Which free solar provider?

malch

bikeman wrote: »

Can anyone help me narrow down which of the free solar providers I should choose from?

My preferred criteria is:

1. Share of the FIT. Do they all offer the same deal or are there any that will share the feed in tariff?

2. I'd like to use one that will give me some sort of smart meter so I can see in realtime what the panels are generating, what i am using and how much I am exporting. Do any offer this?

3. Free of charge maintenance contract.

4. Allow me to retain panels at end of contract free of charge.

Realistic requirements?


Thanks

Bikeman i was listening to our illustrious leader (Martin Lewis) on the radio this dinner time, and he is in the process of looking into a rent a roof scheme being planned by eon where by they keep the FITs and you get the free electric that is produced, then when you have tried it you will have the option to purchase the system. no prices given but he was thinking that you may just be able to become a customer of Eon to be eligable then move from them after if not happy with their tarriffs.
might be something to keep your eye on in the next couple of weeks.

K4blades

bikeman wrote: »

a) the cost is only justified with the government FIT

Nothing is cost effective until it becomes mass market, it was government subsidy that built the national grid in the first place.
As other sources of fuel get ever inceasingly expensive we need alternatives, and that means investment whether we do it now or in the future, and whatever technology you choose to go with.

malch

bikeman wrote: »

mmm good debate but it seems to me that solar pv is fundamentally flawed in that a) the cost is only justified with the government FIT and b) output is low when you most need it e.g evenings, winter etc.

Even though I am at home all day perhaps it's still not going to give any real benefit if it cant reduce my gas usage on HW and CH. My elec usage is practically nil during the day.

What a shame that the subsidies haven't been offered to solar farms and business users (or maybe they have?).

I think that once these subsidies get removed/reduced the solar pv will be dead unless it's provided with some form of (battery?) storage.

a couple of point you may need to know it isn't the government who pay the FITs it is the electricity company's ( via about £10 per customer per annum on your bill)

you will save your money using your free electricity by using washing machines, dishwashers, slowcookers, chargers ect

M4ximillion

K4blades wrote: »

I'm on the same tariff as you Cardew....we must both be very canny with our pennies.

My point about the immersion was that it is down to every individual to find out what best suits their own situation, rather than blankly accepting what they are told. By testing what works best in your own home, you will find that some things do work and others don't.
For example, in the case we are discussing using immersion instead of gas boiler, the savings would be more if your boiler was oil fired or LPG, or even coal fired. You have to work out what works in your own situation. (Whats more, over time, its is widely expected, as seen with the recent price increases, that the difference between gas and elec will get smaller, so the saving being more).

Which takes me onto the next point.....
one of the best ways to find out what you will save from PVs is to have an EPC / SAP calculation done. These are done by independent and impartial assessors, accredited to act in such a way, and not favour any particular commercial organisation.
I have done thousands of these in the past few years and I can tell you that it is quite typical for an average house to save over £200 from PV electricity, without FITs.
This calculation is done using software developed over many years, tested and approved by BRE and CLG, in other words the figures are relatively reliable.

Cardew keeps banding about the £100 mentioned by Sarah at ASG, (I'm not interested in the particular quote or its context), but I also note that it has been mentioned on here that ASG are stating on their website, based on evidence from their customers, that 50% savings are typical.....but Cardew, you rejected this....so how come you want to quote ASG when it suits you, but not believe them when it doesn't. Their website says they have now done about 3000 installations, so thats a bigger body of evidence than the 2 members of this forum that you repeatedly hold up as shining examples. You also, repeatedly question anyone else who posts on this forum their experiences, suggesting that they are mis-calculating.
As the body of evidence grows, your arguments will look increasingly weaker I'm afraid.

What a surprise - Cardew has chosen to ignore this post:rotfl:

Cardew

M4ximillion wrote: »

What a surprise - Cardew has chosen to ignore this post:rotfl:

Ignored because it is simply nonsense - very much like your input!

Firstly anyone who champions the discredited EPC/SAP calculations can only be an assessor!

