Quarter of the way there and full speed ahead

tattycath

Morning El.
Sorry I've been awol
Been really busy lately and feeling a bit low too.
You're doing so well with your OPs etc
Sorry can't help with the solar panels chat-not looked into it as yet.
Have a great day! xx

southerndave

elantan wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to respond Dave as I say we're just at the finding out stage, it may be right for us it may not be, but it's good to get a balanced view

Can I ask though

1) how much we're you being quoted for your system ?
Not sure as did not keep the paperwork. It was a while back and the FIT was quite good, but not in my eyes good enough.
2) in what way was it a mine field ?
I didn't entirely trust the companies involved nor the government incentives behind many of the schemes. Essentially, you either lay out the money upfront and buy your own solar panels and then hope you can save enough on your bills taking into account maintenance etc to claw your money back over at least 10-years OR you pay nothing and effectively rent your roof out and are entered into a contract with a company who then have access rights etc but you still have the headache of ensuring your roof and the panels are maintained to their standards. You 'earn' from it straight away but the reards are really effectively a reduced bill and a possiblity of free electricity should the conditions prevail. I suppose you could even earn a little from these schemes, but I am sure the installation/ownership company earns a LOT more than you do.

It all seems weighted in favour of the companies and not you, but then that's many things today. For the paying outright, we couldn't really re-coup the costs for a decade so its a slow return on the money at best. And what if the panels need renewing or major overhaul in ten years? Your profits don't start till then and immdeiately get swallowed in maintenance.

See: minefield!
3) what pitfalls did you discover?
See above!

The answers may help us know more

We have a lot still to learn but I have found a thread with very helpful people on the ethical board so am a bit more wiser about it all than I was previously, still got a lot to learn of that I am in no doubt, but for those over on the board that have chosen to get sola panels fitted they seem to have no regrets so far.

Then again, with respect to those there, it also take some guts to admit a very expensive mistake should you have made one...? And solar energy is VERY dependent on location, so perhaps those in sunnier areas are likely to have a better time with them than elsewhere?

Before we decide we will weigh up the pros and cons and find out all that we can, it appears its a chance to double our money, which is better than you would get in an ISA, yes that takes a long time to make any money but it appears its not unknown

I would proceed with caution. Clear debt, then look at investments. Creating more debt to have a chance of earning something in the future is really just gambling and you could equally say you'll invest in the National Lottery. And don't trust the companies and state who have a vested interest in convincing you this is a good idea - seek your advice from independent sources where you can.

elantan

tattycath wrote: »

Morning El.
Sorry I've been awol
Been really busy lately and feeling a bit low too.
You're doing so well with your OPs etc
Sorry can't help with the solar panels chat-not looked into it as yet.
Have a great day! xx

Hi tatty, sometimes a wee break from Mse can do you the world of good, your still doing great though

elantan

Hi all,

Dave I read your reply, thanks very much for your experience, haven't had time to reply as we have been at defcon 1 at work for two nights now, will try and reply tonight

Well that's me completed two full days without sugar again... Now to keep it up

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

elantan wrote: »

Well that's me completed two full days without sugar again... Now to keep it up

Brilliant news :j

elantan

Hi all, defcon 1 continues for another night it's the nature of the job and can't be helped, but I think we will be through the worst of it tomorrow

Have had an interesting day today, had a guy come out and quote us for solar panels, so we have all the info required and what I will say is this

Solar panels can be a very worthwhile investment, they CANake you money and they can save you money, you need to do your homework an not go for the deals that Dave has pointed out like the rent a roof scheme and the green deal scheme ( we had already discounted both of these but it's good to know what it is your discounting) ... You have to ensure you are paying a good price for your system and get realistic numbers for your Generation expectations

We were quoted £6k and informed we would make £650 ( most people get atleast £750 ... but where we live and the direction make a difderence) year back and I'm gonna be honest we were very interested, however we put our own info into a more reliable generation expectation site and it turns out that we will only make £500 a year, given that the system is £6k and to buy another inverter or two and to maintain the panels it just isn't an option for us ... We would be lucky to break even after 20 years.

I am very glad we did our homework and have learned quite a lot about solar panels etc, if we were getting the £750 a year then I am pretty sure we would've been getting them fitted even the £650 was tempting ... But that would be at the lowest we would be willing to go ... I'm also very glad we took the time to consider it, I now know that solar panels are not for us, they are something we have talked in and off about for years, for the few days researching etc I did I know a lot more now and have enjoyed learning about them

In the mean time it's back to paying down the debt at the rate we are and saving for other things ... We are considering wind turbines at a later date but the planning permission requirements are not in a position to make it worth out while yet but 5 years from now who knows

taxi73

good news on no sugar x
at least you've looked in to solar panels and know a lot more now x
don't know what defcon 1 is sorry x

elantan

Defcon 1 is a terminology used in sci if films ... Possibly in real life as well I'm not sure tbh .. It's when basically the sh£t has hit the fan and its an emergency situation, an example would be South Korea is at defcon 1 with North Korea ( although I think it's actually 2 if I remember righ) just now if that makes sense ?


I'm on day 3 now woooo hooooo gonna be honest though today was kinda hard, I wasn't hungry but I was looking for something ( sugar is the obvious choice) so I had a bowl of mince before going to bed to try and tied me over... It seemed to help ... But I do feel that I am in withdrawal tbh so the next few days are gonna be critical

taxi73

oh I see...you can now tell I don't watch sci fi films..hope work improves then

elantan

Lol taxi ... It's more that I'm sad and not only watch them but remember things from them lol

It will be fine we're coming out if defcon1 just now so I'm sure tomorrow nights night shift will have a dream shift ... Ain't that always the way of it