Discuss the free solar panel company: A Shade Greener

xKeithRodenx

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Hi

Even the EST admit that their figures are based on estimates, it is also based on a smaller system than the one we install. What we have is concrete feedback from many customers who have had our system for over 12 months now and all of the feedback contradicts those figures. From the feedback we are getting, the savings appear to be between 30%-60%. However, it is accepted that if customers who are out all day and who make no concerted effort to use the daytime electricity provided by the solar PV then the savings are, of course, likely to be minimal, and that wouldn’t surprise anyone.


ASG agrees with this, but the problem faced by many people is that there are no finance companies willing to lend in respect of solar pv and maybe the MSE journalists should be lobbying them to do so.

Just wanted to respond to this whole "free solar PV" issue.
I work as a Solar Sales Consultant for Big Green Company. We sell high quality Solar PV systems to residential and commercial properties. Our cheapest system is sold at around £9000. The advantage to buying your own system is that you get 100% of the money from the Feed-In Tariff.
It is a false statement by ASG to say that there are no finance companies willing to lend in respect of Solar PV. Here at Big Green Company, we use Barclays Partner Finance. BPF do not normally like to take on Solar PV due to the length of contracts and warranties, but to have Barclays on board offers our customers some peace of mind.

xKeithRodenx

Ashadegreener_representative wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

Shading is a major issue and even a little shading on one panel will drastically reduce the generation of every panel on the same string. This drop in generation will result in less income through the Feed-in-Tariff meaning such an install would not be financially viable for us.

If you have any further questions I am happy to answer them.

As a Solar Sales Consultant for Big Green Company, I can confirm that shading on a property is a major issue... if your Solar PV system uses Single String Inverters. Single String Inverters are the cheapest option available to many Solar PV companies. If one of the panels on your property suffers from shading, the majority of your systems will be compromised. It's a bit like the cheap Christmas tree lights you can buy... if one light goes out, the whole lot go out.
However, with systems where you have micro-inverters fitted to each panel separately, if one panel is shaded, the whole system is only compromised by that panel alone. In simpler terms, an 8 panel system on Single String Inverter with one panel shaded will suffer a minimum 50% loss of power generation. With a micro-inverted 8 panel system with one panel shaded will only suffer a 1/8th power generation loss.
It is also worth a note to say that Solar PV technology has moved on so much in recent years that you do not need direct sunlight for your solar pv systems. All of our systems work from DAYLIGHT not just sunlight.

bocephus

I had solar panels fitted by Ashadegreener on the 12th January,
From day one i have taken a reading at 10am until 4pm expecting it to
have a zero reading,
but no since since it was installed i have used 150 units,
The hours from 4pm until 10am of each day i have used 256 units so i have not got free energy

tunnel

bocephus wrote: »

I had solar panels fitted by Ashadegreener on the 12th January,
From day one i have taken a reading at 10am until 4pm expecting it to
have a zero reading,
but no since since it was installed i have used 150 units,
The hours from 4pm until 10am of each day i have used 256 units so i have not got free energy

And in that month that you've had the panels installed I have bought around 500kWh.

Just because you have panels doesn't mean you stop the need to buy electric, you will however notice in the summer that your "need" to purchase will diminish greatly.

You are getting free energy, just not enough at this time of year to fulfill your needs

CJWBECK

I am currently in the process of trying to buy a house with A Shade Greener solar panel lease however the sale of the house has been delayed so far by 2 months due the lease not complying with the council of mortgage lenders. Word of warning YOU MAY HAVE PROBLEMS SELLING YOUR HOUSE. It appears due to the lease from A Shade Greener my mortgage is not going to get approved with HSBC where their website clearly says HSBC have approved their leases. The lease is not contracted out of the security of tenure provisions under the Landlord and Tenant Act so does not comply with the CML. Think carefully before renting out your roof for 25 years.

sheffield_lad

CJWBECK wrote: »

I am currently in the process of trying to buy a house with A Shade Greener solar panel lease however the sale of the house has been delayed so far by 2 months due the lease not complying with the council of mortgage lenders. Word of warning YOU MAY HAVE PROBLEMS SELLING YOUR HOUSE. It appears due to the lease from A Shade Greener my mortgage is not going to get approved with HSBC where their website clearly says HSBC have approved their leases. The lease is not contracted out of the security of tenure provisions under the Landlord and Tenant Act so does not comply with the CML. Think carefully before renting out your roof for 25 years.