Do you know how long the training course is to 'authorise' people to produce an EPC report? I put this on another thread:

We get lots of self proclaimed 'energy experts' on MSE who having done a 2 day course feel qualified to give advice - often poor advice

Domestic Energy Assessor
2 days course • Level 3 diploma
Limited time
special offer £995 + VAT

Incidentally my daughter did the 5 day course(she didn't pay) after graduating and before moving on to another degree course. Immediately she finished the course she became an instructor at the same establishment.

Clever girl as she might be, she didn't have, and still doesn't, any idea of the most rudimentary electrical theory, or insulation etc. However the reports she wrote were highly impressive - but meaningless, all the buzzwords and jargon were on the template!!

As for the 'calculation done by software' the old adage 'rubbish in - rubbish out' applies.

I do keep on about £100 being a figure discussed with ASG and also what WHICH expects, plus the people who have export meters and can calculate exactly to a kWh what they have used in the house.

2 solar enthusiasts on MSE who have had PV systems for some years have given their consumption in-house(they have export meters) as 1,000kWh and 500kWh per year - so £100 and £50 pa. The latter with a wife and 2 small children home all day.

Re the 50% claim that ASG make - well they don't fit export meters to their systems, so I suspect the 'proof' is of the 'last year I used xkWh and this year ykWh variety'

In any case If someone had an annual bill of £150 and this was reduced by £100 to £50 this is a saving of well over 50%!!!!!

Read carefully the ASG website - who IMO seem to be the best of the bunch - and see just how they word their claims. Nowhere do they give a monetary figure of savings.

Any more questions?

John_Pierpoint

Cardew wrote: »

Firstly anyone who champions the discredited EPC/SAP calculations can only be an assessor! They are such a joke that they have been dropped as a mandatory requirement on selling/renting houses.

Are you sure about the Energy Performance Certificate - I know the Home Information Pack (HIP) has gone, but I thought the EPC is a European requirement?

[I checked out a particular "village", in which I was interested, and several houses claimed to have "gas central heating" in their HIP/EPC; when the only gas in the "village" came from a couple of big red cylinders in the back yard of the seller's home. So I take your point about garbage in garbage out.]

Cardew

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Are you sure about the Energy Performance Certificate - I know the Home Information Pack (HIP) has gone, but I thought the EPC is a European requirement?

[I checked out a particular "village", in which I was interested, and several houses claimed to have "gas central heating" in their HIP/EPC; when the only gas in the "village" came from a couple of big red cylinders in the back yard of the seller's home. So I take your point about garbage in garbage out.]

Yes correct its is the HIP that has been dropped, but the EPC is virtually worthless in many cases!

Have amended my post!

K4blades

Cardew, how so typical, you discredit everything that you disagree with, and only accept that which suits your argument, no matter how silly, then totally ignore any serious questions put to you......and just who pays your wages?

You like to think you know everything, when you clearly know very little....go on, please do explain how a SAP calculation is produced.

Its about time you stopped prattling on about silly magnets, like thats got to do with anything, relying on hearsay from a small number of like minded people and started to accept, there is a much larger number of people who think you are wrong....oh wait a minute....you think they are all wrong.
How so arrogant of you.

skelly01

Why is it in posts like these, Cardew etc seem hell bent on detracting from the topic title. This does nothing but confuse people. Can you guys not just stick to the topic in question? This is titled Which free Solar provider!!! But some seem to get off on hijacking for their own personal egos and crusades. Keep to the topic it helps "simpletons" like myself.

celerity

skelly01 wrote: »

Why is it in posts like these, Cardew etc seem hell bent on detracting from the topic title.

Off-topic posts can be annoying, but in this case I can't see anyone is especially "guilty" here. Cardew answered the OP's question, then went on to answer more questions.

The issue of how much energy you can typically save during the day is absolutely critical to the decision of whether or not to install free panels, so (and this is just my opinion) the expanded discussion on that is entirely helpful and relevant.

/\dam