Discuss the free solar panel company: A Shade Greener

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi everyone

Can you please discuss solar panels in general on the thread set up for it and leave this one for feedback from customers who've used A Shade Greener? That helps the MSE Team and other forum users be able to read the feedback later on.

Thank you!

Andrea

dunloadin

MSE Andrea, a fair point to make, but why delete my post? Also why restrict the post to ASG, there must be other companys out there who deserve comment.

I was only responding to the posts attacking Cardew and making the point that without FIT payments there would be no PV industry.

Some of the other posts on here seem a bit 'spammy', at least one is near enough a cut and paste job from the testimonials page of the ASG website....beware newbies endorsing products!

Looking at the ASG website link is interesting, according to the counter they have generated 5,384,360KWh.....works out at £2,237,406 of tax free FIT payments for them so far.

Cardew

dunloadin wrote: »

MSE Andrea, a fair point to make, but why delete my post? Also why restrict the post to ASG, there must be other companys out there who deserve comment.

I was only responding to the posts attacking Cardew and making the point that without FIT payments there would be no PV industry.

Some of the other posts on here seem a bit 'spammy', at least one is near enough a cut and paste job from the testimonials page of the ASG website....beware newbies endorsing products!

Looking at the ASG website link is interesting, according to the counter they have generated 5,384,360KWh.....works out at £2,237,406 of tax free FIT payments for them so far.

Your missing post was moved here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3325628&page=10

grahamc2003

Next we asked if it would affect our house price and Tony asked us if we were viewing a couple of houses in the same street, one with panels and one without - which house would you buy???;)

If there were rent a roof panels on a house, I simply wouldn't consider it further.

If there were panels owned by the house vendor and they were generating fits, then it would be a positive for me, although I wouldn't want to pay much of a premium for them.

zeupater

grahamc2003 wrote: »

If there were rent a roof panels on a house, I simply wouldn't consider it further.

If there were panels owned by the house vendor and they were generating fits, then it would be a positive for me, although I wouldn't want to pay much of a premium for them.

Hi

That really made me think what difference I would consider that I would be likely to pay if I was to make an offer on two identical houses in the same location .....

Looking at a house with no panels and saying that this would be was to be worth £X, then I would consider paying no more than £X+10k for one with recently fitted panels and would probably therefore, due to loss of opportunity, look at offering £X-15k for one with a recently fitted 'rent-a-roof' system, so to me there would be a difference of around £25000 between the two. Of course, as part of the conveyancing process, I would expect my solicitor to determine what possible financial effects the contract, and particularly the buy-out-clause, could have and give appropriate advice, so the price could be open to further reduction.

I suppose that some may consider this difference to be excessive, however, if you sit back and think about it, it is unlikely that anyone would pay the same for a house with an owned system as they would for one with a 'rent-a-roof' installation and it's very reasonable to presume that many would use 'lost opportunity' as a means to justify downward negotiation on the price ....

£25k, I think that's probably a reasonable stake in the ground ...

HTH
Z

M4ximillion

If I personally were looking at houses i would choose the one that had paid for solar pv because that would mean that i would get the money from the FIT payments, if I couldnt find one in the area i wanted that had paid for solar i'd look for a house that had solar under a rent a roof scheme. I havent the money to buy a system and dont really ever expect to so there isnt a case of missed opportunity for me and to be honest guys after hearing you to talk in the past you dont sound short of cash to me.

What you two, and Cardew dont represent is the majority of folk in areas such as mine where lots of people have the rent a roof option because they are strapped for cash and will never have enough money. You really cant talk for people like me. You have no idea to be honest. There are also pensioners who would rather have the free solar than nothing (a lot of folk on our estate are pensioners). They wouldnt have money for a system and anyway would they benefit from 25 years of FIT payments when theyre in their 70s already?

In my view you represent the privileged and what the privileged have above people like me is freedom of choice because thats what comes with having more than enough money. I have around £15 to spare at the end of the week and I have to share that with my hubby, an I consider myself quite lucky that i have spare cash because some of my friends are in a minus position at the mo. I dont smoke, hardly drink, work full time and have a little ironing business too.

So, the free panels are giving me a bit more spare cash, which is a huge relief to me.

zeupater

M4ximillion wrote: »

If I personally were looking at houses i would choose the one that had paid for solar pv because that would mean that i would get the money from the FIT payments, if I couldnt find one in the area i wanted that had paid for solar i'd look for a house that had solar under a rent a roof scheme. I havent the money to buy a system and dont really ever expect to so there isnt a case of missed opportunity for me and to be honest guys after hearing you to talk in the past you dont sound short of cash to me.

