MSE News: Solar subsidies to be slashed under government plans

reggieroo_2

We signed up months ago to have our free solar panels fitted & they still haven't been fitted! Now the company have just ignored us & we haven't heard from them since November.

digitaltoast

reggieroo wrote: »

We signed up months ago to have our free solar panels fitted & they still haven't been fitted! Now the company have just ignored us & we haven't heard from them since November.

In which case, correct me if I'm wrong, but you'll have missed out on the higher tariff. Did you have a contract? Can you name the company? Do they answer the phone? Are they even still in business?

mysterons

The clue was in the words 'free solar panels'
There would be no tariff to collect for the householder, just a bit of free leccy.

John_Pierpoint

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Not that I know of but just have a look on the web at similar houses for sale and their ratings.

In my opinion you have almost no chance of getting a Victorian house with solid walls up to class "C".

For example this deprived community, with "Victorian" cavity walls (yes really - note stretcher bond walls) were offered pretty massive subsidies to get a environmental make over - unfortunately some looked a gift horse in the mouth.
The result made no discernible difference to house values [STRIKE]and I've yet to see a "c" rated one.[/STRIKE] See update below.

Unfortunately there are [STRIKE]is only one property[/STRIKE]only five properties for sale currently - and one is probably a mortgage default.

Interesting postings - don't let the house price bulls see these:

ONE:
http://www.expertagent.co.uk/EstateAgentSoftware/EstateAgencyProperties.aspx?pid=cdd8e68c-ab6b-4706-bfd6-1d600ed572ca&aid={E2C4EC73-82BE-48F0-BEBC-9BFEA5058A81}

TWO:
http://www.pattinson.co.uk/Property-For-Sale-Cambois/83351

THREE:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35663519.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Fmap.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E80755%26sortByPriceDescending%3Dfalse%23_includeSSTC%3Don%26auction%3Dfalse%26locationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E80755%26previousSearchLocation%3DNorth%2520Blyth%26radius%3D0.0%26searchLocation%3DNorth%2520Blyth%26searchType%3DSALE%26sortByPriceDescending%3Dfalse%26useLocationIdentifier%3Dfalse%26box%3D-1.57654%2C-1.46049%2C55.11088%2C55.17318%26popupPropertyId%3D35663519%26mapType%3DMap&fromMap=true

[For some strange reason I have to highlight and right click the expertagent link to get it to work]

I cannot see much difference between the three

Number one has the original built in fuel poverty heating. and a detailed EPC that demonstrates it has been on the market unloved since 2009.

Number two has an EPC that is very interesting as it claims to have mains gas central heating - my information is that there is no mains gas north of the river. [Anyone got a link to a gas mains map? (Like the track a t*rd web site; mind you that is a load of rubbish because my home can use it and I've got a septic tank)] So I think we are looking at instant fuel poverty propane cylinder.

UPDATE

FOUR:

Very interesting, here is a home that took all the grants and subsidies thrown at it. The happy owners also installed what the property !!!!!! programmes would have called "the wow factor" improvements......fancy kitchen and bathroom and a good make over of the other rooms.
Can this turn a sows ear into silk purse, when it comes to getting a record price for the street only time will tell ?
This property has solar thermal plus air tight detailing plus wall & roof insulation. Note the "over sized" radiators fed from the air source heat pump.
The assessor doing the box ticking has done a reasonable job of recognising what he was looking at.
The cost rating is C77 and the C02 is D65 on this mid terrace house.

The quick and dirty recommendation is to zone the house - probably a dangerous thing to do with a "trickle" heating system depending on heuristics?

The expensive recommendation is to install PV panels which could up the ratings to B87 & C76. ["To they that have shall be given"] Is there room for Solar thermal and solar PV ?

The assessor then has a bit of a brain storm (?) and recommends ripping out the new air source heat pump in order to qualify for the Renewable Heat Incentive - Alice in wonderland will be along to explain this reasoning in due course.

I know there is something of a cloud hanging over the effectiveness of air source heat pumps, which measure their Coefficient of Performance (CoP) in a different way to ground source pumps, but I understand these professionally installed pumps should be achieving a CoP of 2.4 (ie a 240% efficiency) from the electrical supply that is itself only say 35% efficient. Down next to the sea, the winter temperatures should be higher than those inland, with less ice producing days in the year to clog up the air source heat pump.

The only down side of these 4 example houses, is that since 2008 next to nothing has been selling in this community.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/14672221

Does anyone know what those white things along the bottom of the front wall are? I was wondering if the under floor has been injected with polystyrene bead - a technique that theoretically works as long as the inside of the home is kept hot enough for the dew point to occur below the floor timbers (and as long as it does not "rot" your PVC wiring).

FIVE:

Heat pump and solar thermal but no "C" rating. End of terrace and that is the solar panel on the roof (TV dishes point 28 degrees east of South.)
http://www.propertywide.co.uk/buy/property/3-bedroom-house-in-cambois,ne24-for-gbp-49,950-ref-418468/#Close

Just a little update:

This improved-with-added-bling property appears to be still on the market.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/14672221

Yesterday (20jun12) BBC1 "Homes under the Hammer" featured a North Blyth home.
It had already had the subsidies mentioned above and appearance wise had been given some sort of make over by the previous owners - it was not a wreck - it was liveable.
It had been fitted with "Heat King" (not to be confused with "Thermo King") Air Source Heat Pump central heating to radiators. The presenters mentioned it, but did they have the technical ability to explain it?

Given that is must have had at least £10k of improvements in the last few years (paid for by you and me?). Guess what it sold for??
Knocked down to a Londoner investor. It got itself done up for a further £7.25k - new kitchen & bathroom, traditional fireplaces reinstated etc. and it was then supposedly worth over £40k. To check out the give away price here is the programme:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01k7bp0
(Series 16 episode 27 starts about 33 minutes in)

Good luck mate, this one was sold for £40k before Xmas (ehm forget the list price on the particulars)

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/29-dale-street/cambois/blyth/ne24-1sb/11700907

square-eyes

digitaltoast wrote: »

You say that like it's
a: true
and
b: a bad thing.

I think it is a bad thing but not for the reasons that you may think of first.
It is a bad thing because solar installers will go out of business throwing more people onto the job market and killing a fledgling industry, just what the economy does not need right now.
All existing installations will have trouble with panel and inverter warranty claims if the installer have gone out of business. Most installations have a very long warranty period. Not much good if the firm isn't there any more.

SULLY68

HI
Does anyone know about appealing your feed in tariff rate? My solar panels were fitted near the july 2012 deadline, I got the appropriate paper work together and sent it registered post. On the 2nd of August I received a letter from British Gas saying my energy certificate was not enclosed, although all declarations were signed. The date on my application was 30th July and the application form given to me by the installers was an old one, therefore not listing said certificated as a required document. I am fuming at the installer and also british gas, if they rang me there and then, I could of faxed the required document and still be in on time, now it looks like I will be put in the lower tariff. Has anyone else had this problem?

John_Pierpoint

It might be out of BG hands as they have to get your application onto the government database.

However, back in the run up to 03 March, I was in a similar situation and registered with BG by Email. My attached paperwork was incomplete by BG standards BUT I was on the BG system and got registered at the FiT rate that applied to my date of installation.

However the requirement to prove that your property is already a "D" or better on the energy saving/CO2 rating came in with the March (postponed from 12 December) changes, so BG may be physically unable to do anything about the situation.