Free solar panel discussion

Gizmosmum_2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8unlGTF8W0

Thought some people might like to have a look at pv installation and found this on You Tube. Absolutely no recommendation of the company just thought the video was interesting.

geoff2

I saw Homesun's advert last night and was on verge of registering this morning but I'm having second thoughts. It strikes me this is a market about to take off big-time and if you go in now you may get tied in to what turns out to be a bad deal in a year's time. Personally I want a piece of the £800 pa, not just a piddly bit off my electricity bill.

Gizmosmum_2

geoff2 wrote: »

I saw Homesun's advert last night and was on verge of registering this morning but I'm having second thoughts. It strikes me this is a market about to take off big-time and if you go in now you may get tied in to what turns out to be a bad deal in a year's time. Personally I want a piece of the £800 pa, not just a piddly bit off my electricity bill.

I'm sure some company will be happy to share the Feed in Tariff with you in the future if you're prepared to take the risk and contribute a % of the not so piddly upfront costs

M4ximillion

geoff2 wrote: »

I saw Homesun's advert last night and was on verge of registering this morning but I'm having second thoughts. It strikes me this is a market about to take off big-time and if you go in now you may get tied in to what turns out to be a bad deal in a year's time. Personally I want a piece of the £800 pa, not just a piddly bit off my electricity bill.

Yes Geoff, why don't you just buy a system? For a 3.3kw system it's more than £800 pa - do the math. I would definitely buy one if I had the money, but I can't afford it and no prospect of affording it, that's why I'm trying to get a freebie now whilst they're still being offered. I was told that the FIT payments go down for new installs in a couple of years time so the freebie ones won't be around. I have my survey on 15th October with a shade greener :T

geoff2

Yes Geoff, why don't you just buy a system?

I can't afford it either and don't have a prospect of affording it at the current prices. My point was that solar technology is an immature market and (fingers crossed) if it's at last taking off then in a year or two perhaps the prices of the hardware will be much lower due to economies of scale. Then there may be better deals around. At the moment, what are you getting out of it? Not much really, apart from the obvious green benefit that less gas/electricity is having to be produced generally.

SPANISHTRAVEL

Hi everyone Have read quite a lot about how to get cheaper and better energy and am still confused about what to do. I heard HOMESUN on radio and applied to them. No reply. I applied to several others. one said y rrof was too small!!!
1. Has anybody had a favourable response from one of these companies?.
2. I have been warned off the 'scheme' whereby the solar company installs for free and the householder gets the free elec. I am told I would not be able to sell my house as they are renting my roof. Is this true?
3 What is the new grant coming into effect in October? SPANISH TRAVEL

geoff2

SPANISHTRAVEL wrote: »

Hi everyone Have read quite a lot about how to get cheaper and better energy and am still confused about what to do. I heard HOMESUN on radio and applied to them. No reply. I applied to several others. one said y rrof was too small!!!
1. Has anybody had a favourable response from one of these companies?.
2. I have been warned off the 'scheme' whereby the solar company installs for free and the householder gets the free elec. I am told I would not be able to sell my house as they are renting my roof. Is this true?
3 What is the new grant coming into effect in October? SPANISH TRAVEL

Re point 1, a scan through this thread does show a few people who have taken up the scheme. I was considering Homesun but then I learnt that they are only doing homes in the Hull area, so no good to me down in Sussex. Similarly, A Shade Greener are only doing homes in the north.
Re point 2, that's nonsense about the roof rental as far as I'm aware.

Can't answer your point 3.

Cardew

SPANISHTRAVEL wrote: »

Hi everyone Have read quite a lot about how to get cheaper and better energy and am still confused about what to do. I heard HOMESUN on radio and applied to them. No reply. I applied to several others. one said y rrof was too small!!!
1. Has anybody had a favourable response from one of these companies?.
2. I have been warned off the 'scheme' whereby the solar company installs for free and the householder gets the free elec. I am told I would not be able to sell my house as they are renting my roof. Is this true?
3 What is the new grant coming into effect in October? SPANISH TRAVEL

Firstly in October the Government are going to announce if they are going ahead with the Renewable Heat Initiative(RHI) proposals that are due to start next April. This is to be for ‘green’ heating systems and nothing to do with this solar PV generation.

Loads of people have had ‘free’ systems fitted by A Shade Greener(ASG) but they are in the Yorkshire area.

Nobody knows if having these free panels on your roof will detract or enhance the value of your property if you sell. The plus side is that you get some free electricity(but not worth as much as many think).

The downside is that the purchaser of the house is committed to renting out his roof for the remainder of the 25 years. Some purchasers think they are unsightly and others might want to fit their own system and gain the subsidies(FIT) that dwarf any savings they make from the free systems.

On the subject of ‘free electricity’. It seems anything ‘free’ attracts a frenzy of applicants – many of whom must not appreciate how little their savings will be.

In the Green Forum there is a poster who has had his own system for two years and carefully monitors (with meters) how much he uses in the house. With wife and young children at home all day he uses 500kWh a year – so savings of £40 to £50 a year. That sort of figure can be borne out by research on the internet.

Cardew

geoff2 wrote: »

Re point 2, that's nonsense about the roof rental as far as I'm aware.

Not sure what you mean by nonsense!

If you get a 'free' system it is legally binding that the system will remain on the roof for 25 years and that stipulation is binding on subsequent owners.

The term 'rental' is a shorthand term where the 'rent' you receive for 'letting' your roof is the electricity you can use in your house from the panels.

Gizmosmum_2

geoff2 wrote: »

Re point 1, a scan through this thread does show a few people who have taken up the scheme. I was considering Homesun but then I learnt that they are only doing homes in the Hull area, so no good to me down in Sussex. Similarly, A Shade Greener are only doing homes in the north.
Re point 2, that's nonsense about the roof rental as far as I'm aware.

Can't answer your point 3.

Loving the fact that Yorkshire is in the North :rotfl: Maybe Sussex is in France??

Homesun are planning to put 100,000 systems in the next 3 years and once the first systems have gone in successfully they are rolling it out across the country. I applied out of interest, had an email within a few hours to say I was out of their current area, would be in phase 3 (which didn't surprise me as we really are in the North!) and that they would be back in touch as soon as they were ready with the third phase. Quite a reasonable response I thought..