Solar Panel Guide Discussion

Cardew

orrery wrote: »

I don't see why not, if you can use a spreadsheet.

I've factored in loss of interest on the money, reduction in efficiency of the panels over time and anticipated maintenance and replacement costs. I can vary the assumptions but worst case I still can't force the payback to be longer than 10 years with best case being 7.5 years, with a total return over 25 years estimated to be over £50K. I can't get anywhere near that with a bank account but I can on the stock market, if I'm prepared to lose my money - a serious risk at the moment.

Also - consider that, whilst banks are very low risk they aren't a completely zero risk option at the moment.

IMO it is best to treat buying a PV system as an annuity.

The terminology, used by firms selling systems, stating a 'return' of X%, and comparing this with a bank deposit, is misleading. With a bank you always have your capital.

keith_r59

I have solar panels, money in the bank, an annuity plus numerous other investments.

So what should I be comparing the returns against?

keith_r59

orrery wrote: »

Also - consider that, whilst banks are very low risk they aren't a completely zero risk option at the moment.

They are zero risk if they are covered by the financial compensation scheme and you have less than £85k deposited in each firm.

http://www.fscs.org.uk/

Dave_Fowler

keith_r59 wrote: »

I have solar panels, money in the bank, an annuity plus numerous other investments.

So what should I be comparing the returns against?

As Cardew says, I'd consider them to be an annuity. I was in the lucky situation of being able to take the capital outlay from my 'pension pot'. The pensions advisers told me I'd lose £800 (before tax) per year from my pension. In the first year I got £1119 (tax free) in FiTs payments.

Dave F

Cardew

keith_r59 wrote: »

I have solar panels, money in the bank, an annuity plus numerous other investments.

So what should I be comparing the returns against?

A very fast depreciating asset, that has a very high annual income.

e.g. Wooing, buying expensive jewellery etc, and marrying a very rich woman;)

Blaketon

I was able to look at a new photo-voltaic solar panel system being fitted to a fairly new timber built bungalow which had large tiles on the roof.

There was no scaffolding, just a ladder leaning on the plastic gutter but what surprised me was the way the panels were attached. I thought they would be fixed through the roof onto the rafters. But in this installation (14 large panels) they were fixed to the tiles.

They lifted the tiles a little to slide aluminium brackets under them then
screwed the brackets tight against the tiles (obviously not too tight as they would have snapped them), then fixed long rails to the brackets and bolted the panels to the rails.

This means that the solar panels are held in place by the tiles. And the tiles are just nailed to the roof every so often. So they are held by the weight of the tiles and some nails. This seems wrong to me. i would imagine if you were fit enough you could nip up onto the roof and pull them off! Any experts on roofs out there who can shed light on this?

It certainly explains why panels are fitted in 1 or 2 days. But I wonder how they will stand the test of time and weather, especially winter storms and high winds.:)

orrery

keith_r59 wrote: »

They are zero risk if they are covered by the financial compensation scheme and you have less than £85k deposited in each firm.

http://www.fscs.org.uk/

But it may take time to get your money back (as we found out recently) - hence, as I said, the risk is very low but isn't zero.

anselld

Blaketon wrote: »

This means that the solar panels are held in place by the tiles.

The brackets will be screwed through to the rafters.

mardycow

anselld wrote: »

The brackets will be screwed through to the rafters.

That is why when i compared quotes i discounted any that used the Click Fit system and ensured they screwed to the rafters

anselld

mardycow wrote: »

That is why when i compared quotes i discounted any that used the Click Fit system and ensured they screwed to the rafters

Wow! I hadn't seen Click Fit before; it looks horrible!