Current PV panel prices

zeupater

thenudeone wrote: »

PANELS: Sharp NU-E245(J5) 245Wp High Output Modules
INVERTER: Sunny Boy SB4000TL-20 (High Frequency)
LOCATION: unknown (desktop quote, no site visit yet)
MONITOR: Sunny Beam Bluetooth Output Monitor Unit
MOUNTING: Schuco 210 Mounting System
WARRANTY ON INSTALL: 2YRS
No mention of warranty on inverter

This is my first detailed quote for panels, so any comments on the above would be welcome.
NB: I would prefer to use another make of panels because Sharp has a low ethiscore from "Ethical Consumer" magazine. Possibly Yingli.

Hi

Looks like decent spec for the package .... I wouldn't count on the price not changing when they do the survey though, there is plenty of scope to tweak the price up a little, earth bonding, 'unstandard' scaffolding, consumer unit, henley block, different roof anchors, lead flashing etc ...... I recommend you get a survey to confirm the price.

Regarding the Sharp panels, I haven't looked at the magazine you mention, but I can't really see how a panel manufactured in the UK, contributing to the UK economy and labour force, could be less ethical than one manufactured in a country with a dubious human rights record and extremely poor labour protection laws before being shipped half way around the world in 40' containers (Approx 800 panels/container) ....

HTH
Z

thenudeone

Thanks zeupater.
In order to get a survey from this supplier, I would have to pay a 20% deposit (credit cards accepted), which is refundable i f the survey was "unacceptable". The terms are:

This agreement is conditional upon a satisfactory technical survey by Solar Essence Ltd which normally will be carried out within 7-14 days following this agreement taking effect. In the event of an unsatisfactory survey report we will write to you with a full explanation explaining why detailing area‟s such as suitable access, ground conditions, building, plumbing or electrical works above & beyond our scope. If no satisfactory resolution can be agreed then you or we may cancel this agreement without any penalty & any deposit will be refunded.

The poor ethical score relates to the overall company (Sharp) not to the panels. It covers a number of points including pollutions & toxins, supply chain policies and transparency, workers rights and so on. However, I take your point about UK manufactured goods being inherently more ethical, because there is so much legislation and protection. This just exemplifies the difficulties and complexities in "ethical" buying!

zeupater

thenudeone wrote: »

Thanks zeupater.
In order to get a survey from this supplier, I would have to pay a 20% deposit (credit cards accepted), which is refundable i f the survey was "unacceptable". The terms are:

This agreement is conditional upon a satisfactory technical survey by Solar Essence Ltd which normally will be carried out within 7-14 days following this agreement taking effect. In the event of an unsatisfactory survey report we will write to you with a full explanation explaining why detailing area‟s such as suitable access, ground conditions, building, plumbing or electrical works above & beyond our scope. If no satisfactory resolution can be agreed then you or we may cancel this agreement without any penalty & any deposit will be refunded.

The poor ethical score relates to the overall company (Sharp) not to the panels. It covers a number of points including pollutions & toxins, supply chain policies and transparency, workers rights and so on. However, I take your point about UK manufactured goods being inherently more ethical, because there is so much legislation and protection. This just exemplifies the difficulties and complexities in "ethical" buying!

Hi

I'd never pay a 20% deposit which would be subject to a survey. Companies which operate this kind of scheme know that most of the hard work in gaining the sale has already been done and once the customer is on the hook it's pretty easy to tweak the prices upwards a little knowing that the customer, having already paid out thousands, is unlikely to cancel.

I've not looked, but I'd hazard a guess that someone operating this kind of system simply takes sales deposits & then sub-contracts the installations. You could call them and request a free survey prior to any deposit payment, however, I'd have a look at the MCS website and find a couple of local installers (map view) and invite them to survey/quote which they should do for free anyway .... you already have a guide price & specification to compare their offerings against.

HTH
Z

reeac

This business of "subject to survey" seems rather overblown to me. We had a visit from the owner of Solarworks of Suffolk who showed us the brochures etc, discussed FITs, gave us a quote and did the survey of the roof, the surrounding ground and the inside of the garage where our mains electricity enters all in less than an hour. The actual survey took no more than about 15 minutes. "Job done" as they say.

pmpm

pmpm wrote: »

Hi I was wondering somebody can help me.
I have got quotes for 3 companies now. They all are for 3.99kw panels.
Schoto (probably i'm spelling it wrong) panels = £14300
Upsolar panels = £14500 with sma inverter and bluetooth monitoring including.
Solar world panels = £15000 with sma inverter and bluetooth monitoring including

one person said that we should put the inverter in house as in loft it will become very hot (in summers ) and very cold in winters which will reduce its life. ANother guy said that it should go in loft as otherwise because of longer cable between panels and inverter the electricity transferred will do down.

