Solar panels help?

silverwhistle

Don't think I need to add any additional warning, but just to add that this summer I paid £6K for a 4Kw system on the south coast (which tends to have slightly higher labour and other costs). I'm still tweaking my usage which I can do easily as I'm at home at the moment, but I also have a device which diverts spare power to my immersion, and I've hardly used my gas yet apart from a couple of cloudy days when I wanted a deep, deep bath after playing footie.

If you have any cash savings it's a no-brainer, but otherwise you need to borrow cheaply. Having said that I'm constantly surprised by what people pay for loans for new kitchens and cars, and at least for PV you get a return and an only slightly depreciating asset!

tunnel

That's a lot of money for not a lot of kit...:eek:

I've been pricing a system up for my parents and have a price of £10800 for a 8kWp system, double what your looking at and I've got extras such as an immersun thrown in at that. Just to re-iterate run...run.. as fast as you can. The cheak of some companies.

dreaming

Another one here who had 4Kw installation in April for around 6k mark. So far this year have received payments of just under £500 and am in credit with my gas/electric supply (although suppliers have suggested I increase monthly payment!). Although I have the cash in my ISA I took out a 0% credit card to pay for it over 15months. Looking at the MSE best loans calculator you could get a loan (assuming your credit history is good enough) that is a lot, lot less than you have been quoted.
I can't emphasise enough the necessity to learn as much as you can about solar pv as it is easy to be blinded by the "facts and figures" some of these companies throw at you, and to think about how you and your household use power. The help and advice on this forum has been invaluable to me. Right, it's nice and bright now so I am off to put the dishwasher on.

shazh70

Hi Martyn

We are def north, nr Hull, roof is east to west not south facing.

Don't like 'the office' ringing to keep asking if we'd signed yet :-/

Thanks everyone for all your advise, will def be steering clear!

:-)

Martyn1981

shazh70 wrote: »

Hi Martyn

We are def north, nr Hull, roof is east to west not south facing.

Don't like 'the office' ringing to keep asking if we'd signed yet :-/

Thanks everyone for all your advise, will def be steering clear!

:-)

Hiya shazh. That makes things a bit harder then.

For Hull, with East or West (or a bit of both), you'd get about 3,000kWh's from a 4kWp install. Guestimate income therefore becomes:-

FiT @ 14.9p * 3,000 = £447
Export 4.64p * 1,500 (50% deemed) = £70
Leccy savings around £80 to £160, but as you say you're not in much during the day, I'd go for the lower end, so £80(ish).
Total £597 pa

£17,353/£597 = 29 years. Not a great deal. Keep running. Or if you'd rather fight, complain about them! I don't think the price is reasonable, and the interest rate is ..... well ..... between you and them ..... but still not exactly cheap.

If you could get an install for £6k, then the returns (which are index linked) aren't bad, but I don't really see any room in there for finance costs, so you'd really have to put the money up yourselves, or find a very, very cheap finance deal (mortgage, family (sell a kidney!) etc).

Hope this helps, don't be too down. If you still want PV at least you know the situation now, and can have a ponder during 2014.

All the best.

Mart.

[Edit @ All. Can shazh complain? I appreciate that a business can try to get a 'good' price, but £11k + 10.2% whilst knowing the limitations of the install - it all seems a bit too unfair. Perhaps? M.]

jimjames

If you are being told returns of £60k then yes. Is that in writing? If so then I'd say definite grounds for complaint as totally untrue.

PS All solar panels are daylight panels. They do not store electricity to use overnight and also only need daylight - not just sun - to generate electricity. If you are being promoted them as something different then another ground to use.

tunnel

Martyn1981 wrote: »

[Edit @ All. Can shazh complain? I appreciate that a business can try to get a 'good' price, but £11k + 10.2% whilst knowing the limitations of the install - it all seems a bit too unfair. Perhaps? M.]

Unfortunately many window salesman seem to have crept into the industry since the earlier days and seem to be employing all the same unscrupulous tactics that are associated with it. Maybe a call to REAL to clarify what a "salesman" can promise for return based on SAPS figures would be a start. where it may lead is any ones guess.

My parents were told there was possible returns of up to £100k including electric use over a 20 year period by one person. Luckily I was there to shoot him down in flames and send him on his way. had I not been there and they being an elderly couple then who knows.