Absolute rubbish! Thousands of property's have been sold with ASG panels fitted. Which Solicitor are you dealing with? They either don't know what they are doing or fobbing you off.

PM me if you don't want the Solicitors name on here if they are in the Sheffield area I will know them

zeupater

CJWBECK wrote: »

I am currently in the process of trying to buy a house with A Shade Greener solar panel lease however the sale of the house has been delayed so far by 2 months due the lease not complying with the council of mortgage lenders. Word of warning YOU MAY HAVE PROBLEMS SELLING YOUR HOUSE. It appears due to the lease from A Shade Greener my mortgage is not going to get approved with HSBC where their website clearly says HSBC have approved their leases. The lease is not contracted out of the security of tenure provisions under the Landlord and Tenant Act so does not comply with the CML. Think carefully before renting out your roof for 25 years.

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

That looks quite interesting. Although we've discussed this issue many times over the years and have raised the 'beware' flag to those considering RaR systems I'm pretty sure that this is the first buyer-related problem to have been raised by the buyer ...

Considering all of the information related to this being a non-issue, has the vendor's or your solicitor contacted ASG directly with a view to resolving this and removing the conveyancing 'roadblock' ....

Perhaps ASG will notice this issue as they are known to monitor these boards ... possibly supplying comment and offering to provide escalated resolution would be a fair 'next step'.

HTH
Z

CJWBECK

Nope not rubbish, trust me if I could go through the process of buying my dream home with no issues I would. And my solicitor specialises in commercial law so deals with leases all the time.

sheffield_lad

CJWBECK wrote: »

Nope not rubbish, trust me if I could go through the process of buying my dream home with no issues I would. And my solicitor specialises in commercial law so deals with leases all the time.

the conveyancers I deal with have not had any issues for years with ASG. maybe do as Zeupater suggests and speak with ASG directly.

there have been thousands of properties sold with rent a roof solar with no issues bar a couple of rogue companies in the midlands but ASG are not in this bracket, I would also go back to your Solicitor and ask a few more questions as to why he cannot resolve your purchase.

Cardew

CJWBECK wrote: »

Nope not rubbish, trust me if I could go through the process of buying my dream home with no issues I would. And my solicitor specialises in commercial law so deals with leases all the time.

This is the quote from the ASG website:

It DOESN'T put people off buying your property and lots of our customers have obtained remortgages. Our Lease adheres to the Council of Mortgage Lenders guidelines.We've had many customers who have sold their property with our free system installed and the new homeowners are delighted with the panels (especially as they’re maintenance free). Many of our customers who have sold their property are actually convinced that having our free system installed actually assisted with the sale. As our lease complies with the Council of Mortgage Lenders guidelines none of our customers have had problems with remortgaging their properties and new buyers have not had problems raising a mortgage. Our in-house solicitor and Legal Director, Anne Emmerson, was actually consulted by the CML when they were putting the guidelines together.

ASG state that many(not thousands!) of houses with their panels have been sold - so it is pretty certain that the lease complies with the Council of Mortgage Lenders guidelines.

However that does not mean that a Bank/BS must offer a mortgage. Could it be that the Bank/BS(s) simply do not want to offer a mortgage?

I also take issue on the first sentence of the above quote. The rented panels could put some people off buying the property as:

1. It will prevent people having their own panels fitted and collecting the FIT themselves.

or

2. Some people think the panels are unattractive - or worse - which is why there are restrictions in conservation areas/listed buildings.

or

3. The savings for the house owner can be minimal - ASG cream off the subsidy.