solar panels

nodarkthings

new on here advice appricated my mum is 76 and has been targeted recently by solar panel firms and last week bought 6 panels for £9000 with the guarantee of her £9000 back in 5 yrs free electric and they buy what you dont use im wary she lives in a bungalow on her own she has a gas oven ,gas fire and gas central heating her electric bill is only £25 pm she is not well off but lives comfortably these sp are not tried and tested here yet so i think in 5 yrs like all new technolgy there will be far bettter ones out that will be cheaper and more effcient could the money be invested somewhere better because i ve convinced her to cancell for the time being its not a case of whose right but but would like some advice before she decides what to do next thanks

don0301

i think it extremely unlikely she would get the full £9000 returned in 5 years. especially now the recent FiT (Feed in Tariff) has just been reduced 52% or so.

HalloweenJack

also £9000 for a 2kw system is alot of money

jimjames

HalloweenJack wrote: »

also £9000 for a 2kw system is alot of money

Is 6 panels even 2kWp? Worst case at 185Wp per panel that just over 1kWp. Best case at 245Wp each thats still under 1.5kWp.

Ours was under £9000 for 14 panels at 215Wp, total just over 3kWp and that was before the tariff cut and prices have dropped since then.

Definitely right to cancel this contract, way overpriced and sounds like very dodgy sales tactics as well. Might be worth naming the company so others might find out what they are up to.

Martyn1981

I think Don and HJ are right. And unless unusually large panels, that system is probably 1.5kWp or less, maybe £5k absolute tops (nearer £4k).

Something sounds extremely wrong here. Not wishing to be unkind, but at 76, unless she has extremely strong environmental concerns (and even then!), this really isn't for her I suspect.

Get it cancelled, but also check for MCS and REAL accreditation, even if this is legit, that price and her age should be reported to both organisations.

Mart.

don0301

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I think Don and HJ are right. And unless unusually large panels, that system is probably 1.5kWp or less, maybe £5k absolute tops (nearer £4k).

Something sounds extremely wrong here. Not wishing to be unkind, but at 76, unless she has extremely strong environmental concerns (and even then!), this really isn't for her I suspect.

Get it cancelled, but also check for MCS and REAL accreditation, even if this is legit, that price and her age should be reported to both organisations.

Mart.

Agree. Definitely alarm bells ringing on this one.

nodarkthings

hi thanks for the replys feel better now the company is called solar energy savings which to be fair look quite a big outfit

HalloweenJack

http://www.solarenergysavings.co.uk/default.aspx

they use BP panels which are 180w each - so 6 is barely over 1kw

for £9k? not a bloody chance - thats more like £2000 (sunnyboy 1200 invertor is £600 and the panels are £170 each retail price)

jimjames

Read this thread or series of threads. LOTS of mention of Solar Energy Savings complaints

http://heatmyhome.co.uk/solar-panels/bad-complaints-of-solar-panel-companies-have-your-say/275#.TxMFjm97q2o

nodarkthings

many thanks just read on that link there getting closed down just hope she gets her deposit back £1000 will let you know

ed110220

nodarkthings wrote: »

new on here advice appricated my mum is 76 and has been targeted recently by solar panel firms and last week bought 6 panels for £9000 with the guarantee of her £9000 back in 5 yrs free electric and they buy what you dont use im wary she lives in a bungalow on her own she has a gas oven ,gas fire and gas central heating her electric bill is only £25 pm she is not well off but lives comfortably these sp are not tried and tested here yet so i think in 5 yrs like all new technolgy there will be far bettter ones out that will be cheaper and more effcient could the money be invested somewhere better because i ve convinced her to cancell for the time being its not a case of whose right but but would like some advice before she decides what to do next thanks

First of all, the price is extremely high. I've been quoted less than £6700 for a 3kWp system and seen 4kWp advertised for £8000.

As others have said, for a 76 year old, the payback period I think is too long, again, without wishing to be unkind. For a 3kWp system at £6700 the repayment period would be about 9-10 years depending on location assuming the 21p per kWh hour tariff is kept or about 5 in the event you manage to get 43p, but that certainly can't be guaranteed yet.

I would definitely advise her to cancel in the cooling off period as even if she wants solar, which seems like a poor investment for her, she could get a much better price. Maybe ask her what her intention is - environmental, to save money on her electricity, to earn an extra income or maybe to make an investment that would benefit her children and from that you could say whether it would be a good idea.