Free solar panel discussion

Mcfi5dhc

chucknorris wrote: »

Thanks, I have only just become aware of this scheme (hours ago) hence my request for more info from someone that knows a lot more about it. What cost would you suggest for a 2.2kwp system? Have I misunderstood something about this scheme as there seems to be conflicting info in Martin's details about it:

Tesco sell PV - I wouldn't use them personally, but it will be good enough to get some accurate figures for you

They offer a 3.2kwp system for £12,999

More details here:
http://www.tescohomeefficiency.com/electricity-pricing/

chucknorris

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

Tesco sell PV - I wouldn't use them personally, but it will be good enough to get some accurate figures for you

They offer a 3.2kwp system for £12,999

More details here:
http://www.tescohomeefficiency.com/electricity-pricing/

Thanks I will have a look into this in more detail, I need to come up to speed on the systems and what savings they can produce first though.

Jimmy_Joe

Interesting reading of the benefits of free electricity. But does anyone know why is it not available in Northern Ireland?

skint1971

What I don't get is that if you can afford £12,000 to spend on the panels, why is our Government giving you £800 a year for the next 25 years when they are trying to save money. Plus if you take the free option you are basically renting you roof for the next 25 years for about 2 to 3 thousand in savings while the company makes on average 15 to 20 thousand. It's not really helping the people who need to save money.

Jon_Tiffany

skint1971 wrote: »

What I don't get is that if you can afford £12,000 to spend on the panels, why is our Government giving you £800 a year for the next 25 years when they are trying to save money. Plus if you take the free option you are basically renting you roof for the next 25 years for about 2 to 3 thousand in savings while the company makes on average 15 to 20 thousand. It's not really helping the people who need to save money.

Its not funded by the government - the energy companies have to pay the FITs.

The people who need to save money dont tend to have the £12,000 sitting around to buy the panels. A saving of a few thousand over the lifetime of the panels without having to spend a single penny is a good deal. For the company, dont forget that they have to fund the cash up front and take all the risks.

What if the inverter fails? Who will pay for that?

What if the FITs are withdrawn in 5 years time? Who will be left out of pocket?

skelly01

Jon_Tiffany wrote: »

Its not funded by the government - the energy companies have to pay the FITs.

The people who need to save money dont tend to have the £12,000 sitting around to buy the panels. A saving of a few thousand over the lifetime of the panels without having to spend a single penny is a good deal. For the company, dont forget that they have to fund the cash up front and take all the risks.

What if the inverter fails? Who will pay for that?

What if the FITs are withdrawn in 5 years time? Who will be left out of pocket?

You are only kind of right in your quote. Whilst the government or the tax payer does not directly fund the FITs etc, every householder effectively pays a levy on their gas and electricity bills to fund such schemes. This is very widely documented both by government and indeed the electricity companies are keen to point this out as bills rise. It is ultimately a government backed scheme and again this is well documented. It is not for the energy companies to stop or change the process of FITS, but that of central government.

Jon_Tiffany

skelly01 wrote: »

You are only kind of right in your quote. Whilst the government or the tax payer does not directly fund the FITs etc, every householder effectively pays a levy on their gas and electricity bills to fund such schemes. This is very widely documented both by government and indeed the electricity companies are keen to point this out as bills rise. It is ultimately a government backed scheme and again this is well documented. It is not for the energy companies to stop or change the process of FITS, but that of central government.

I am completely correct in my quote. It is not funded by the government.

Certainly the energy companies will pass the cost on, they are after all in the business of making large profits. From what I have read bills are expected to rise between 1% and 5% as a result. I have every expectation that the energy companies will use this as an excuse to hike up bills regardless.

The energy companies also get to buy the exported electricity for a mere 3p per kWh, they then sell that directly back to the consumers for anywhere between 9p and 14p - a nice easy profit.

Doesn't it add weight to the agruement that you are better off with the panels than without? Isn't this whole point of the FITs?

grahamc2003

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

Domestic kettle - 2.2 kwh - correct
Time taken to boil said kettle - about a minute
Units used, about 0.05kwh

Now then, if you wanted to boil a kettle continuously for an hour, a 2.2kwp system would be fine and dandy, but my 1.44kwp system wouldn't be able to cope.

My meter DID spin backwards when I generated more than I was using. This was frequent when the washing machine was on, kettle boiling, TV on, playstation on, simply because they don't take the full load continuously.

If I was generating 1.44kwh, and using 2kwh for example, then my meter would spin the correct way

I repeat, you were talking a load of rubbish, and you shouldn't be posting misleading information. Jon Tiff is correct as well as me.

Sorry, but that's not correct.

You can't be 'generating 1.44kwh' - you generate power (kw) and how long you generate depends on the energy (kwh) you produce.

A 2.2kw system will not boil a 2.2kw kettle. The 2.2kw is the capacity - the theoretical maximum in ideal conditions, with sun directly overhead which we never have ion the uk, and even where it is directly overhead, it's only there for a second at midday. A 2.2Kw system in the UK will generate between 0 and probably 1.5kw as an absolute max.

I'm afraid people who have spent 10 grand on a system already have a desire to vastly overstate the output - if it's just a quarter of what they expected then they probably feel a little dumb facing the actual figures.

What this wholke scheme needs is to get the engineerring society to comment on some of the overstated claims from those with a financial interest in getting as many installed as possible. They need to install several systems with additional metering to measure exactly the output in the field, and produce some definitve figures. This was done for home wind turbines, and the findings were that none produced anywhere the claims, most produced almost a net zero, and some used more energy in the electronics that they produced (as many, including myself, knew they would).

Getting these things installed and comitted for 25 years is a bad move imo. In 5 years time, technology will produce commercial cells with twice the output of today's cells. Today's technology will be a burdon on any property where it will have to stay for a further 20 years since the option to install a system with a near decent output won't be available for that property.

skelly01

Jon Tiffany , i agree wholheartedly that you are better of with them, regardless of whether via the free scheme or self financed.

skelly01

can anyone confirm of any companies offering this in Scotland?