Free solar panel discussion

Jon_Tiffany

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

My main point though is that there are people jumping on here who clearly do not have a scooby what is going on, and the danger is people might actually believe them.

Very true, but I believe that most people reading this thread are smart enough to work out who is posting the correct information. For the record, all of Mcfi5dhc posts that I've seen are giving good info.

If I get time I will try to write up a definitive guide with all the correct facts and some working examples.

Mcfi5dhc

jamesperrett wrote: »

On a practical note, the inverter is noisy - it hums in a similar way to an electicity sub-station so it is a good job that it is tucked away in an outside utility room.

Which invertor is it? Mine is silent, all the ones I have ever seen have been silent as well

Thanks

Jon_Tiffany

jamesperrett wrote: »

I get the impression that he would rather have had a system that allowed him to be completely self sufficient with electricity. Neither he (nor I as an electronic engineer for that matter) can understand why the solar panels couldn't be used to recharge a stack of batteries instead of feeding the power back to the grid. He can remember the days when they used to have a whole row of accumulators on the farm to power things and he seemed to be expecting something similar with the solar cells.

Solar cells have been improving in efficiency for the last 40 years but this greater interest in them will only help to push prices down. I suspect that prices will probably halve in the next few years as the feed in tariffs reduce.

James.

You can certainly go off grid and have a bank of batteries, the issue is not technical, its a finiancial issue. Interestingly, I think you can still claim the generation tariff even if off grid.

The FIT prices go down each year starting from 2012 on the basis that prices of solar panels will drop.

Spies

Jon_Tiffany wrote: »

You can certainly go off grid and have a bank of batteries, the issue is not technical, its a finiancial issue. Interestingly, I think you can still claim the generation tariff even if off grid.

The FIT prices go down each year starting from 2012 on the basis that prices of solar panels will drop.

Would that mean it's safer to take the free panels where available and negate the generation bonus?

Jon_Tiffany

Braemar wrote: »

Are these available if you have a Gas Combi Boiler?

Someone calling door to door told us you have to have a conventional boiler and tank to take advantage of this scheme.

I had solar panels installed 30years ago on a pevious house but they only heated the water and cost a lot to install but did heat the water all year (14 - 65 degrees). Used Sunuser - but would not use them again as did not find this company helpful long term.

This thread is about Solar PV - these are the panels that produce electricity rather than the ones that produce hot water.

Mcfi5dhc

Spies wrote: »

Would that mean it's safer to take the free panels where available and negate the generation bonus?

No - you must be grid tied for ASG and the other companies

They are trying to maximise their profits. Therfore every installation will be virtually identical. Same amount of panels, same invertor, same grid tie etc etc.

Edit - I read your post as "should I go offgrid, and try and get A shade Greener to still fit them" - which re-reading it, probably wasn't that - Jon has answered your question more affectively below

Jon_Tiffany

Spies wrote: »

Would that mean it's safer to take the free panels where available and negate the generation bonus?

This is where the debate comes in - do you take the free panels or buy them yourself?

Here are a few things to consider:

If you have debt or a mortgage you should go for free panels and focus on repaying your debt first. Use the money saved on your bills to pay extra off your debts.

If you have the cash and it is currently getting you a poor return then consider buying the panels yourself. If you buy panels with your own money there are some very important points you should consider:

Your money is locked in, if your money is in a savings account you can get your hands on it if needed. With the solar panels you have to wait around 8 years to get it back, and thats just your capital which is now worth less due to inflation.

If a component fails outside of warrenty then your payback period will be greatly extended.

Jon_Tiffany

For anyone who wants to know more about the FITs you can get a copy of the official document from the DECC at this link:

Government's response to the summer 2009 consultation

Its a long read, but it is the definitive guide for the Feed In Tariff.

grahamc2003

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

You're right, and in my house, yes, my spinning meter (now swapped for an export meter) would go in the normal direction.


My main point though is that there are people jumping on here who clearly do not have a scooby what is going on, and the danger is people might actually believe them.

QUOTE]

Well, yes, that was my point too. Ok, you think it's me talking crap, I think it's you. I look at the issue from the viewpoint of a National Grid professional engineer, and you as an owner who doesn't know the difference between energy and power.

The world is full of amazingly efficient generation technologies with amazing claims, especially when they are 'environmental'. Unfortunately, just like the Warwick wind study (which people may google if interested), many people effectively get duped by massively exagerated claims and totally unrealistic expectations, usually originated from PV sales staff and others with a financial interest.

Of course you can boil a kettle with a 2.2kw capacity panel if connected to the mains too, but then you can boil it with no panel when connected to the mains. Obviously, the point being made is that you can't boil a 2.2kw kettle purely from a 2.2kw capacity panel in the UK (maybe on the equator at midday you could, with a new panel, clean and correctly specced and installed etc etc).

Jon_Tiffany

grahamc2003 wrote: »

The world is full of amazingly efficient generation technologies with amazing claims, especially when they are 'environmental'. Unfortunately, just like the Warwick wind study (which people may google if interested), many people effectively get duped by massively exagerated claims and totally unrealistic expectations, usually originated from PV sales staff and others with a financial interest.

This is why they introduced the MCS accreditation. To get the FITs you have to use MCS approved equipment and use an MCS approved installer. The MCS installer has to use the governments SAP process to estimate the output of the panels (same is true for wind turbines).