What do you guys think about these prices and panels? They spoke highly of solar world and Schoto. They also said that SMP inverter is the best.

Can somebody please help me for this one?

zeupater

pmpm wrote: »

Hi I was wondering somebody can help me.
I have got quotes for 3 companies now. They all are for 3.99kw panels.
Schoto (probably i'm spelling it wrong) panels = £14300
Upsolar panels = £14500 with sma inverter and bluetooth monitoring including.
Solar world panels = £15000 with sma inverter and bluetooth monitoring including

one person said that we should put the inverter in house as in loft it will become very hot (in summers ) and very cold in winters which will reduce its life. ANother guy said that it should go in loft as otherwise because of longer cable between panels and inverter the electricity transferred will do down.

What do you guys think about these prices and panels? They spoke highly of solar world and Schoto. They also said that SMP inverter is the best.

Hi pmpm

I'd agree with not putting the inverter in the loft as in mid summer the temperatures could possibly (depending on your loftspace) cause the unit to derate and I would also agree with the view that the lifespan of the inverter could be shortened, but these are the views of an informed layperson, not a qualified expert in these matters. Longer DC cables will reduce the efficiency of the system depending on how long the run is, however, the extra resistance in the cables can be compensated for by using heavier gauge cables.

Regarding the three quotes, I had prices for Schueco(/Schüco) & SolarWorld systems last year which were around these levels (slightly above actually), so I'd be surprised if you couldn't do some serious negotiation over the prices in light of the reduction in panel prices. Both these manufacturers seem to produce well built units (German !!) from what I saw and make both polycrystalline & monocrystalline units if you have a preference, so do check what the actual units are.

It is important to note that the inverter make and model can effect the overall performance of the system. I'd look for a transformerless inverter as they should give you a little gain on system efficiency, you mention a 'SMP' inverter, this is likely to be SMA, if so I would hope that the quotes are for a transformerless SB4000TL inverter which has inbuilt bluetooth for the monitor, as opposed to a standard unit where bluetooth is an optional extra.

HTH
Z

pmpm

Hi Zeuter, Thanks a lot for your reply

Yes it's SMA inverter only. Just checked my quotes and tried to negotiate with the guy. Following are the details with his final prices.

UPSOLAR PANELS (monocrystalline) : UP-M185M 21 panels : total 3.885Kwp with SMA Sunny boy 4000TL-20 inverter= £13299

SOLARWORLD PANELS: Sunmodule plus SW 17 panels : Total 3.995Kw with SMA Sunnyboy 4000TL-20 inverter = £14000

The guy who came to give this quote says that solarworld panels are best but he also highly recommends Upsolar.

What do you guys think of these.

SavingNow

What would you guys that have been researching for a while, say is a good benchmark for a quote for say a 3kwp system, and components if able to specify. I read so many posts on the subject, it left me as confused as when I started.

I'm looking at having some panels on both SE and SW aspects of our roof, upto around 3kwp I think we could comfortably get on there.

Read much about the Fronius inverters, but also seen the mentions of this 125V invertor and it's purported benefits. What should I be looking for ?

I have a local guy coming around this afternoon to give us our first quote, also approached Tesco but no response as yet, any other known suppliers that are considered to be reasonable ?

daytona600_2

schott mid range
upsolar very / very cheap chinese
solarworld one of the best in the world and expensive
with very high yields with best module warranty
sma no1 inverter in the world

don,t pay anymore than £11k for schott/upsolar £ 13k solarworld/sma get some more quotes
search online - prices very high
schott/upsolar should be about £2k cheaper than solarworld
www.suntrol-portal.com for bluetooth monitoring

pmpm wrote: »

Hi I was wondering somebody can help me.
I have got quotes for 3 companies now. They all are for 3.99kw panels.
Schoto (probably i'm spelling it wrong) panels = £14300
Upsolar panels = £14500 with sma inverter and bluetooth monitoring including.
Solar world panels = £15000 with sma inverter and bluetooth monitoring including

one person said that we should put the inverter in house as in loft it will become very hot (in summers ) and very cold in winters which will reduce its life. ANother guy said that it should go in loft as otherwise because of longer cable between panels and inverter the electricity transferred will do down.

What do you guys think about these prices and panels? They spoke highly of solar world and Schoto. They also said that SMP inverter is the best.

thenudeone

A supplier on ebay is listing a 3.92kW Solar PV System installed, for £12,200 or best offer.
16 x 245w panels, Sharp monocrystaline. The inverter is a SMA Sunnyboy SB3300

A useful tool for negotiating with other suppliers!