Solar Panel Guide Discussion

zeupater

Hi All

I think that there has been some general misunderstanding within the last few posts .....

The question asked was ..... "If you buy the panels - What happens, if after 10 years the panels break and the person who sold them to you has gone bust. What if you need to spend another 5k replacing them? Wouldnt that kill any savings you would have made?" ....and therefore the answer is multifold ....

If the panels break because of a low flying cow, or any other hazard, then you have insurance .... if you don't have insurance thats down to your own stupidity or financial aptitude, whichever way you see the issue.

If panels stop working within the guarantee period they will be replaced ... whether the labour cost is also covered is within the original T&Cs and is therefore down to your own stupidity or financial aptitude, whichever way you see the issue.

If panels stop working outside the guarantee period you will be liable for the cost of replacement of the panel and the labour .... if you don't understand that, well that's down down to your own stupidity or financial aptitude, whichever way you see the issue.

If the panel performance degrades below the guaranteed threshold then you can claim against the manufacturers guarantee, whatever that means and covers. If you haven't read the manufacturers guarantee smallprint, well that's down to your own stupidity or financial aptitude, whichever way you see the issue. The way I see it is that there's very little to cause performance deterioration which hasn't been around for long enough for the actual rate to not be known, so it's something which I'm not particularly worried about.

HTH
Z

Cardew

keith_r59 wrote: »

I find it quite sad that there are a handful of posters on here who actually want people with solar PV systems to suffer financial loss because they don't agree with it?

Oh well, it takes all sorts I suppose. Have a nice day.

I haven't seen any such opinions expressed, so who are the handful of posters?

I, like others, think the solar PV scheme is crazy and makes no sense - particularly allowing 'rent a roof' venture capitalists to cash in on the huge subsidies - for which we all pay .

All the arguments have been rehearsed in the various threads - 'robbing the poor to pay the rich' etc.

However I have not seen any post criticising those who have taken advantage of the PV system of subsidies. Our gripe is with the Government for allowing the scheme in its current form

keith_r59

Cardew wrote: »

I haven't seen any such opinions expressed,

Really? You do surprise me.

Cardew wrote: »

so who are the handful of posters?

I think everyone on this forum knows who they are.

Cardew wrote: »

I, like others, think the solar PV scheme is crazy and makes no sense - particularly allowing 'rent a roof' venture capitalists to cash in on the huge subsidies - for which we all pay .

All the arguments have been rehearsed in the various threads - 'robbing the poor to pay the rich' etc.

However I have not seen any post criticising those who have taken advantage of the PV system of subsidies. Our gripe is with the Government for allowing the scheme in its current form

I'm quite sure that everyone on here is aware of your views on the Solar PV scheme.

If your gripe is with the Government then I suggest that you start an e-petition - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

John_Pierpoint

There is a "cartel" of supposedly qualified firms, promoting PV as a technology that is win win from about year 12 to 25.
No ifs no buts.
In the interest of balance, someone needs to identify the possible downsides to this hype.
I think this thread has probably identified the true state of affairs, but find me another web site where all the arguments can be found.

Cardew

keith_r59 wrote: »

Really? You do surprise me.



I think everyone on this forum knows who they are.



I'm quite sure that everyone on here is aware of your views on the Solar PV scheme.

If your gripe is with the Government then I suggest that you start an e-petition - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

None of your comments remotely address the issue you raised. This is what you stated:

I find it quite sad that there are a handful of posters on here who actually want people with solar PV systems to suffer financial loss because they don't agree with it?

Oh well, it takes all sorts I suppose.

Obviously I, and others, think the PV subsidy scheme is wrong/wasteful/unjust/stupid etc.

However I, like many others, have taken advantage of 'stupid' Government initiatives - mainly on Tax loopholes - so far be it from me to criticise anyone else cashing in on yet another Government folly.

So why not back up your post and point out the handful of posters who have said they want PV owners to suffer financial losses.

If you cannot, perhaps you might reconsider what, and who, is 'quite sad.

Caerhendy

If a panel stops working for some internal reason rather than mechanical damage, wouldn't that mean that the 80% performance guarantee would be breeched?

Does anyone have knowledge of Siliken panels please?

Cheers,
Rob

Cardew

Caerhendy wrote: »

If a panel stops working for some internal reason rather than mechanical damage, wouldn't that mean that the 80% performance guarantee would be breeched?


Cheers,
Rob

It seems pretty certain that PV panels are inherently reliable, otherwise reputable manufacturers wouldn't give them 10 year(or more) guarantees.

The problem area will be if there is a partial failure or even complete failure of a panel and the fault needs diagnosing and panel changing.

I think it is a racing certainty that most of the installation companies will have moved to pastures new in a couple of years, so it will be an expensive operation to get some technician onto your roof(health and safety) to find out what is wrong.

That seems to me a good reason to go through a firm like Tesco.

John_Pierpoint

How many (say) bicycle manufacturers of 1986, are still offering spare parts, let alone manufacturers of video recorders. Betamax anyone?
How difficult will it be to mix and match a replacement panel?

Lck_2

Studlea_Phatt_Katt wrote: »

The PV Solar set up we won is a 3.5 kwp system and has produced 45.1kw from 5pm Monday 3rd to 5pm Monday 10th. Best day was 12kw. Latter half of the week has been cloudy.

Early days of course but an average so far of 6.4 per day with a mostly south facing array/roof.

SPK

I'm not getting anything like that - average 3 per day for this week. Have discovered that some of the panels are partly shaded until around 10am - I suppose that could be making a big difference. None of the panels are due south due to the shape of my roof, they're all east or west.

rogerblack

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

How many (say) bicycle manufacturers of 1986, are still offering spare parts, let alone manufacturers of video recorders. Betamax anyone?
How difficult will it be to mix and match a replacement panel?

It depends.

Replacing a single panel is going to be a little problematic.
It needs ideally to match the other panels in the string in terms of current and voltage output, and also in size and fittings, and then you've got asthetics.

If you're willing to accept 'mostly matching' - then it's not _too_ bad.
If you want it to look exactly the same, it's going to be a problem.