Solar panel advice

allan1983

I have come home from Uni today to find a leaflet that my better half got a knock at the door about.
A company called 'Touch Solar' are suggesting we can have 'free solar panels'
As per other threads ive looked through for pointers, they are' fully maintained for 25 years' 'installed free' and blah blah.
Ill admit to not really understanding the Rent a Roof concept very well at all other than that the government pay the owner of the Solar panels yearly, so the company will be collecting this, so was hoping for some straighforward advice from anyone with:
any dealings with Touch Solar?
experience of solar panels owned by one of these companies?
Whether its likely we'll save any of the 60% on our electricity bills my missus has been touted?

I appreciate that there is a real wealth of information here about these schemes, but there is a guy coming tomorrow to discuss the plan, and I want to know whether to tell him not to bother or not?!

Thanks as ever!

Allan

james2012_2

lots of info here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3332404

Cardew

As said above there are loads of threads on the 'Rent a Roof' scheme.

The basic principle is that the company install a system if your roof is suitable. They take all the subsidies and you can use any of the electricity they generate.

The issue is how much electricity will you be able to use and thus save off your bill. The Energy saving Trust say £70 a year is typical, the rent a roof companies try to imply it will be much higher.

There are a lot of restrictions in renting your roof on a binding legal agreement that lasts for 25 years and is binding on whoever buys your house within the 25 years.

When the guy comes tomorrow ask him to put in writing how much you will save. 60% is meaningless - 60% of what?

Read this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/household-bills/8620325/Solar-panels-save-just-70-a-year.html

allan1983

The issue is how much electricity will you be able to use and thus save off your bill. The Energy saving Trust say £70 a year is typical, the rent a roof companies try to imply it will be much higher.

There are a lot of restrictions in renting your roof on a binding legal agreement that lasts for 25 years and is binding on whoever buys your house within the 25 years.

When the guy comes tomorrow ask him to put in writing how much you will save. 60% is meaningless - 60% of what?

Considering this, plus the telegraph article, and what James2012 referenced (which I had looked at but re-read) I think ill cancel before anyone gets chance to sit down and try the hard sell.

Thanks guys! Ill think about saving up to buy em myself!

diable

Solar panels heat water, PV panels generate electricity.

macman

Any company claiming a 60% saving in your electrcity bill is not to be trusted. Presumably they came up with that figure a) without a proper site survey and b) without knowing what your current spend is?
I suspect that a lot of the utility co. doorknockers are now being redepoyed flogging solar PV, with the same unsubstantiated savings claims.

7685Biggles

Be very wary of solar salesmen!

I run a solar power company and I would advise anyone considering solar to approach it with caution. Might sound odd coming from a company in this business but unfortunately caution is advised. This is because solar today is very like double glazing in the 1980's, there are hundreds of suppliers out there, some good, many not so good. Which! magazine has warned against mis-selling in the industry. Solar PV is a really good way to help the environment and to make money, but only in the right location! Take a look at the solarpowerportal.co.uk for more info.


When you consider solar pv the supplier is required by Govt. to provide you with a standard assessment procedure (SAP) calculation of the benefits and to explain all the costs associated with it. Many suppliers will not take into account shading or will tell you there are no maintenance costs (not true). So ask your supplier how they calculate the benefit to you. We do the SAP calculation only because we have too, we also use 3D modelling software to analyse solar pv benefits in much more detail than the Govt require. Ask your supplier how they do their calc, if they only do the SAP, then all you are getting is a rule of thumb assessment that makes no differentiation between a site on a north facing mountainside in Inverness and one on a southerly slope in Lands End.

If you are considering solar PV, do a number of things;

1. Get 3 quotes
2. Ensure your chosen supplier(s) do a proper calculation in addition to the SAP calculation
3. Do not accept the lowest quote/highest savings calc on face value, question how the calculation has been done and what is included. An ideal location will give you simple return (i.e. first year savings divide by cost) of between 10% to 13%. If you are quoted higher than this, start to feel nervous. If you are quoted lower than this, it may be because the location is not ideal and the supplier is being honest.
4. Be wary of "free solar panels", there is no such thing as a free lunch. The Government are actually becoming concerned about the rush for free panels and are considering how to deal with some of the mis-selling that goes along with it. Free solar panels are OK if you are willing to accept savings of just a few quid a year (The energy savings Trust estimates between £70 and £120 for a "typical" house) and your mortgage provider is happy with them. In my view the return to the householder from a free system is so poor that I would not advise anyone to go down this route.