Solar water heating, how much??

Jazzy_B

I live in a rural area of Scotland,without mains gas.
We are seriously thinking of solar water heating, as we can get a grant of 30% from SCHRI,and £950 from council. The grant from the council includes free top up loft insulation (we had quotes for this recently from £650 to £700 or £400 diy).
We've had quotes from 3 relatively local firms, from £3200 to £4000. Two of them said that they wouldn't have to price in bed and breakfast and travelling costs, so our quotes would be good.
We would end up paying £1300 ish, including the loft insulation
From reading all the threads about solar heating, I wondered if it would be worth getting some quotes from the registered English firms, or are they likely to be much dearer because of their travelling costs.
Has anybody bothered doing this, and found big variations in the quotes?

Fred_Bear_2

Cardew's logic must be correct and there is no point disputing this. However some people with solar water heating are still convinced they are saving huge amounts of energy. Could this be because of the warmer weather we have been experiencing recently? Look at my gas usage below. My heating is controlled by programmable room thermostats which maintain the same temperatures each day. But my gas consumption has gone down significantly without making any changes to insulation etc.

penrhyn

Its probably a touch of the cognitive dissonance.
At one level they have just spent many thousands on having the kit installed and have feeling of guilt because they know they have been had, yet are clutching at any straw which will give them some comfort, saving the planet, etc.

Telling your mates that you've just spent £6000 on having solar water heating installed and you are saving £50 a year just doesn't stack up, but would give them all a good laugh.

Cardew

An article in today’s Sunday Times, which is well worth reading, is posted in this thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=451488

Of relevance to this thread, which is supposed to be on costs, are 2 quotes:

The Solar Trade Association stated:

the £6,000 cost of the solar thermal panels was excessive. “A more realistic price is between £3,000 to £4,000,”

The Energy Saving Trust – a Government sponsored agency which is hardly likely to understate potential savings from solar.

although a letter to Mr Robinson from the firm states that up to 30% of a household’s energy bills could be saved with their panels – a more accurate figure would be 5.5%, according to figures from the Energy Saving Trust

So, as we are requested to deal with facts, these 2 organisations say that a system costing £3,000 to £4,000 should save 5.5% of a household’s energy bills(around £40 pa) - lets ignore the inevitable maintenance costs.

I suggest those statements answer the OP's questions and puts some of the wild claims in this and other threads into perspective.

Ken68

It's a touch of the absurd, Pen.
Cardew and others have proved it aint economical.
My neighbour and I know it works so why isn't everyone in their sheds making sun cookers for a fiver each.
Boys toys,I am better than you because mine is automatic, mine is faster, mine cost thousands, mine is on the roof.

harryhound

Fred_Bear wrote: »

Cardew's logic must be correct and there is no point disputing this. However some people with solar water heating are still convinced they are saving huge amounts of energy. Could this be because of the warmer weather we have been experiencing recently? Look at my gas usage below. My heating is controlled by programmable room thermostats which maintain the same temperatures each day. But my gas consumption has gone down significantly without making any changes to insulation etc.

Nice one Fred,

If the trends go on like this, the gas and electricity companies will be paying us to use up the spare capacity. I won't need to bother replacing the heating system. Roll on global warming.

Life will be a beach (at the end of my garden with a panoramic view over what used to be Canvey Island).

Harry.

kisk

Bit off topic but interesting point from Fred re reducing energy usage.

Peak demand for electricity is usually during the winter months but this has shifted recently caused by air conditioning demand. The winter/summer split is narrowing and some blackouts occurring in London in 2006. With DIY stores now selling air conditioning units this will continue the climb in demand during the summer months. This is a major problem for generating companies as when will they be able to maintain the generating plant and network? This will lead to more large scale outages with electricity companies possibly having to load shed in order to maintain security of supply to larger cities.:eek:

Cardew

kisk wrote: »

Bit off topic but interesting point from Fred re reducing energy usage.

Peak demand for electricity is usually during the winter months but this has shifted recently caused by air conditioning demand. The winter/summer split is narrowing and some blackouts occurring in London in 2006. With DIY stores now selling air conditioning units this will continue the climb in demand during the summer months. This is a major problem for generating companies as when will they be able to maintain the generating plant and network? This will lead to more large scale outages with electricity companies possibly having to load shed in order to maintain security of supply to larger cities.:eek:

Interesting point; of course this is is like the situation in some southern States in the USA - Florida etc.

I think I read we get about 2,000 MW from France on the Interconnector. I wonder if there is any scope to increase that? I understand France have lots of spare capacity from their nice clean power stations!

Of course the other option is to get lots of those £1,295 solar systems that can cope with tumble dryers! In fact we could then tell them Froggies to keep their electricity;)

kisk

I think we would have trouble keeping up with the French as France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity with gains of over 3 billion per year (euros). They help the Italians out as their demand outstrips production. Lots of homes in France are all electric due to cheap electricity derived from nuclear power stations.

Gorgeous_George

Besides all the financial arguments for and against solar heating, has anyone considered the environmental impact of:

* producing the kit
* sending leaflets (flyers) every other week peddling your wares
* driving to potential customers to provide the quote
* driving to complete the installation
* service 'engineer' miles

Bring on nuclear power and the problem goes away. Surely, every home could have its own 100% safe nuclear powered generator. Where is today's James Watt?



GG