What you two, and Cardew dont represent is the majority of folk in areas such as mine where lots of people have the rent a roof option because they are strapped for cash and will never have enough money. You really cant talk for people like me. You have no idea to be honest. There are also pensioners who would rather have the free solar than nothing (a lot of folk on our estate are pensioners). They wouldnt have money for a system and anyway would they benefit from 25 years of FIT payments when theyre in their 70s already?

In my view you represent the privileged and what the privileged have above people like me is freedom of choice because thats what comes with having more than enough money. I have around £15 to spare at the end of the week and I have to share that with my hubby, an I consider myself quite lucky that i have spare cash because some of my friends are in a minus position at the mo. I dont smoke, hardly drink, work full time and have a little ironing business too.

So, the free panels are giving me a bit more spare cash, which is a huge relief to me.

Hi

I understand the position you pose, but consider the alternative.

We are currently discussing buying a house, not solar panels. The vast proportion of house purchases are not first-time purchases and are therefore mainly made by people with capital in their existing properties ... this capital can either be used to pay more for a house with existing owned panels or some could be released and used to retro-fit panels after purchase. Whichever, the FiT income from the pv system would offset a proportion of the mortgage payment and make the property more affordable to homeowners, whereas a 'rent-a-roof' system would not ..... the electricity savings would be the same whether owned or not. This definately describes a lost opportunity if you chose a 'rent-a-roof' property over one with an owned system, or even one without a system, unless the RAR buy-out clause was not disadvantageous. The only advantage you would likely have if selecting a property with a RAR array would be the ability to negotiate more aggressively on the price as previously raised, which although being good for the buyer does not really help the seller.

Purchasing a home with a 'rent-a-roof' system instead of one with an owned system will likely ensure that you would have less spare cash, not more .....

As stated many times, I have no problem with people having 'rent-a-roof' systems, although I do believe that the FiT tariff paid to the scheme operators is far too generous considering their volume purchase pricing. The option makes sense to some, and it suits some, in some cases. Everyone likes something which is free and that's exactly what the scheme operators depend on ... the issue is, it is very rare that something which seems to be free is really free, there is usually some form of pitfall and that seems to be related to relative property values if sold and the perception of the level of wealth which actually exists in 'asset rich' but 'cash poor' households and how this can be leveraged if moving house.

HTH
Z

grahamc2003

M4ximillion wrote: »

If I personally were looking at houses i would choose the one that had paid for solar pv because that would mean that i would get the money from the FIT payments, if I couldnt find one in the area i wanted that had paid for solar i'd look for a house that had solar under a rent a roof scheme. I havent the money to buy a system and dont really ever expect to so there isnt a case of missed opportunity for me and to be honest guys after hearing you to talk in the past you dont sound short of cash to me.

What you two, and Cardew dont represent is the majority of folk in areas such as mine where lots of people have the rent a roof option because they are strapped for cash and will never have enough money. You really cant talk for people like me. You have no idea to be honest. There are also pensioners who would rather have the free solar than nothing (a lot of folk on our estate are pensioners). They wouldnt have money for a system and anyway would they benefit from 25 years of FIT payments when theyre in their 70s already?

In my view you represent the privileged and what the privileged have above people like me is freedom of choice because thats what comes with having more than enough money. I have around £15 to spare at the end of the week and I have to share that with my hubby, an I consider myself quite lucky that i have spare cash because some of my friends are in a minus position at the mo. I dont smoke, hardly drink, work full time and have a little ironing business too.

So, the free panels are giving me a bit more spare cash, which is a huge relief to me.

M4X, I always feel from your responses that you feel I, and others, are taking a swipe at you for some reason, which (obviously) isn't the case. I just talk in general terms, and represent my own views, and certainly don't try speaking for anyone else ('You really cant talk for people like me'). Nobody is criticising anyone for either buying panels, not buying them, renting them or not renting them. I think the system of fits is wrong, others seem to think it's good but shouldn't allow big business to profit, and others seem to think it's great as it is. We can all put our views forward, and our views are formed from our personal circumstances.

I'd like to comment on a couple of points. You say the £70 rar saving for you is valuable. I say, to get your £70, your electricity bill will be increased in a few years by £1000 ('analysts at the UniCredit bank believe the true cost will be even higher, with energy bills set to rise by around £1,000 a year – to £2,000. ') to pay for this plus all the other schemes (including some unavoidable Nuclear build). I'm saying, with these schemes, (and with rar panels) you (or rather the avearge person) are, or will be in a few years, losing about £900 pa. (Those without rar will be losing £1000pa). Do you understand my view? Worse still, for a large part of that £1000 bill loading, we will get some extremely minor tangible benefits - it's simply a waste imv, and those massive resources could be put to much better use, making life more comfortable for everyone, but especially for those who may be struggling financially.

