Put your solar panel questions to the Energy Saving Trust

Cardew

Energy_Saving_Trust_company_representative wrote: »

Our current electricity rate is 14.4p/kWh, this is a weighted average of the higher and lower tiers.

I find this quite extraordinary.

Any savings for consumption in the house will be only at the Tier 2 rate and it is nonsense to use a combined rate.

I doubt if there is any house big enough to have PV panels that doesn't use all the Tier 1 allocation of 500kWh or 900kWh pa. Indeed some just have a daily charge.

So all of the savings will be at Tier 2 rate. A quick perusal of Tier 2 rates on offer in my area(Midlands) shows rates of well under 10p/kWh to 12p/kWh for BG standard rate - including VAT(and there are discounts to take off those rates)

So if 11p/kWh is a reasonable average, the EST rate of 14.4p/kWh overstates the savings by over 30%.

No wonder the Rent a Roof firms love quoting the EST!!

Hayct

I wan't to have solar pv panels installed but my electricity supplier (OVO Energy) with only 60,000 customers is too small to pay the feed-in tarriff. What are my options?

orrery

Hayct wrote: »

I wan't to have solar pv panels installed but my electricity supplier (OVO Energy) with only 60,000 customers is too small to pay the feed-in tarriff. What are my options?

I'd just moved to OVO at the same time I ordered Solar - I've ditched them and moved elsewhere. For a customer-focused company they were completely unhelpful. Whist they said I could get the FIT from any other supplier, the other supplier I tried told me that - if I wasn't a customer then I couldn't have it. I suspect that they were just trying to be difficult. OVO appeared to make no attempt to 'enable' the process for me and their operators didn't even know what a Feed-in-tariff was.

macman

All the big 6 are required to process your FIT's application, as they are compulsorily signed up for it . For the smaller suppliers, registation is optional. The good ones will offer it to their own customers, but not to other people's.

Cardew

jull wrote: »

At last, someone else agrees with me.

That just makes both of you mistaken;)

Hayct

orrery wrote: »

I'd just moved to OVO at the same time I ordered Solar - I've ditched them and moved elsewhere. For a customer-focused company they were completely unhelpful. Whist they said I could get the FIT from any other supplier, the other supplier I tried told me that - if I wasn't a customer then I couldn't have it. I suspect that they were just trying to be difficult. OVO appeared to make no attempt to 'enable' the process for me and their operators didn't even know what a Feed-in-tariff was.

It sounds as though I will only get the Feed-in tarriff from one of the big six electricity suppliers and I will find it very difficult to switch. This is going to make a big hole in my moneysavingexpert credentials.

macman

But you don't have to take your supply from the company that you register for FIT's with. All of the big 6 have to offer you registration. The smaller suppliers have the discretion to opt out.

Hayct

Thanks macman. I've just spoken to NPower who will offer registration to non-customers as long as your supplier isn't part of the FIT scheme. They are sending me the paperwork. Problem solved.

grumpyoldsteve

Hi, I am an MSE newbie who has had a solar PV system running for just over 30 days now (so a solar newbie too).
Having tweaked a spreadsheet that I have been using to give an estimate of future bills by taking regular readings and looking at my electricity usage for the last couple of years, and then comparing the readings I am getting now since the solar PV was commissioned, I am predicting that based on the latest price hikes that I could be saving around £400 on my bill over the next 12 months This will be great if it does happen as typical savings (for a 2.45 kWp system) come in at around £78 according to the online calculator. I know a 30 day snapshot is not much to go on, but September/October (on which my early estimates are based) are relatively low solar power production months so Spring through summer are going to show even more optimism:j
My generation figures (206 kWh 21st Sept to 20 Oct) are well above the predicted values :cool:
Has anybody else seen such savings on their bill since having solar PV installed? Or do I need to revisit my spreadsheet formula which have proved fairly accurate in predicting bills pre-solar - despite the efforts of power companies to confuse the hell out of us?:mad:

Cheers from a currently a very happy Grumpyoldsteve :beer:

Cardew

grumpyoldsteve wrote: »

Hi, I am an MSE newbie who has had a solar PV system running for just over 30 days now (so a solar newbie too).
Having tweaked a spreadsheet that I have been using to give an estimate of future bills by taking regular readings and looking at my electricity usage for the last couple of years, and then comparing the readings I am getting now since the solar PV was commissioned, I am predicting that based on the latest price hikes that I could be saving around £400 on my bill over the next 12 months This will be great if it does happen as typical savings (for a 2.45 kWp system) come in at around £78 according to the online calculator. I know a 30 day snapshot is not much to go on, but September/October (on which my early estimates are based) are relatively low solar power production months so Spring through summer are going to show even more optimism:j
My generation figures (206 kWh 21st Sept to 20 Oct) are well above the predicted values :cool:
Has anybody else seen such savings on their bill since having solar PV installed? Or do I need to revisit my spreadsheet formula which have proved fairly accurate in predicting bills pre-solar - despite the efforts of power companies to confuse the hell out of us?:mad:

Cheers from a currently a very happy Grumpyoldsteve :beer:

I think you have misunderstood how solar works.

A 2.45 kWp system in your location will generate I suspect less than 2,500kWh pa - you should have the prediction.

Even if you used all of that electricity in the house - which is impossible - that would mean you would save 2,500 x the tier 2 rate you pay for your electricity say 11p? which would come to £265.

However all tests - according to the EST and others with export meters - that very few people manage to to use 50% of that electricity, and many much less.

The 206kWh you have generated would be worth about £23 if you could use it all, but you will have done well to have saved £10 in the month.

It may be that you have a backward running meter that is distorting figures - but that won't last.

You don't say if you bought the system, but the main income will be from the FIT and export tariff and that 206kWh will earn £92.39