Current PV panel prices

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi everyone

Just to quickly answer a question raised then let this get back on topic. Anyone can post on here in a personal capacity as long as they haven't registered using their company name as their username and don't mention their company in any way.

I hope that clarifies things.

Andrea

thenudeone

Casper55 wrote: »

Interestingly he was the only one who pointed out that above this power(3.6KW) Hence the odd number of panels)then permission from NEDL ( local electricity supply Not Scottish Power whom I pay my bills to)would be required and possibly the system would require upgrading which would increase costs. I contacted NEDL who confirmed this.

There is an unresolved debate about whether the 3.68kW limit applies to the maximum panel capacity or the maximum inverter output.

According to a letter from the Energy Networks Association the G83 limit of 3.68kW applies to the maximum inverter output; even if the panel output exceeds 3.68kW
http://www.electriciansforums.co.uk/photovoltaic-solar-panels-green-energy-forum/26504-g83-pre-install-application-4.html

Others have reported that their DNO is adamant that the panel capacity cannot exceed 3.68kW regardless of the inverter.

Does anyone have any firm evidence either way? (My 3.995kW system is in and DNO approved but it would still be useful for others).

akarobin

goldenspiral wrote: »

Apologies for the length of this post. I ordered 16xAmerisystem 250W mono-crystalline panels recently, each with mini-inverter. Mini-inverters have a 25 year guarantee, eliminate DC loss and do not need replacing every 10 years. Most importantly for us, if one panel is shaded only the output of that panel drops. In a serial array all panels drop to the lowest, which might be 40%.

Total installed cost for 4kWh system is £14,500. The salesman knew his stuff. According to his officially approved figures it will produce 3432kWh pa and return around £66,500 over 25 years. This doesn't include an estimate on the price of electricity in 25 years time.

QUOTE]

The salesman did not know his stuff he has misled you by applying the ideal conditions to the SAP calc; 4Kwp; South; No shade; 30 deg module angle gives 3433Kwh - you clearly do not have ideal conditions otherwise he ought not to be offering enecsys mini inverters to cope with some part of the array being in shade!

digitaltoast

Replying to someone regarding Solatricity, zeupater wrote:

zeupater wrote: »

Quite simply this looks to be old fashoned double glazing sales practices ... a 2.5 hour presentation with all of the associated confusion, carrot & pressure tactics should not be allowed.

I was in the Oracle(?) in Reading* this weekend when I passed a Solatricity stand. There was a salesman by the stand, a real "geezer" - open shirt, bit of a swagger on him, and he was talking at a rather pressured looking mum with two children. I stopped to listen - wish I'd thought of recording it now - but some of the stuff he was coming out with made me think he'd just transferred straight from the double glazing industry.

"Great, so you're interested in no more electricity bills. Is 10am or 11am tomorrow morning better for you?" etc...

I took a picture of the stand though - can you REALLY get paid £1600 a year (bottom right of picture)? I though it was £800? Anyway, see what you think of this...



*the glittering heart of the jewel in Berkshire's sparkling crown(!)

Gizmosmum_2

You can save £1600 with a decent roof size and orientation and if you're at home to use some of the free electricity but to claim that you can free yourself of electricty bills for 25 years is a bit of a manipulation of the truth and a complete nonsense if you're foolish enough to get involved with rent a roof schemes. We're on target to get about £1525 in FiT this year and I reckon we'll have reduced our electric bill by about £100 - we're in the North, so it is possible but much more likely in rural areas where there are roofs big enough to fit the 4kwp systems on. I'd go for local v national anyday, you're more likely to get a designed system that meets your needs and if anything goes wrong you know where they are.

keith_r59

Gizmosmum wrote: »

You can save £1600 with a decent roof size and orientation and if you're at home to use some of the free electricity but to claim that you can free yourself of electricty bills for 25 years is a bit of a manipulation of the truth and a complete nonsense if you're foolish enough to get involved with rent a roof schemes.

I think they are probably inferring that the FIT payments are sufficient to offset the cost of your annual electricity usage.

zeupater

keith_r59 wrote: »

I think they are probably inferring that the FIT payments are sufficient to offset the cost of your annual electricity usage.

Hi

If that's the case, wouldn't there really be a case for the advert to be changed to read .... 'Pay fifteen grand up front for 25 years of electricity' ... and remove the reference to 'Free' ....

I wonder if that wording would actually attract more custom :think:

Z

mark55man

So my house (SE england) is aligned North South, with the roof facing east and west (have a large detached house). No shading. The east roof obviously get shine from sunrise and the west roof gets shine till dusk, in summer both rooves are sunlit between 10 and 6

The roof is 12m long and (I guess 4.5 metres) from gutter to rooftop. I also have a double garage (same alignment) which is 6m wide and about 7m from gutter to rooftop

Can you help with what power system I should be looking at (2.x or 3.99 or even higher), and whether the alignment will significantly reduce the output.

Thanks in advance for helping out a PV newbie

grahamc2003

mark88man wrote: »

So my house (SE england) is aligned North South, with the roof facing east and west (have a large detached house). No shading. The east roof obviously get shine from sunrise and the west roof gets shine till dusk, in summer both rooves are sunlit between 10 and 6

The roof is 12m long and (I guess 4.5 metres) from gutter to rooftop. I also have a double garage (same alignment) which is 6m wide and about 7m from gutter to rooftop

Can you help with what power system I should be looking at (2.x or 3.99 or even higher), and whether the alignment will significantly reduce the output.

Thanks in advance for helping out a PV newbie

Someone recently posted a link to a quite complex graph showing the output of panels for all angles from n-s and all slope angles. I remember, iirc, that the best slope for panels on anything North of west to east was zero degree (i.e. horizontal), and in that case, the output was still a high percentage oif the max available at the best slope due S (over 70% iirc). I saved a link, but of course can't find it - if/when I do I'll post it, unless someone else beats me to it). The problem of course is that it may not be allowed to have horizonal panels, I think (but not sure) that they have to, or at least usually do, follow the slope of your roof).

zeupater

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Someone recently posted a link to a quite complex graph showing the output of panels for all angles from n-s and all slope angles. I remember, iirc, that the best slope for panels on anything North of west to east was zero degree (i.e. horizontal), and in that case, the output was still a high percentage oif the max available at the best slope due S (over 70% iirc). I saved a link, but of course can't find it - if/when I do I'll post it, unless someone else beats me to it). The problem of course is that it may not be allowed to have horizonal panels, I think (but not sure) that they have to, or at least usually do, follow the slope of your roof).

Hi

I'm pretty sure that many (most?) panel manufacturers will void any warranty if the panels are horizontal due to lack of viable run-off .... water pooling will also allow a build-up of dirt which will reduce efficiency, therefore a decent slope will aid cleaning.

HTH
Z