need solar panels advice urgently please!

lauren1983

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice from people who know a little more than myself.

My husband and I had a cold call from a solar company, it sounded good so we booked a consultation.

Last night the sales man came round and gave us all the info and all is sales techniques and we signed to pay a £ 1000 deposit and get a 3kw system installed, for which we have taken out a finance agreement.

Now after sleeping on it and reading much more information, we are more confused than ever !!

Here are all the details, if someone could give us any advice it would be much appreciated.

• south west roof
• 12 panels at 250w
• panel output 2400w
• total price £8750 of installation
• total price to be paid over the term of the loan £13,338
• our electricity bill is around £60 per month and we are out all day at work so most of our electricity is night usage, cooking, elec shower ect.

Also we are a bit confused about the situation over the FIT. It was 43p... its now 21p it will be 16p it is guaranteed for 25 years or isnt it?? haha im confused !!

To hear any advice or anyones own experience of solar will be great.

Thanks

Lauren

don0301

what date are they quoting completion?

ie will you beat the 3rd March deadline?

and, whereabouts are you in the uk?

grahamc2003

lauren1983 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice from people who know a little more than myself.

My husband and I had a cold call from a solar company, it sounded good so we booked a consultation.

Last night the sales man came round and gave us all the info and all is sales techniques and we signed to pay a £ 1000 deposit and get a 3kw system installed, for which we have taken out a finance agreement.

Now after sleeping on it and reading much more information, we are more confused than ever !!

Here are all the details, if someone could give us any advice it would be much appreciated.

• south west roof
• 12 panels at 250w
• panel output 2400w
• total price £8750 of installation
• total price to be paid over the term of the loan £13,338
• our electricity bill is around £60 per month and we are out all day at work so most of our electricity is night usage, cooking, elec shower ect.

Also we are a bit confused about the situation over the FIT. It was 43p... its now 21p it will be 16p it is guaranteed for 25 years or isnt it?? haha im confused !!

To hear any advice or anyones own experience of solar will be great.

Thanks

Lauren

Regarding the fit bit - at the moment, the fit today is currently unknown, but it is either 44pish or 21pish - and whichever it is it will last for 25 years (that's what they say anyway).

After March 3/4/5/6 (can't remember the exact date), it will be 21pish for some months before it goes down again.

The 44p depends on a government appeal. If it goes ahead, and if it's succesful, the rate will be 21p today. If it doesn't go ahead, or it fails, it will be 44p today. So it's a gamble. I now expect the rate today will be 44p for various reasons, but that is just a guess. (It'll probably initially be paid at 21p for the first year or so, then retrospectively adjusted to 44p when the government throws in the towel).

I'd say if it can be installed before the march deadline (which is now very close), it may be worth taking a punt on getting the 44p rate.

If it can't be installed before the cutoff, therefore you'll get the 21p rate, then I'd say cancel everything - simply becuase you have several months in which to get the 21p rate anyhow, and it's prices are expected to fall in that time.

The fit is the most critical variable in your financial returns - the other elements are very mionor in comparison, so I'd ignore them in your considerations.

lauren1983

we have no date yet because the surveyor has to come out first and this is 5th march. He said if we can do the survey earlier then it could be fitted in the next 7 - 10 days.

we were wondering, do the panels need to be fitted or just contact signed ect to meet the deadline? we assume fitted and completed so no way we will hit the deadline at the minute.

We are in the east midlands, Derbyshire.

Thanks for your reply.

don0301

lauren1983 wrote: »

we have no date yet because the surveyor has to come out first and this is 5th march. He said if we can do the survey earlier then it could be fitted in the next 7 - 10 days.

we were wondering, do the panels need to be fitted or just contact signed ect to meet the deadline? we assume fitted and completed so no way we will hit the deadline at the minute.

We are in the east midlands, Derbyshire.

Thanks for your reply.

I would say don't go ahead then, at the 21p rate it just doesn't look financially viable, with you taking a loan to pay for it.

of course make your own decision tho

lauren1983

thank you for you reply too grahamc2003.

I am going to call the installer and see if i could get it all fitted before the dealine.

If he says yes, would you go for it?

