Free Solar Panels - Absolute Solar Limited

Peterdavy

Hi,

I have been contacted by Absolute Solar Limited who are registered in Leicester. They are offering free solar panels on my roof, they seem to have all of the accepted accreditations as advised by the energy saving trust website. I was wondering however whether anyone has had experience of this company or any other companies that would be good?

Many Thanks

Peter

Numbnuts

why you getting free panels?
do you know about the feed in tariff?

jimpix12

Free panels aren't worth it, GIYF.

penrhyn

With Free panels the rent a roof company gets the meat and gravy and you are left to chew on the bones.

Is it worth it to potentially save £50 off your annual electricity bill?

EricMears

If you buy a set of SPs, you'll probably still get an annual return on investment of around 10%.

Even if you have to borrow the money to buy them you should make a profit on the deal.

If the RaR people fit the SPs, they'll get that return; you'll get a bit of free daytime electricity but the headache of wondering how much the value of your house has dropped when you have a long term 'tenant' on it.

Peterdavy

Hi,

Thanks for the comments, I was going down the root of the free solar panels as I thought the government had reduced the amount you get back from the electricity you sell. Is it still worth buying the panels outright as wouldn't the payback period be over a large number of years? Also if you buy the panels is there any maintenance costs or other costs associated with them? As with the rent a roof scheme it seems as though the installer pays for anything of this nature.

Thanks

Peter

penrhyn

A little more research required on your part.
Some info here, I'm NOT endorsing the company concerned.

http://121solar.co.uk/news.asp

EricMears

Peterdavy wrote: »

Hi,

Thanks for the comments, I was going down the root of the free solar panels as I thought the government had reduced the amount you get back from the electricity you sell. Is it still worth buying the panels outright as wouldn't the payback period be over a large number of years? Also if you buy the panels is there any maintenance costs or other costs associated with them? As with the rent a roof scheme it seems as though the installer pays for anything of this nature.

Thanks

Peter

Not sure of latest SP prices though it's been said here a 4Kwp system could be less than £8000.

FIT rates for new applicants :-

From http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/clean-energy-cashback.aspx :

1st April 2012 – 1st July 2012 = 21p/kWh, plus new requirement to show property has an EPC band D or above.
The rate will be 9p/kWh if the property cannot achieve EPC band D.

Then there's a further 1.6p /Kwh for deemed exports.

3000 Kwh / year is do-able fairly easily from a 4Kwp system so should earn somewhere around £700 per year (and probably rather more - I think I'm being a bit conservative) which is getting towards the 10% ROI I suggested earlier.

If you want to use 'payback period' that's going to be around 10 years.

Not aware of any ongoing maintenance costs. I guess if one blew off you'd have to replace it (or your insurance company would) but same is true of the slates or tiles you probably have already and the SPs are rather better secured than them.

Martyn1981

Peterdavy wrote: »

Hi,

Thanks for the comments, I was going down the root of the free solar panels as I thought the government had reduced the amount you get back from the electricity you sell. Is it still worth buying the panels outright as wouldn't the payback period be over a large number of years? Also if you buy the panels is there any maintenance costs or other costs associated with them? As with the rent a roof scheme it seems as though the installer pays for anything of this nature.

Thanks

Peter

Hello Peter, some (but no all) of your questions will hopefully be covered here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3872445

If you can post any details of your property, then one of us should be able to give you a guess on potential generation, and hence earnings.

Have a read, have a think, then ask away.

Mart.

Peterdavy

Thank you all for the responses, I've read through the stuff on the links you have provided. My one problem, which is why I was considering the rent a roof scheme to start with, is the initial outlay for the panels which it looks like will be between £7k - £8k. I have a south facing roof on my 3 bed semi detached house which is not impinged in any way by trees or anything else which may block sunlight, so I think I could achieve the £700 mentioned here. I agree therefore that the payback period would be in the region of ten years, however one concern is that I may move in that period and therefore someone else may reap the benefits when I have made the initial outlay!

Peter

Cardew

Peterdavy wrote: »

Thank you all for the responses, I've read through the stuff on the links you have provided. My one problem, which is why I was considering the rent a roof scheme to start with, is the initial outlay for the panels which it looks like will be between £7k - £8k. I have a south facing roof on my 3 bed semi detached house which is not impinged in any way by trees or anything else which may block sunlight, so I think I could achieve the £700 mentioned here. I agree therefore that the payback period would be in the region of ten years, however one concern is that I may move in that period and therefore someone else may reap the benefits when I have made the initial outlay!

Peter

Just a point on the economics.

£7k to £8k invested in a long term Building Society @ 4.6% gross will earn around £257 to £294 compounded after tax.

So, taking £700 as you suggest, that reduces your income to between £400 and £450.(which of course you also invest @ 4.6%).

Given you are likely to at least need an inverter in 10 to 15 years. I suggest that 'payback' will be closer to 15 years than 10.

If someone came up with an investment scheme where they suggested that you invest £7k to £8k and at some point, between 10 and 15 years hence, you would probably be breaking even and have got back all your money - I wonder how many takers there would be?