Current PV panel prices

Martyn1981

Discodave wrote: »

How many of us are still looking to have SP fitted? We've just had this done and with a 14 panel system, split 2x7, we should get a good return of around £800 per year if the whether isn't too bad plus of course that little bit free elecy too

Recouped investment by 2019/20 - better investment than sitting in the bank

I thought you had panels fitted last year?

Mart.

Discodave

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I thought you had panels fitted last year?

Mart.

got them done for Mum when I lived there, but we've since got our own house Mart!

Apart from the interior decorating, this is what we looked at first

Martyn1981

Discodave wrote: »

got them done for Mum when I lived there, but we've since got our own house Mart!

Apart from the interior decorating, this is what we looked at first

This is how addictions start!

Mart.

jimjames

maclesb wrote: »

Hi
First time poster, so please be gentle with daft question.

I got the hard sell from a solar panel company in December last year.
Basically they stated that the FiT was due to halve in a weeks time and that they were the only company that would be able to get the panes fitted in time.
They promised that the 6 panels would pay for themselves within 6-8 years ( which at an original outlay of £13500 was a bit of a struggle to believe) as they do not require direct sunlight.

9 months later, have only generated 915 units, which equates to £400 pounds (closer inspection shows that I purchased 1.35kw system, even though all conversations with salesman was regarding a 4kw system)
So by my rudimentary maths, this would take 30 years to repay.

Does it sound like I have been taken for a fool and, if so, who can I complain to?

A 1.35kWp system costing £13500 will definitely not pay back in 6-8 years. On current calculations our 3kWp system that cost £9k will pay back in 6 years but that is very much at the higher end of estimates as our generation has been above expectations despite the weather this year.

As per the previous posts check your paperwork to see what they claimed. If they are still in business then make sure they are named.

KevinG

maclesb wrote: »

... as they do not require direct sunlight.

How many times have I heard that? True, they do not require direct sunlight to produce something, but this will be a small fraction of what they produce in direct sunlight. A very misleading, far too oft-used claim.

[Deleted User]

KevinG wrote: »

How many times have I heard that? True, they do not require direct sunlight to produce something, but this will be a small fraction of what they produce in direct sunlight. A very misleading, far too oft-used claim.

Importantly, as long as any quote given is based 'daylight' I don't see an issue.

KevinG

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Importantly, as long as any quote given is based 'daylight' I don't see an issue.

I agree, but the original quote was "They promised that the 6 panels would pay for themselves within 6-8 years (which at an original outlay of £13500 was a bit of a struggle to believe) as they do not require direct sunlight." which sounds like an attempt to mislead to me.

John_Pierpoint

maclesb wrote: »

Hi


9 months later, have only generated 915 units, which equates to £400 pounds (closer inspection shows that I purchased 1.35kw system, even though all conversations with salesman was regarding a 4kw system)
So by my rudimentary maths, this would take 30 years to repay.

Does it sound like I have been taken for a fool and, if so, who can I complain to?

How big is your roof? Is it a funny shape? Does it have lots of obstructions? How close to the edges are the panels, What is the pitch of your roof ? How far from due south (call that zero degrees) are you? (just put a kid's protractor on the window sill at 13:00 BST and measure the shadow?) Finally roughly how far north are you?.

[I am not suggesting that you give us your actual address, but you could post a picture on here of just your roof and its panels, on the theory that a picture is worth 1,000 words.]

There was a shortage of "kit" in the mad dash to achieve 12th December and I am wondering if you had installed what they had, rather than what you needed.

[I got my first quote from "The Mark Group" (yes their salesman did not understand my electrical system either), to use as a base line; however the salesman admitted that the 03 March deadline could not be achieved and warned against "roof cramming". Advice which I promptly ignored - I think we could have got 4kW up there, but I did not then understand that a 4kW system needs non objection from the local electricity company, so settled for 3.6.

The only thing I would like to add to my array is (a reproduction of?) one of these:

GaryMo_2

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I think we could have got 4kW up there, but I did not then understand that a 4kW system needs non objection from the local electricity company, so settled for 3.6.

I had a 4kW of panels installed under G83 (post notification) rather than G59 (prior request and notification) due to the fact my inverter is limited to 3.68kW.

jimjames

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Importantly, as long as any quote given is based 'daylight' I don't see an issue.

I've even heard one company (now closed down) that was claiming that street lights would even generate solar power.

It is true that daylight does generate PV electricity but when the difference between sunny days is between 5x and 10x the amount of a cloudy day it is misleading to try to suggest decent results on an overcast day.