Do you both have systems already? do they "do what they say one the tin" ?

thanks again
lauren

Martyn1981

lauren1983 wrote: »

we have no date yet because the surveyor has to come out first and this is 5th march. He said if we can do the survey earlier then it could be fitted in the next 7 - 10 days.

we were wondering, do the panels need to be fitted or just contact signed ect to meet the deadline? we assume fitted and completed so no way we will hit the deadline at the minute.

We are in the east midlands, Derbyshire.

Thanks for your reply.

Hiya Lauren, this may help.

I've run your rough details through this site:

http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps4/pvest.php#

I chose Sheffield as a location (won't make much difference), and a roof pitch of 35deg, also won't make a huge difference.

The estimated annual generation was 2,240kWh's pa (only an estimate, and would be reduced through shading).

Under the post 3/3/12 tariff (you'd have to complete the installation to get the pre 3/3 tariff), rough income and savings are:

FITs generation 21p * 2,240 = £470.40
FITs export tariff (assumes 50% export) 3.2p * 1,120 = £35.84
Electricity savings, depends on how much daytime electric you can use, but assume between £50 & £100, any more would be difficult.

Total £470 + £36 + £75 = £581pa

Sorry to be rude, but against £8,750, this looks very tight. If you add in that loan, then it's surely a no go.

Just to scare you a bit more, the inverter should last 10 to 15 years, possibly longer. But best to estimate 10 years, so that's a possible £1,000 to find during the repayment period.

Might be worth waiting, as prices will surely fall after the 3rd March deadline has passed, and solar installers are having trouble finding business. You may see prices for a 3kWp system down around £6k or lower soon - but only my guess.

Best of luck.

Mart.

don0301

lauren1983 wrote: »

thank you for you reply too grahamc2003.

I am going to call the installer and see if i could get it all fitted before the dealine.

If he says yes, would you go for it?

Do you both have systems already? do they "do what they say one the tin" ?

thanks again
lauren

If you can get it installed, and most importantly registered before the deadline, and if the Government loses its appeal, then yes it looks much more viable financially.

I've had my system since November, and I'm very happy with it so far. I am lucky to have a south facing roof, and live in a sunny part of the uk.

Martyn1981

lauren1983 wrote: »

thank you for you reply too grahamc2003.

I am going to call the installer and see if i could get it all fitted before the dealine.

If he says yes, would you go for it?

Do you both have systems already? do they "do what they say one the tin" ?

thanks again
lauren

Lauren, update at pre 3/3/12 rates

FITs generation 43.3p * 2,240 = £969.92
FITs export tariff (assumes 50% export) 3.2p * 1,120 = £35.84
Electricity savings, depends on how much daytime electric you can use, but assume between £50 & £100, any more would be difficult.

Total £970 + £36 + £75 = £1,081pa

IMPORTANT

These are only estimates, shading is important.

As Graham said, that rate is not guaranteed, it could still revert to 21p if the govt win their court case. Don't get blinded by the money, if there's no way you can cope with the 21p.

Also I've entered the export tariff as 3.2p, which is the rate from 1/4/12 (currently 3.1p, but we're nearly there).

Mart.

grahamc2003

lauren1983 wrote: »

thank you for you reply too grahamc2003.

I am going to call the installer and see if i could get it all fitted before the dealine.

If he says yes, would you go for it?

Do you both have systems already? do they "do what they say one the tin" ?

thanks again
lauren

I'm probably a bit different from most people on here, but personally I wouldn't borrow to invest in anything, including solar panels, whatever the expected return (that's about rule number 1 of investment).

But if you're not so adverse about taking on loans, then the returns at 44p rate (assuming you've got no shading/panels point in right direction/installers are compentent/you get the correct sized inverter for your system and not one either over or under capacity etc etc) then the financial returns would probably make it worthwhile, making reasonable asusmptions. If you have any shading around midday, don't do it - you'll need non-standard inverters which won't be in your current quote.

It looks highly unlikely you'll get the system in before the deadline, but it is just possible (mine was installed two working days after I paid the deposit). It makes no sense to rush into buying a system if the rate is 21p imv. Might as well take your time and get several quotes and understand exactly what to expect imv, and then make an informed and not a rushed or pressured decision. Can you easily back out of any agreements you've already signed?

jamesingram

Install price seems a little high to me.

If you're going borrow is it possible to get an additional advance on an existing mortgage (if you have one) ? you'd get a much better rate.