Free solar panel discussion

slacky555

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

Hi slacky555,

First of all I would like to apologise that the news you have received from us has not been in your favour. (Email I sent you yesterday)

On the very top of that page you will see that it clears states £500 + £5 for “SolarCare”. SolarCare = Maintenance, This is about how it is described. SolarShare is £500 + £5 per month. For that you get the system and maintenance. Or you could describe it as £500 + £5 per month maintenance. The bottom line is the same.

On the other hand, I can clearly see why this appears to be a “joke” to you. I will get the word”free” removed as I honestly feel this was a genuine error. Thank you for pointing this out to me and I assure you that I am not here to mislead anyone. I may take time to respond to queries however this only means that I am seeking advice from my colleagues as I only but want to provide the correct and honest responses to everyone.

Sorry if this has caused any confusion.

zeupater -> I have requested the maintenance info from our service partners, and the other info from my colleague. As soon as I obtain this information, I will let you know. – Thanks.

Krish

Ok but if you are now saying that this £5 charge is for maintenance, then why do people having the free system not have to pay this amount I am sure they also require maintenance even though you suggest that the solar panels are maintenance free, I guess this must only be for cleaning e.t.c even though I am sure that won't be happening.

I look forward to seeing the maintenance info from Eaga, does this charge then get paid directly to Eaga? Or at least passed on to them?

HomeSun_company_representative

slacky555 wrote: »

Ok but if you are now saying that this £5 charge is for maintenance, then why do people having the free system not have to pay this amount I am sure they also require maintenance even though you suggest that the solar panels are maintenance free, I guess this must only be for cleaning e.t.c even though I am sure that won't be happening.

I look forward to seeing the maintenance info from Eaga, does this charge then get paid directly to Eaga? Or at least passed on to them?

Hi slacky555,

From a business point of view there are reasons why we cannot install and maintain the SolarShare systems for zero cost. If I may refer you to post #1560 in the first paragraph under the title “how we work in a nutshell”.

In the event you decide to buy out a system from us and if work is required to be carried out thereafter, you will be paying the company that does the work for you. If you choose EAGA then payment will be taken by them, if you choose another 3rd party expert they will take your payment.

Thanks

Krish

slacky555

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

Hi slacky555,

From a business point of view there are reasons why we cannot install and maintain the SolarShare systems for zero cost. If I may refer you to post #1560 in the first paragraph under the title “how we work in a nutshell”.

In the event you decide to buy out a system from us and if work is required to be carried out thereafter, you will be paying the company that does the work for you. If you choose EAGA then payment will be taken by them, if you choose another 3rd party expert they will take your payment.

Thanks

Krish

Hi Krish

Yes I can see what you are saying as per your post 1560 but in my case I still have not been informed as to why solar share is the only option.

Is the free system only for people who can fit 16 panels?

I know I can fit 14 the 2.6kw system but as far as I am aware i don't suffer from any other issues. The roof faces directly south, with no shading from other buildings or trees. So unless it's the pitch of the roof then I am not sure, and find it hard to think it could be the pitch. Could you look in to this and let me know as this will effect my decision if Eaga have found issues that will effect performance of system if installed on my roof.

If someone else if offered solar share due to shading during the day then in turn this means less FIT's for you on your investment, so yeah i sort of see why you charge £5 a month.

But in my case I am sure I suffer from no issues as mentioned above just that you can't fit the full 16 panels just 14, so your FIT's will be slightly less but your investment is less, but per kw of system you would earn the same as someone with the 16 panels (free system) can you explain why the charge is still made?

Cardew

Slacky, the £500 and £5 a week is purely charged because that is what they feel the market will stand!!

Justification is nothing to do with this market. They(understandably) are in this game to maximise their profit and if people are silly enough to pay the price etc etc!!

EssJayEff

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Although the salient points weren't addressed at all in Krish's reply to my question, the question was sort of answered by the original post explaining the 'straight-line depreciation' buyout option being deleted!

Such a policy would not be viable to the company for the reasons given. Homesun would make a thumping loss, so either the policy wouldn't be honoured, or the 'free' panel barnch of Homsun's business would make a potentially large loss.

I don't follow your logic at all. Why would they make a loss? When you a buy system outright the supplier makes the profit on the equipment and installation and nothing else. When you go for a free system the supplier makes a 'profit' on the FIT payments. They have to fund the equipment and installation. Buying a free system someway down the line means the suppliers profit is a combination of the two, with most of it coming from installation if the buyout is early or from FITs if the buyout is later. In any year the FIT will exceed the depreciation so they will never make a loss from it.

HomeSun_company_representative

slacky555 wrote: »

Hi Krish

Yes I can see what you are saying as per your post 1560 but in my case I still have not been informed as to why solar share is the only option.

Is the free system only for people who can fit 16 panels?

I know I can fit 14 the 2.6kw system but as far as I am aware i don't suffer from any other issues. The roof faces directly south, with no shading from other buildings or trees. So unless it's the pitch of the roof then I am not sure, and find it hard to think it could be the pitch. Could you look in to this and let me know as this will effect my decision if Eaga have found issues that will effect performance of system if installed on my roof.

If someone else if offered solar share due to shading during the day then in turn this means less FIT's for you on your investment, so yeah i sort of see why you charge £5 a month.