On another technical point - you say you and others would always buy a rar property over an equivalent with no panels. I think you may be missing the effect of your solicitor pointing out the fact that you'll have to take on the balance of a 25 year contract - that may surprise some, and I feel it could put many people off, especially if the advice from the solicitor on a risk/reward basis, is to walk away, as I think is possible or even probable (just my view, you're free to think it's totally impossible a solicitor would give that advice if you want).

M4ximillion

Just cant be bothered to quote you both

Zeupater this thread is about feedback from people whove had panels from ASG and i have had panels from ASG so i have actually more right to post here than you. And yes, you are tlakiing about buying a house, well so am I. I also find it rather incredible that you are now posing as an expert on house prices and how free solar will affect them. Wonder how it affected the 10 sold already with ASG panels on them??

The fact that ASG only been going just over a year and 10 houses already sold with their panels when on our estate there are houses going for sale that have beenn on the market for nearly TWO years because the market is so slow. There is also feedback on ASG site from a woman who said it helped her to shift her house cause it had been on the market for ages and went within months of having a system (Testimonials). Theres a customer of ASG already on their SECOND house, having sold their first with ASG panels they checked out the second one to make sure it was suitable before putting in a bid - was on their Facebook page.

GrahamC - you say im saving £70. Ive given feedback on this thread (which is about feedback from people whove had panels from ASG) and told you that my consumption is now down by 45% but you consistently ignore that and say its irrelevant. I am looking at saving around £200 this year but once again you ignore that and go on about this £70 that the ESTsay folk will save. You and the other usual suspects believe what EST say, which is based on nothing whatsoever. No tests, no facts, no science, just assumption and you are the guys who jump on anyone from a great height who cant back up what they say without facts. If EST had assumed saings of £200 as unscientifically as they assumed £70 you would have gone bonkers.

GrahamC I actually got solicitors advice before I went ahead with the free solar, and he couldnt see any problem with the lease because theres nothing 'onerous' in it (his word). Also, what about all those houses now sold, they would have all included solicitors, you are just making presumptions because it is something that YOU are against. I would rather buy a house that has solar pv already installed and with periods of free leccy than a house without and everyone i know feels the same way, which is why everyone on our road who can have a system has a free system.

Zeupater I would not be a first time buyer, am simply hocked up to the eyeballs just like lots of people i know. I think you lot move in different circles and would probably not even look at my house if it went on the market. I live in a three bed semi on an eststate. My idea of moving up would be go go for a three bed semi on a nicer estate, it wouldnt be that more expensive than mine. Lots of people dont have the luxury of moving up, when moving house lots of people just move on to something similar. Also, by the time i move the FIT payments will probably have gone down or wont be there at all.

You both say that you are just giving personal opinions & views but you arnt you state everythign as if they were facts and that nobody couldnt possibly not share your view. If all you were giviing was your opinion you wouldnt try to argue my opinion down all the time and make out that my opinion and everyone elses who isnt anti free solar is so very wrong. You cant accept anyone elses view at all you have to discredit everyone and dismiss everything they say as being ridiculous.

And GrahamC you are taking a swipe at folk like me, you jump down anyones throat who dare say anything ositive about free solar, go back through your posts!!! You and your cronies arent just offering an opinion you are actively trying to put folk off free solar and do it quite aggressively even to the point of sayinig things that are simply not true sometimes.

I really think it is a bit like playground bullies - you lot want to rule the roost and you try to drive anyone out of the playground if they dont agree with you and you succeed because people give up. They have their free solar and they cant be bothered to argue with you. But as i was once bullied i cant help but come back from time to time. This thread wanted feedback from folk who have ASG systems but when we do give feedback you lot come on and ridicule us for having free solar you try to discredit everything we say. You question our savings and say that they are irrelevant etc etc.

So in the end it becomes just you three on your high moral ground and i cant believe you are taking the massively anti stance that you are just for the sake of the poor unsuspecting public. I cant help but think if youd had the idea and the wherewithall to do what these free solar companies are doing and make money in the process you lot would have jumped at the chance.

Anyway, i have to go off now and do my ironing (for free cause its sunny)

K4blades

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Hi everyone

Can you please discuss solar panels in general on the thread set up for it and leave this one for feedback from customers who've used A Shade Greener? That helps the MSE Team and other forum users be able to read the feedback later on.

Thank you!

Andrea

Graham, Zeup, Cardew, if you are so intelligent, why can you not follow this simple instruction.
THIS THREAD IS FOR PEOPLE WHO'VE USED ASG, IF YOU HAVEN'T, THEN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, or are you so determined to stick the verbal boot into everything you disagree with, that your arrogance means you can ignore such instruction.