solar panels

reeree

has any one got solar panels and if so would you recommend it?

Discodave

reeree wrote: »

has any one got solar panels and if so would you recommend it?

Yea.. we have then installed since last month - bascially as an investment as well as free elecy.

an £8k investment (better than leaving it in your bank) will see you recoup that in approx 8-10 years, with the remaining 15 years at the same return rate turning into profit -providing you install within next 6 days

After that, the return rate drops a little to 21p (from 43p), so your investment will take a little longer to recoup

reeree

Discodave wrote: »

Yea.. we have then installed since last month - bascially as an investment as well as free elecy.

an £8k investment (better than leaving it in your bank) will see you recoup that in approx 8-10 years, with the remaining 15 years at the same return rate turning into profit -providing you install within next 6 days

After that, the return rate drops a little to 21p (from 43p), so your investment will take a little longer to recoup[/QUO

how long did it take for them to install it, is there much upheaval

Mister_G

reeree wrote: »

has any one got solar panels and if so would you recommend it?

Hi

We had them installed last May. It's a 3kWp system using 12 Sanyo 250W panels on a south facing garage roof. I didn't fancy them on the house for two reasons, one being that they don't look particularly nice, especially on a 1900's house, and the other being that there was minimal disruption as all the wiring, including the inverter, also went in the garage -so no access required at all to the house. The whole system was about £12k. Installation time was 2 days for the roofer to fix the brackets, support rails and panels, and 2 electricians for one day to wire it all up and connect to the grid - it was a very easy install with good access.

So far, since 16th May, we've generated over 2350 kWh of electricity, which equates to a FIT of about £1100. This means that we should easily exceed the estimated figure of 2500kWh for a whole year, which I am well pleased with! We should also receive a ROI of over 11% on our capital and payback in 9 years. All a bit of a 'no brainer' really - if you happen to have the cash available.

Unfortunately, the figures with the revised FIT will not be anywhere as near attractive, but the capital installation costs have dropped considerably since we had our installed.

I'd also love to be able to use all the electricity that I generate during the daytime, but without resorting to something like the sophisticated and expensive (£2k) EMMA system mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I can't see a cost effective way of doing this. If I could, then this would potentially save me another £250 pa.

Hope this helps.

reeree

Mister_G wrote: »

Hi

We had them installed last May. It's a 3kWp system using 12 Sanyo 250W panels on a south facing garage roof. I didn't fancy them on the house for two reasons, one being that they don't look particularly nice, especially on a 1900's house, and the other being that there was minimal disruption as all the wiring, including the inverter, also went in the garage -so no access required at all to the house. The whole system was about £12k. Installation time was 2 days for the roofer to fix the brackets, support rails and panels, and 2 electricians for one day to wire it all up and connect to the grid - it was a very easy install with good access.

So far, since 16th May, we've generated over 2350 kWh of electricity, which equates to a FIT of about £1100. This means that we should easily exceed the estimated figure of 2500kWh for a whole year, which I am well pleased with! We should also receive a ROI of over 11% on our capital and payback in 9 years. All a bit of a 'no brainer' really - if you happen to have the cash available.

Unfortunately, the figures with the revised FIT will not be anywhere as near attractive, but the capital installation costs have dropped considerably since we had our installed.

I'd also love to be able to use all the electricity that I generate during the daytime, but without resorting to something like the sophisticated and expensive (£2k) EMMA system mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I can't see a cost effective way of doing this. If I could, then this would potentially save me another £250 pa.

Hope this helps.

thankyou that has been a really big help to me

DavidFx

Please do your own sums before committing to this.

If you invest £12000 then this is now sitting on your roof. This is a long term investment


The payback time is 9 years (from Mister G); so in 9 years time, you have recovered your investment
Say the panels last another 10 years - you will earn from the FIT £12000 - So over 19 years you have made £630 pa = 5.2%




You can earn 4% at present without a long tie in.

Also you need to factor in the cost of equipment failure and maintenance -

What happens if you need to move in the 19 years?

If you want to install the panels to save the planet then go ahead - if this is an investment then look at the downsides as well as the upsides

Mister_G

DavidFx wrote: »

Please do your own sums before committing to this.

If you invest £12000 then this is now sitting on your roof. This is a long term investment


The payback time is 9 years (from Mister G); so in 9 years time, you have recovered your investment
Say the panels last another 10 years - you will earn from the FIT £12000 - So over 19 years you have made £630 pa = 5.2%




You can earn 4% at present without a long tie in.

Also you need to factor in the cost of equipment failure and maintenance -

What happens if you need to move in the 19 years?

If you want to install the panels to save the planet then go ahead - if this is an investment then look at the downsides as well as the upsides

Indeed, I can not argue with the maths. I took the view that we are not moving anywhere (recently retired and not planning to go anywhere else) and that the FIT is good for 25 years. True, the panels are only guaranteed for 20 years, but with energy costs rising, the maths can only get better.

I agree that everyone's personal circumstances are different and that PV may not suit many peole, especially now that the FIT has been cut. I certainly would not have gone for it at the current entry levels.

Yes, I am keen on renewable energy and I'd really like to benefit from the electricity generated during the daytime, but short of boiling a few kettles on sunny days or completely replacing my central heating system, I shall just have to wait until technology comes up with something more practical!

Cardew

The best way to treat solar is as an annuity.

You are not really 'investing' £12,000, as you have no access to that money once the panels are on your roof; and you are giving up around £400 to £500 interest a year.

No doubt with the old FIT rate it will be an excellent 'long term' proposition.

Discodave

I still think its better to invest £8k into SP rather than leaving it in the bank, if you do not need access to it for a long period of time.

A Bank account return on £8,000 pa would only be £320 a year. You can, in theory get a return of double if not treble and more from a £8k system!

victor2

I looked into it (through E.On) in 2010 and the cost for 14 panels on my south-east facing roof would have been £13K. The panels had a 25 year warranty, but there was only a 10 year warranty on the workmanship and inverter. Payback, according to their calculations at the time, would have been just over 14 years, so beyond the expected life of some of the items in my opinion.
They did admit the inverter was the most likely item to fail and that only had the 10 year warranty - they cost about £1,000 then.
I decided not to go ahead, on the assumption that the technology would improve and prices would plummet over the coming years.

thenudeone

There are thousands of posts on this subject in the Green and Ethical moneysaving forum.

Suggest you look there first.