But in my case I am sure I suffer from no issues as mentioned above just that you can't fit the full 16 panels just 14, so your FIT's will be slightly less but your investment is less, but per kw of system you would earn the same as someone with the 16 panels (free system) can you explain why the charge is still made?

Hi slacky555,

You will be entitled to a free system if the technical survey carried out by EAGA comes back to us which states that 16 or more panels can be fitted.

In your instance the survey results came back which states only 13 panels can be fitted (1 row of 6 / 1 row of 7 (portrait)) can be fitted on your roof which would be a 2.6 system.


slacky555, I have mentioned this before, the £5 charge is maintenance service charge and will not be dropped for you. Sorry.


Krish

Mcfi5dhc

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

Hi

Sorry, I'm not getting it.

Example 1 - customer has backwards spinner (until forcibly changed to export/smart meter)
Saves £350 a year, pays £60 a year rental, total saved £290 (ish)

Example 2- customer has new meter (or export, or smart meter)
Saves £100 a year, pays £60 a year rental, total saved £40 (ish)

So, you'll have some customers on Example 1, and some on example 2, but everyone with be no. 2's by the end of say 2015 (when smart meters are rolled out everywhere), and then for the next 20 years.

That seems a lot of hassle for £40 saved a year.
If I have your figures wrong, please let me know.

Thanks

Sorry to quote myself, Krish, just bumping this up.

It would be nice to get an official view on my guestimate of £40 a year saving for the £5 a month payers.

Thanks

slacky555

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

Hi slacky555,

You will be entitled to a free system if the technical survey carried out by EAGA comes back to us which states that 16 or more panels can be fitted.

In your instance the survey results came back which states only 13 panels can be fitted (1 row of 6 / 1 row of 7 (portrait)) can be fitted on your roof which would be a 2.6 system.


slacky555, I have mentioned this before, the £5 charge is maintenance service charge and will not be dropped for you. Sorry.


Krish

Can you then either on here or email me directly if the survey carried out by Eaga showed any other issues that may effect performance of a system if installed on my roof, such as pitch, shading or anything else, or is it just a case of the roof not being large enough to fit the 16 panels? Other than that you would expect the 2.6 kw system to work as normal.

Would it also be possible if you are getting the maintenance info from Eaga to also get some sort of spec on the panels and inverter that would be fitted, just makes and model numbers I guess would do for the tech people on here to know if they are any good! Which I would guess you would try to fit the best so that the generation of the system is optimum and then in turn your FIT's are as high as possible

Many thanks for your help and answers.

HomeSun_company_representative

zeupater wrote: »

Hi Krish

Seeing that the system you supply is likely quite standard from a materials point of view, the only possible differences in cost can really be installation issues and travelling distance from the installers' base ..... therefore, in order to help those who are considering the 'rent-a-roof' system you supply make an informed decision, can you provide a realistic price range for the buy-out option based on your most frequently installed system configuration, along with details of the calculation involved as your previous information doesn't exactly stack up with other information regarding the 25 year straight line depreciation. This must be quite a simple exercise to perform in order to provide transparrency to an interested potential customer (supplier ?) base.

Also, have you had any further information to support the buy-out VAT being 5% and not the standard prevailing rate (~20%), as previously requested ?. I think that there must be a definitive, supported and official answer to this as opposed to an assumption.

Regards

Hi zeupater,

The price to be paid to purchase the PV system from HomeSun calculated in accordance with the following formula:

303-x / 303 * y = p + prevailing VAT rate.

Key
X = number of months which will have passed since the term of commencement date at the break date.
Y= Purchase Price.
P= PV System Purchase Price.
/= Divide.
*= Multiply.
303 = 25 years 3 months.

This is how you would work out the buyout price. The figures shown below are of a 3.52 system we recently installed on a customer’s property. (This does not imply that you get a 3.52 system from us in the future for this price as the price may drop or increase)

303-12 / 303 * £14,150 = £13,589.60 + Vat (VAT will be at the prevailing rate at the time you decide to buy out. Currently is at 5%)

The above calculation is a buyout price after 12 months. To work out the buyout price for which ever year simply change the “x” value and calculate accordingly.

Krish

HomeSun_company_representative

slacky555 wrote: »

Can you then either on here or email me directly if the survey carried out by Eaga showed any other issues that may effect performance of a system if installed on my roof, such as pitch, shading or anything else, or is it just a case of the roof not being large enough to fit the 16 panels? Other than that you would expect the 2.6 kw system to work as normal.

Would it also be possible if you are getting the maintenance info from Eaga to also get some sort of spec on the panels and inverter that would be fitted, just makes and model numbers I guess would do for the tech people on here to know if they are any good! Which I would guess you would try to fit the best so that the generation of the system is optimum and then in turn your FIT's are as high as possible

Many thanks for your help and answers.

Hi slacky555,

I would kindly request to all who would like more in depth technical details of the panels we use to please email in to [EMAIL="customerservices@homesun.com"]customerservices@homesun.com[/EMAIL] where an advisor will get back to you.

For your in depth Technical Survey results I must ask you to contact the Solar Specialist who will have all the details as I only have the basic report which I have advsied you of in my previous post.

Thanks

Krish