Put your solar panel questions to the Energy Saving Trust

sheffield_lad

creaky_joints wrote: »

Since installing a 3.4kW system two months ago I am now registering an increased use of electricity (up 37% at my electricity meter) over previous usage. My meter is an electronic one and seems to me to be registering flow out to the grid from my PV system as usage. My neighbour who has an older mechanical meter appears to be using no electricity as his meter runs backwards during the day when he is generating PV energy. Is my meter faulty or is this a function of an electronic meters, I have already noted that my "smart meter" which used to show energy usage of appliances clearly shows flow in from or out to the grid.

Many thanks

There is an 'anti tamper meter' made by Siemens which adds units generated onto your usage Siemens S2AS meters best check this out with your utility provider. I spoke to a chap installing solar about this issue and he told me if they come across said meter they replace it.

jfor2440

If I move house having invested in solar panels - is there a way I can continue to receive the FIT payments even though I will no longer own the house? (This is of course if the new owners agree and dont want to purchase the solar panels themselves)?

HalloweenJack

if you did that ,you would then become liable for the upkeep of the panels , invertor and the roof in case of damage - acceptable whilst you own the property , but would you accept the risk of self insuring it when you dont own the property? ` - also you would need to register as a business for tax purposes , as you are recieving a taxable income from a property you dont own.

better just to sell them as an asset to the house if you sell.

K-Nine_2

I would like to install solar to be registered for FIT payments before the FIT rate is reduced to take full advantage but don't have the disposable income currently to install a system of the total size I would ultimately like.

If I were to use some funds to install a small scale system to then be registered for the feed in tariff payments, could I then expand the system at a later date and receive the extra 'FIT' payments it will generate at the same initial agreed rate?

Do you need to reapply or do anything if you alter/expand your system?

Therefore, is it likely that the expansion of the system will cause any problems with the FIT even if the FIT rules have changed at that time?

jimjames

We've had a number of quotes from different installers. One had some quite outrageous claims and sales techniques.

1) Using 15% pa energy price rises with 4.8% RPI for 25 years. This may have been the rise over the last couple of years but if it was sustained over 25 years with wages growing at RPI it would mean energy bills would take up over 75% of average wages! Nice for them to use for example though as it meant £120k payback on a £12k install.

2) Low input inverter is needed to get the best output when less sun. 125V is best and others like Sunny Boy have 180V so are not as good. Seems a very unlikely statement when Sunny Boy have such high market share. Any comments?

3) As the biggest solar company they have been given dispensation to not use the SAP calculations but can use their own ones - which strangely give much better payback than SAP version!

jimjames

K-Nine wrote: »

I would like to install solar to be registered for FIT payments before the FIT rate is reduced to take full advantage but don't have the disposable income currently to install a system of the total size I would ultimately like.

If I were to use some funds to install a small scale system to then be registered for the feed in tariff payments, could I then expand the system at a later date and receive the extra 'FIT' payments it will generate at the same initial agreed rate?

Do you need to reapply or do anything if you alter/expand your system?

Therefore, is it likely that the expansion of the system will cause any problems with the FIT even if the FIT rules have changed at that time?

My understanding is that the FIT payment is fixed at the time of installation.

macman

K-Nine wrote: »

I would like to install solar to be registered for FIT payments before the FIT rate is reduced to take full advantage but don't have the disposable income currently to install a system of the total size I would ultimately like.

If I were to use some funds to install a small scale system to then be registered for the feed in tariff payments, could I then expand the system at a later date and receive the extra 'FIT' payments it will generate at the same initial agreed rate?

Do you need to reapply or do anything if you alter/expand your system?

Therefore, is it likely that the expansion of the system will cause any problems with the FIT even if the FIT rules have changed at that time?

The system will be rated for FIT's based on it's size/output at the time of install. If you enlarge it at a later date it would need to be re-certified-and the new lower rate would apply.
Whether the 'original' capacity would continue at the old higher rate, I rather doubt.

orrery

jimjames wrote: »

2) Low input inverter is needed to get the best output when less sun. 125V is best and others like Sunny Boy have 180V so are not as good. Seems a very unlikely statement when Sunny Boy have such high market share. Any comments?

The solar cell output is given in a curve on the data sheet. The actual voltage will depend on the current being pulled by the inverter - so the inverter effectively controls the voltage by how hard it is working. If the voltage is that low then the output is in collapse and the difference will be trivial. You'd be talking about a level of output that wouldn't be worth measuring.

HalloweenJack

jimjames wrote: »

3) As the biggest solar company they have been given dispensation to not use the SAP calculations but can use their own ones - which strangely give much better payback than SAP version!

if you read the EST website they have real world figures - in some cases the exported `FiT` electrcitiy accounts for 75% of the total generated....

jimjames

HalloweenJack wrote: »

if you read the EST website they have real world figures - in some cases the exported `FiT` electrcitiy accounts for 75% of the total generated....

It was more the fact that I understood that everyone had to use SAP calcs to be comparable. Trying to quote a higher output in order to get faster payback seems rather dubious especially when combined with the 15% compounded growth in energy prices. I'm sure it would give a higher output but if a company is trying to get round the rules at the quoting stage what else will they try on later once you order.