Discuss the free solar panel company: A Shade Greener

Glevum_Owl

ASG fitted panels on the south facing front of our house October 2013. Everything went well from the initial survey, through the explaining of the documentation, to scaffolding erection and installation. The electrician even ran the cable via the wall cavity to keep things tidy. Everyone we spoke to or met was helpful and took the time to answer all our queries.

The only problem was with Scottish Power who only carried out the requested meter change in February 2014. Before the change, the old meter ran backwards every time the sun came out. Consequently we're not yet sure exactly either what we owe Scottish Power (or vice versa) or how much we're saving.

So, ASG = recommended: actual savings figures = pending.

zeupater

Glevum_Owl wrote: »

... The electrician even ran the cable via the wall cavity to keep things tidy ...

Hi .... & welcome to the forum.

A couple of observations .... firstly, did they provide any form of information regarding the EPC rating for the house?. I'm a little concerned that to achieve a band 'D' rating it's almost a given that cavities must be filled with insulation, which would make it pretty awkward (but not impossible) to drop a cable down the cavity. Considering the posts on this forum regarding RaR operators pushing to maximise their returns I wouldn't have thought that they would look at a property which wouldn't fall into the highest FiT banding. Also, I thought that both building regulations and trade bodies consider this as being a big 'no-no' so this could do with checking out ..... secondly, are the cables high voltage DC running to the inverter, or mains voltage AC? - whichever, I would hope that the cable is armoured in order to reduce the risk of shock seeing as there would be no metal trunking ... if it's both HVDC and not armoured I would consider it as being an extremely dangerous situation ....

If you know the answer, and this has been covered correctly by the installer, and you are happy - then fine .... otherwise it might be an idea to check ...

Any qualified installers / electricians around to comment ?

HTH
Z

sheffield_lad

zeupater wrote: »

Hi .... & welcome to the forum.

I'm a little concerned that to achieve a band 'D' rating it's almost a given that cavities must be filled with insulation, which would make it pretty awkward (but not impossible) to drop a cable down the cavity.

Good spot but not strictly true, a lot of builders post 1980 used thermal block + brick skin instead of filling cavities and that gave a decent enough U value to pass without CWI before tighter regs post 1996.


As for the meter running backwards I see this often and count it as lucky until they catch up. SP can't possibly work out how much you have gone back so I think your fine.


GL

zeupater

sheffield_lad wrote: »

Good spot but not strictly true, a lot of builders post 1980 used thermal block + brick skin instead of filling cavities and that gave a decent enough U value to pass without CWI before tighter regs post 1996 ...

Hi

Agree, but it only applies to a relatively small percentage of the total UK housing stock. If the property is of open cavity/insulated block construction then there's the possibility that the cavity could be filled in the future in order to increase insulation levels, in which case there's a potential (depending on the cable insulation material) for the insulation to break-down when polystyrene (a potential CWI solution) comes into contact with thermoplastics (PVC etc) and becomes warm, which it's likely to do if thermally insulated and carrying a reasonably high current for extended periods ... I believe that this is one of the main reasons why cables shouldn't be routed through open cavities ...

Again, could do with qualified installers / electricians to comment ....

HTH
Z

Glevum_Owl

zeupater wrote: »

Hi .... & welcome to the forum.
A couple of observations .... firstly, did they provide any form of information regarding the EPC rating for the house?. I'm a little concerned that to achieve a band 'D' rating it's almost a given that cavities must be filled with insulation, which would make it pretty awkward (but not impossible) to drop a cable down the cavity.
Z

Yes, ASG arranged for an inspection. The EPA rating was B (85). The bloke who carried out the inspection urged us to consider cavity wall insulation to raise the efficiency rating to 90. I'm not keen partly as I've seen damp affect a house that had it but mainly because the minimum payback time for the cost is between 3 and 8 years. We might be here that long.

zeupater wrote: »

secondly, are the cables high voltage DC running to the inverter, or mains voltage AC? - whichever, I would hope that the cable is armoured in order to reduce the risk of shock seeing as there would be no metal trunking ... if it's both HVDC and not armoured I would consider it as being an extremely dangerous situation ....

