the best value for evacuated tube panels. From the website they are cheaper than the same things on eBay.

I'm not sure if this thread has been moved from another forum to the green one, but hopefully if so there will now be a slightly different slant on things. I think it's accepted that, at the moment, you can't really expect payback on "microgeneration": you do it for other reasons.