The Great 'Get Paid To Generate Energy' Hunt

zeupater

Mary_Hartnell wrote: »

aesthetics? not important they all look much the same to me.
British makes? European would prove more reliable when it comes to spares ? They are all multinational these days anyway?!? Not interested in heroic GB failures.
Income or the best ROI? Best discounted cash flow (presumably ROI but factoring in a rate of electricity price increase of 8%
Roof 8 meters long by 4.5 meters up the slope, 30 degrees up from horizontal faces South East unshaded Thames Valley. detached bungalow = easy access.

Just try and get a discount and loads of points from Tesco?

Okay ...

With a roof that size you probably have a limitation if you are looking at having a system close to 4kWp, unless you go for higher efficiency panels such as Sanyo which are usually more expensive and effect your ROI, so you're possibly looking at a 3.5kWp(ish) system.

Panels .... you could support British industry/jobs and go for Sharp who manufacture in Wrexham, they seem to be quite popular in the UK and are one of the largest global manufacturers. Whichever make, I'd go for monocrystalline, others would disagree, but a single crystal has no internal boundary fault lines ..... On asthetics, some panels are very blue, others are black ... this could make a difference depending on your roof type/colour.

Mounting .... Talk to your installer about how the panels will be fixed to the roof and who will do the roof work. I wouldn't touch anyone who says they will drill through the tiles on my roof ..... Get a guarantee from the installer on the roof work. My installer used proper roofers, I wouldn't have used anyone who didn't. Get details of the mounting system and proposed brackets too.

Inverter .... Most installers seem to use european units from SMA and Fronius ... there are other makes available. I have SMA (sounds a little like 'I am Spartacus' doesn't it ... wonder who will follow and declare that they have SMA too ) ..... Transformerless (TL) inverters are generally more efficient than ones with transformers.

Access ... With a single storey roof you should be able to negotiate a decent price due to reduced scaffold costs, maybe push for a couple of hundred discount.

HTH
Z

aboard_epsilon

I had a tour of the shape factory in wrexham ..very impressed ..

as regards the quality of work ..what would worry me most is how they "could" create leaks in the roof ..they have somehow to pass bolts that hold these things on, through tile or slate ..and through felt or lime mortar.

all the best.markj

zeupater

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

I had a tour of the shape factory in wrexham ..very impressed ..

as regards the quality of work ..what would worry me most is how they "could" create leaks in the roof ..they have somehow to pass bolts that hold these things on, through tile or slate ..and through felt or lime mortar.

all the best.markj

Hi

That's exactly why you should ensure that only proper roofers are used .... roof hooks need to be matched to the type of roof and tiles used, lead flashing used where appropriate, laths shaved if necessary so that tiles sit properly ..... etc .... etc.

Z

aboard_epsilon

didn't realize there was such a thing as a proper roofer

out of about 6 outfits around here...only one id trust ..

the rest .....welll,,,,,,,,,,

all the best.markj

zeupater

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

didn't realize there was such a thing as a proper roofer

out of about 6 outfits around here...only one id trust ..

the rest .....welll,,,,,,,,,,

all the best.markj

Hi

Understand what you mean ..... our installers offered a choice of two roofers as standard and were open to using whoever we wanted ..... in the end we used their recommendation, and from the quality of their work, are quite happy ...... the roof hooks looked excellent in place before the framework was installed and you just couldn't fault the quality of the lead flashing work, and believe me, I'm picky (as you might have guessed !! )

Z

Underscore

Inverter - Kaco currently offer repair/replacement service on all their inverters for 400 euros. Expect this to increase in line with inflation but as you are guaranteed for the first 10 years (if installer is decent) then it does solve that problem a little (IMO). Worth at least a look for anyone considering a system.

Cardew

Underscore wrote: »

Inverter - Kaco currently offer repair/replacement service on all their inverters for 400 euros. Expect this to increase in line with inflation but as you are guaranteed for the first 10 years (if installer is decent) then it does solve that problem a little (IMO). Worth at least a look for anyone considering a system.

If the installer is decent and still in business after a few years.

I suspect the great majority of installers will have moved on to pastures new once the present rush to install systems is over. They are not going to hang around simply to honour their warranties.

Underscore

Cardew wrote: »

If the installer is decent and still in business after a few years.

I suspect the great majority of installers will have moved on to pastures new once the present rush to install systems is over. They are not going to hang around simply to honour their warranties.

In a way, correct, and of course many will move on (although inevitably probably NOT the decent companies, I'd be surprised if the renewables sector isn't a very good growth market for the next 25 years+ personally).

In a way, irrelevant - because the decent installers have third party insurance to protect against exactly this sort of thing. Its pretty commonplace in new(ish) markets that are experiencing very quick growth, in today's marketplace. Policies (which are included by the good, reputable installers, not costing extra money) cover you for exactly the eventuality theorized above.

One could almost use the presence (or lack of it) of one of these policies as a benchmark to whether the company is reputable. Or go with Tesco or Sainsbury's if really worried about this concern and you don't understand the insurance, their prices are not the cheapest but they are not totally uncompetitive.

Mary_Hartnell

Would that be Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd ("REAL").

In a world where banks go bust regularly, what do we know about the capital behind "REAL" ?

Underscore

Nope. Policy is underwritten by one of the sizeable insurers. Don't have it to hand, but was impressed when I saw it.

Not heard of REAL, but of course, the same logic that applies to any insurance of any nature should be applied here - i.e. if its a small/new/unheard of company underwriting the policy, there's a major risk of them not existing to pay on any claim.

Plenty of solid points and downsides on here, this thread and the previous one. Also plenty of unnecessary doom-saying.