Free solar panel discussion

Doc_N

The_Governor wrote: »

I got knocked back by Isis for having a South East facing roof, surely the solar panel tech can cope with that...?

It can, but given the queue of people with south facing roofs, they don't need to bother with anything else.

suecoo66

The_Governor wrote: »

I got knocked back by Isis for having a South East facing roof, surely the solar panel tech can cope with that...?

I got knocked back by Homesun for being too near the sea. Just been accepted by Ecovision Energy for a 14 panel system give them a try

suecoo66

Cardew wrote: »

Engineers already have all the solutions.

Nuclear power and coal fired power stations! Plus extract the oil and gas from the plentiful reserves that are currently uneconomic to exploit.

Solar is just a joke in economic terms - we have to pay people over 1,000%(10x) more in subsidies than it costs to produce electricity by conventional means.

Surely in time, solar panels will become cheaper and cheaper like most technology does as it becomes more popular etc.
A few years ago you would pay about £500 for a dvd, now you can buy one for about £25.

suecoo66

PeterZ wrote: »

Some of you claim to be engineers, well in my book I'm afraid not very good ones. The best engineers are those can solve complex problems with innovative solutions, I'm not seeing much of that here.

I've come to the conclusion that is impossible to teach old dogs new tricks, lets hope that the Uk has enough young fresh talent to move the Uk forward. I for one dont want to go backwards, I feel that some of you would like us to go back to open coal fires and horse and cart.

This isn't a balanced discussion, its a lets gang up on anyone who dares to say anything positive about solar.

So my final word on this thread is that regardless of the views of a few vocal minorities on here, the push for renewables will go ahead. It has support from the EU, and all policital parties - even the BNP would you believe support renewable energy. We are committed to our 2020 targets and are well on track to meet those targets.

I've been following this thread for some time as I'm interested in doing the rent a roof scheme and wanted to read some of the pros and cons of the scheme. However it seems to have turned into nothing but a slanging match and people trying to out do each other on who knows the most about solar energy.
Most people come to these threads for advise and support from a community. I think this style of insulting conversation towards other members will just turn people off.
I'm hoping to get a 14 panel system installed and wondered if anyone can offer me some advice. At the risk of sounding a complete thicko, how will I know how many watts of energy my panels are producing and how much money I'm saving?

suecoo66

Just another quick bit of advice needed, Tendring DC keep telling me that solar panel companies are lying when they state you don't need planning permission. I don't live in a listed building or a conservation area, so does anyone know where I stand legally? I want something in writing from the council in case I ever sell.

Cardew

suecoo66 wrote: »

I'm hoping to get a 14 panel system installed and wondered if anyone can offer me some advice. At the risk of sounding a complete thicko, how will I know how many watts of energy my panels are producing and how much money I'm saving?

There will be a meter that shows how much the system is producing at any one time and the cumulative generation.

However as you are considering a 'Rent a roof' system, you will never know how much you are saving. You obviously don't get any of the subsidies so your only advantage is that any of the generated electricity you can use in the house will reduce the amount of electricty supplied to you from the mains.

The aim will be to utilize as much of the generated electricity as possible. To achieve this you should try to run dishwasher/washing machine etc around noon on sunny days.

Estimates vary on how much you can save, and it varies between £50 to £120 a year, with £100 a year an excellent result.

John_Pierpoint

suecoo66 wrote: »

Just another quick bit of advice needed, Tendring DC keep telling me that solar panel companies are lying when they state you don't need planning permission. I don't live in a listed building or a conservation area, so does anyone know where I stand legally? I want something in writing from the council in case I ever sell.

Would you be putting the panels on the front roof or the back one?
(In theory "mission creep" allows the Planning Department to object to the change in appearance of the property, as it is a domestic property the PD would have 4 years in which to take action against you before the situation was ultra vires - there is a Council in Essex that took action against Mac Donalds for wanting golden arches on a drive-in industrial style building in a chalk pit adjacent to the Dartford Tunnel - that cost the local Council Tax payers a lot of money when litigious MAC D demanded its consequential costs).

I'm not an expert but I am pretty sure that legally the situation is "permitted development" as you are not raising the surface of the roof by more than 200 mm - your local council can go through procedures to strip you of your permitted development rights and replace them by local rules, but they cannot do that to you as an individual - It must be a policy or an agreement with you.
For example some local councils try to impose a "no front dorma windows" policy - with bizarre consequences for semi detached pairs, where one owner has pre-empted the policy.

