Free solar panel discussion

blackyen11

I have recently had a presentaion on Solar Energy and one thing I don't see you have covered ,Martin is that the energy produced by the panels has to be converted to 'proper' electricity.To achieve this a 'converter' will be installed in the property and although much is made of the 25 year period for a solar system from what I have been told a converter is guaranteed for 5 years only. Apparently it might be possible to cover it by an extended warranty arrangement but if not,and if it goes wrong out of guarantee a new one could cost (quote) £1000.Is this the "achilles heel" of a Solar System?

John_Pierpoint

Possibly, though 1000 GBP sounds on the high side.

neilsedaka

Do the solar panels have to be installed on a roof? How about on a frame at ground level which would easily satisfy the pitch and angle requirements?

jnettleton

What impact will these have on the home insurance?

simesg

Check out renewable heat tariffs - same as feed in tariffs but for heat geneation in homes using renewable heat sources (solar hot water, biomass boilers, ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps etc etc) that will start paying out in April 2011. The real benefits are the carbon neutrality and cost savings to householder - people get too involved in pay-back periods for renewables - who ever did a pay back calculation on installing oil or gas heating? No-one, because there isn't any payback, just cost. So when calculating payback periods for renewables of any kind, you must deduct the cost of alternative non-green heat and electricity sources to give you a true differential that is actually the pay-back cost ie, the difference between a "capital" cost of a gas or oil boiler and the extra you will pay for an alternative green heat source. Once people can understand that everything has a cost and the trick is to invest where there will be other benefits than cost, then we will begin to make an impact on reducing the carbon emissions which is the whole driver of this topic as far as the government is concerned.

RHT is funded by government, not individual companies, so grab some of your tax back by "investing" in renewable house heating! RHTs have also been guaranteed for the next 25 years, so everyone can do their precious "payback" calculations.

The real way to make the two tariffs work for you is to invest in both sets of technologies or look around for a reasonably price CHP (combined heat and power) unit that will heat your hot water, home and uses the waste heat from the gases to generate electricity through a small turbine (sterling engine I think, but not too sure on this). These are available in Germany to run off wood pellets (cheaper to run than oil or solid fuel) and carbon neutral.

So the moral of the story is - don't get too heat up (pardon the pun) about payback when you are not getting any payback at all on your old technology heating appliances and grab with both hands anything the government is giving away for free no matter who is funding it!

Jon_Tiffany

blackyen11 wrote: »

I have recently had a presentaion on Solar Energy and one thing I don't see you have covered ,Martin is that the energy produced by the panels has to be converted to 'proper' electricity.To achieve this a 'converter' will be installed in the property and although much is made of the 25 year period for a solar system from what I have been told a converter is guaranteed for 5 years only. Apparently it might be possible to cover it by an extended warranty arrangement but if not,and if it goes wrong out of guarantee a new one could cost (quote) £1000.Is this the "achilles heel" of a Solar System?

An inverter is needed to convert the DC volatge from the panels into 240VAC that is in sync with your mains. The inverter is potentially the weak point and they have been known to fail.

On the plus side, my understanding is that ASG would be responsible for replacing a failed inverter.

neilsedaka

simesg wrote: »

Check out renewable heat tariffs - same as feed in tariffs but for heat geneation in homes using renewable heat sources (solar hot water, biomass boilers, ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps etc etc) that will start paying out in April 2011.

An interesting post. I have been using a straw boiler for central heating and hot water for over 40 years. Would I be eligible for such a renewable heat tariff?

locality

Who exactly is offering such a large 24sqM for such a low (£12K)price.
I had a guy in the other day and he quoted me about £18K plus for a system this size. I would ideally need a system with around a 9.5 -11 year payback.

All the companies are keen to give you a quote, but then the phone never stops ringing for salesperson appointments which results increased use of.....brain and mental pain.

digitaltoast

It may, or may not, be a moneyspinner for homeowners, but one thing's for sure - it's all a massive scam/con.
I'm as green as they come, but I was in the solar "industry" for 2 years, before seeing what a swiz it was.
The figures quoted are ALWAYS idea world theoretical maximums. Ask the Centre For Alternative Energy in Wales what they think of solar PV. Ask them about their £95,000 showcase roof which is falling to bits and will take 120 years to pay for itself (lifespan: 25 years max), most days producing barely enough to boil a kettle.

Germany has fallen out of love with solar - at some point, people here will start scratching their heads and asking "hang on, if it's so good, why is it being funded to the tune of about 8 times the cost of a standard generated unit?".

I'd strongly advise anyone thinking of this to read at least this chapter of "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air".
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/withouthotair/c6/page_38.shtml

The fact is that in this country, solar thermal (hot water) is barely viable, solar PV (electricity) is a complete fantasy.

mark333333

neilsedaka wrote: »

An interesting post. I have been using a straw boiler for central heating and hot water for over 40 years. Would I be eligible for such a renewable heat tariff?

most payments are only paid out when a certified installer has done the work, so i feel when it comes in next year you may not qualify. . this was the same for the boilsr scrapage and solar pv schemes.But there is no harm trying