Free Solar Panels - unsure

helenthemum

Hi

My husband and I agreed to having free solar panels installed by Homesun, we signed the contracts in october.

The government then changed the feed-in-tariff and so homesun said in December they could not go ahead.

The government changed their minds and not have Homesun.

My problem is my husband and I have just split up. We are looking to sell our house but that might not happend for 1-5 years.

Would any of you still go ahead?

Thank you in advance

larkim

I've got a free ("Rent a roof") scheme on my house. It seems to me that the only possible reason you might not want to go ahead is because it might have a negative effect on potential buyers of your house. My personal opinion, is that if I were buying a house which had a RaR solar scheme on top it would enhance its desireability. But others disagree and think it might devalue the house.

However, if you are only going to benefit from the free energy for a short period of time, then the trade off of any risk to the selling price vs the savings in your electricity bills is much higher.

Whichever way you stand on the house selling price issue, the reality is that if you have to split the savings on the electricity bill with your husband, and it might only save you electricity for a few months in any event, then there's not too much in it for you so it doesn't look a particularly tempting prospect.

If I told you I would pay you 12p per day until you sold your house provided I was allowed to stand in front of your house and appear in all of the photos of your house in the Estate Agent's window, would you take me up on the offer? (I might put people off, but you might end up £44 better off after a year)

Matt

helenthemum

Is that all you save. £44!! per year.

I work from home so can put washing machine, dishwasher etc on during the day.

If that is all you save then there is not much point.

larkim

I'm being conservative (though my wife is at home and makes sure she does that). Estimates vary of £100 - £150 per year saving on your electricity bill by using the power that you can intercept before it goes back to the grid. I've only had my installation since December, and given that all I can accurately measure is what I have generated, I won't really know if there's been a difference made until 12 months time when perhaps my total usage will have gone down.

But I said £44 (ish!) on the basis that you might have to split the income with your husband, I was heading for somewhere round about £100 saving per year in total (of which your share is half).

Matt

helenthemum

I can't see why I would have to pay my ex-husband half as its me who has to pay the bills and not him.

If however we had bought the system, then i would have to pay him half the feed-in-tariff.

If I go ahead with the free panels I would be the one managing it to maximise the savings.

whasup

I would definitely not proceed. The savings to you are minimal - derisory. The rar company gets all the benefit and you get all the negatives. 'Rent-a-roof' is a misnomer really. What you are actually doing is giving away the use of your roof for nothing.

larkim

You'll know that I disagree with that, whasup, as you're only giving something away if you have the capacity and desire to do it yourself (either now or in the future).

I don't have the cash or want to take on the debt to finance my own system. FITs are reducing, so the prospect of wanting to borrow (or have the cash) to do my own system in the future I consider to be minimal. And, to be honest, other people making profits out of me is something that happens all day, every day, so it doesn't bother me one iota.

I get a positive in that I can get access to free electricity. I get a positive in that the maintenance / repair of the system is not my responsibility. I get a positive that my house, net, is contributing about 25% higher less drain on the carbon fuels that power most electricity in the UK. And I get a peppercorn in rent (though I've not had that in the post yet )

Its an argument that's been had before, so I suppose I shouldn't delve back into it again.

However, I do agree that in the situation that helenthemum has raised (of needing to sell the house in the not-too-distant future) means that unless you are an absolute solar evangelist, then it probably isn't worth the hassle of getting a RaR solar installation done at this time.

Matt

Martyn1981

helenthemum wrote: »

Hi

My husband and I agreed to having free solar panels installed by Homesun, we signed the contracts in october.

The government then changed the feed-in-tariff and so homesun said in December they could not go ahead.

The government changed their minds and not have Homesun.

My problem is my husband and I have just split up. We are looking to sell our house but that might not happend for 1-5 years.

Would any of you still go ahead?

Thank you in advance

Hiya helen, sorry to hear of your break.

I think Larkim has spelt the situation out perfectly (especially in post #7). You will get a small saving on bills, but weighed against any issues when selling, it probably isn't worth it.

Buyers may be encouraged, or put off, hard to tell which, but given the short time period, it may not be worth taking the gamble. You never know, one of the criteria for potential buyers may be a suitable roof for their own installation.

Too many ifs and buts to warrant the annual savings, which Larkim fairly assessed at around £100pa if you 'use it' properly.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Mart.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Martyn1981 wrote: »

You never know, one of the criteria for potential buyers may be a suitable roof for their own installation.

That is a very good point, Martyn1981.

helenthemum

Thank you all for your input.

One saving I hadn't thought of (short term one off saving) is that the back wall of the house needs re-rendering, so should be able to use the scaffolding for that saving me about £500 ish

Good point about people wanting to put their own up, there is enough space on my roof for another installation. I also have 2 sets of electric as one is commercial and one is residential. I have a shop attached to my house.

At the moment I would say that i am going to be here for at least 3 possibily 5 years, then it depends on my situation.

Martyn1981

Thanks Fruit and Nut, for the compliment, but, just to be difficult, I'm going to argue against myself. Here goes.

If Helen does stay for 5 years, then there's a good chance that by then the FIT rate will have dropped to very little, perhaps 5p or less (only my guess, don't rush out yet!).

In that case, a prospective buyer that wants PV, will only really be benefiting from some 'free' electricity plus a small amount of FITs and export tariff. If there was already an install, then they'd still get the savings, without the financial outlay for the smallish FITs and export.

Hope that makes sense. Can't believe I've spoiled a perfectly good compliment, doh!

Helen, if you can make use of the scaffolding, and save hopefully £100 (tough target, but doable) for 3 to 5 years, then that certainly adds some points to the plus side of the argument. Also in 5 years time, people may not be particularly worried about PV as it becomes more common.

Not my place to sum up for others, but looks like a draw so far, so you probably can't go too wrong.

One last point, may be worth you speaking to some mortgage lenders, just to check that a RaR install won't make it too difficult for a prospective buyer to get a loan, since a third party will have long-term rights to the roof (so to speak).

Mart.