I went to a talk about "energy saving" in which an owner of a rear roof in a conservation area (turned down) swapped notes with the steward of a grade one listed castle (permitted) - as individuals of limited means, we have to dodge round these obstacles, rather than bulldoze our way over them.
Ask the guy in the planning department to explain the policy to you and ask yourself if the department is "protecting jobs?" "raising revenue by forcing you to pay them fees?" or "Genuinely preventing a blight on the local architecture/landscape?".
Then ask yourself if your cash strapped local authority can afford to waste resources taking action against a fait accompli.
Finally:
Do you live next door to the chair of the planning committee or even the parish clerk?
Jaw Jaw is better than War War.

Doc_N

suecoo66 wrote: »

I've been following this thread for some time as I'm interested in doing the rent a roof scheme and wanted to read some of the pros and cons of the scheme. However it seems to have turned into nothing but a slanging match and people trying to out do each other on who knows the most about solar energy.
Most people come to these threads for advise and support from a community. I think this style of insulting conversation towards other members will just turn people off.

suecoo66 wrote: »

Just another quick bit of advice needed, Tendring DC keep telling me that solar panel companies are lying when they state you don't need planning permission. I don't live in a listed building or a conservation area, so does anyone know where I stand legally? I want something in writing from the council in case I ever sell.

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I'm not an expert but I am pretty sure that legally the situation is "permitted development" as you are not raising the surface of the roof by more than xxx mm - your local council can go through procedures to strip you of your permitted development rights and replace them by local rules, but they cannot do that to you as an individual - It must be a policy or an agreement with you.

On your first point, I have to agree with you. This thread's way off track, and although there are some very useful nuggets of information in it, they're so well hidden by all the dross that they're almost impossible to find.

On your second point, I had the response below from planning, which gave me the assurance I wanted.

As for permitted development rights (under which the above falls), is there any chance that they were removed for some reason when the original planning permission for your house was granted? That can happen, unusually, and if it does it means that full planning permission has to be applied for, even where it wouldn't normally be required.


I confirm that as your dwelling is not listed or within a Conservation Area no planning permission is required provided the development complies with the limitations set out in the Planning Portal extracts below, and also provided that you also comply with the other conditions which are:

that the equipment shall, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building,

that the equipment shall, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area,

that when no longer required, the equipment is removed as soon as reasonably practicable.


The Planning Portal contains the following advice on planning permission:


Roof or Wall Mounted Solar Panels

The following limits apply to roof and wall mounted solar panels:

*Panels should not be installed above the ridgeline and should project no morethan 200mm from the roof or wall surface.

*If your property is a listed building installation is likely to require anapplication for listed building consent, even where planning permission is not needed.

*If your property is in a conservation area, or in a World Heritage Site planning consent is required when panels are to be fitted on the principal or side elevation walls and they are visible from the highway. If panels are to be fitted to a building in your garden or grounds they should not be visible from the highway.

The_Governor

suecoo66 wrote: »

I got knocked back by Homesun for being too near the sea. Just been accepted by Ecovision Energy for a 14 panel system give them a try

Thnaks for that, they also kocked me back at the first hurde for not having a house that faced between south and east, even though it does :rotfl:

Gizmosmum_2

Doc_N wrote: »

On your first point, I have to agree with you. This thread's way off track, and although there are some very useful nuggets of information in it, they're so well hidden by all the dross that they're almost impossible to find.

On your second point, I had the response below from planning, which gave me the assurance I wanted.

As for permitted development rights (under which the above falls), is there any chance that they were removed for some reason when the original planning permission for your house was granted? That can happen, unusually, and if it does it means that full planning permission has to be applied for, even where it wouldn't normally be required.


I confirm that as your dwelling is not listed or within a Conservation Area no planning permission is required provided the development complies with the limitations set out in the Planning Portal extracts below, and also provided that you also comply with the other conditions which are:

that the equipment shall, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building,

that the equipment shall, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area,

that when no longer required, the equipment is removed as soon as reasonably practicable.


The Planning Portal contains the following advice on planning permission:


Roof or Wall Mounted Solar Panels

The following limits apply to roof and wall mounted solar panels:

*Panels should not be installed above the ridgeline and should project no morethan 200mm from the roof or wall surface.

*If your property is a listed building installation is likely to require anapplication for listed building consent, even where planning permission is not needed.

*If your property is in a conservation area, or in a World Heritage Site planning consent is required when panels are to be fitted on the principal or side elevation walls and they are visible from the highway. If panels are to be fitted to a building in your garden or grounds they should not be visible from the highway.

This was updated in Oct 08 to allow installation even when visible from the highway (although a lot of local authorities have missed this - including our own), just leaving listed building consent if appropriate and even that is being approved more often than not as part of the building's historical development. The argument there is that microgeneration is a sign of the times now and would be acceptable in contrast to a 70's style addition to an 18th C house which wouldn't be a sign of the current times - if you see what I mean