As the inverter is in the loft, I assume the unarmoured cable is carrying AC. It's running down an east facing wall which is the coldest of the house as it sees virtually no sunlight due to the position of the house next door.

We're happy with the service we received from ASG, the temperature of the house as it is and, primarily, that when the sun shines we turn on appliances and the meter 'stands still'.

zeupater

Glevum_Owl wrote: »

Yes, ASG arranged for an inspection. The EPA rating was B (85). The bloke who carried out the inspection urged us to consider cavity wall insulation to raise the efficiency rating to 90. I'm not keen partly as I've seen damp affect a house that had it but mainly because the minimum payback time for the cost is between 3 and 8 years. We might be here that long.

As the inverter is in the loft, I assume the unarmoured cable is carrying AC. It's running down an east facing wall which is the coldest of the house as it sees virtually no sunlight due to the position of the house next door.

We're happy with the service we received from ASG, the temperature of the house as it is and, primarily, that when the sun shines we turn on appliances and the meter 'stands still'.

Hi

Thanks for reply, but quite surprised to see that the property is rated as being within the top 5% of efficient dwellings in the UK even without CWI and that adding CWI would take it to the cusp of EPC band A, which is only currently achievable by around 1/2500 of the UK housing stock ... that's really excellent, do you mind me asking the age of the property and whether it was built as part of a specific eco-development ...

Z

Glevum_Owl

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for reply, but quite surprised to see that the property is rated as being within the top 5% of efficient dwellings in the UK even without CWI and that adding CWI would take it to the cusp of EPC band A, which is only currently achievable by around 1/2500 of the UK housing stock ... that's really excellent, do you mind me asking the age of the property and whether it was built as part of a specific eco-development ...

Z

The house was built circa 1965. We moved in a little over 10 years ago to find a catalogue of problems caused by decades of DIY botchers. Therefore we've carried out extensive work including total rewiring and new hot water & central heating.

We've also replaced insulation in all roofs to depths exceeding those recommended, replaced all doors & windows to the highest spec double glazed units available at the time, replaced floor boards with panels and insulated under all new carpets prior to laying and blocked all extant external holes.

In short we've worked very hard to insulate the house as we've gone along.

pambly

Hello forumites!
We had solar panels installed by A Shade Greener at beginning of Feb 2014. Still waiting for the £100 incentive they promised us. They are now claiming they haven't got the card that we handed in to the guy who came to sign us up (previously they said it had been referred for cheque!!). I've lost patience & advised them to either pay up or come & take the lot out as they were only installed on proviso they would pay this £100. Is this a common experience? We had been recommending them to elderly parents & now I'm worried to do so.
Pambly

Glevum_Owl

Took about 5 weeks for our cheque to arrive so yours is definitely overdue. Keep phoning and definitely keep a record of who you speak to, when and what was said. The key thing is be firm but polite and get them to agree to 1. to a particular action (even if it's only to call you back with an update) and 2. a deadline by which that action will be done. If they miss it, call them ASAP afterwards with all the details of what was agreed and talk to the same the person with whom you spoke previously.

Don't let the situation put you off. It is worth having the panels in the long run. Our (very) rough estimate is that we're saving money by using solar electricity during the day although we can't be specific as Scottish Power are being very unhelpful sorting out our bill after a recent meter change.

GoingSolo

Just had ASG round for survey. We have a property that's approx 5 degree's from true south. No shading what so over. Said they'd install a 17 panel system which would be a 4kw output.

So how much could I have saved with a 17 panel system as advised by the survey we've just had done?

Meter Readings
62685 30th Jan 2014
60686 12th Sept 2013

1999 units

12.948p average price per unit