Finally got a quote- is it good.

bret_cooper

After trying to get several quotes for solar PV, a company has finally sent a quote through. Could you have a look as see if this is reasonable as I have nothing to compare it with.

House is in Kent, no shading facing SW and fitted to a 2 year old house. tiled roof with no issues with access, 3.96 KWP system

12 BenQ sunforte mono 330w module
1 SMA G83 approved grid inverter
12 K2 mounting for pitched roof
1 landys - gyr generator metre single phase
1 solor I boost

All fitted £8299 including VAT.

I'm not sure about the inverter and the metre, would I be better with single inverters as I have a chimney and a small dormer window which could potentially shade a panel.
Ideally I want a system that I can monitor over the internet and put into a spreadsheet.

Looking around the internet the panels seemed to get good reviews.
Does this seem a good price or should I be asking for something else or a cheaper price.

Thanks for looking


Bret

tunnel

Hi Bret,


I don't know much about micro inverters for each panel, what I do know is if you have shading issues then a single inverter is not for you.
You could possibly look at a solaredge inverter with power optimisers, this would also give you the online monitoring you desire(I have one and they are a really nice piece of kit)


Is there any issues with space on the roof? I ask because you've been quoted on BenQ's, is there any reason you need higher wattage panels? If you can put 16 panels(250W) up there instead you should be looking at bringing that price down by a couple of thousand pounds, maybe to around £6500 with a solaredge.


tunnel

bret_cooper

Hi Tunnel


Thanks for the reply. I called the firm that quoted, the reason for the Benq is that although they have a larger wattage they also have a smaller footprint so they will fit between a velux window and a small dormer window that I've got.
I asked about the shading from the window and he said that by the time the sun got there the panels would shut off.


There was no option to change the inverter but they can supply a monitoring option which is about £450 but this is to be confirmed. This seems expensive to me.
Is there a monitoring system that doesn't cost the earth the is compatible with an SMA inverter that can be viewed through the web.


Thanks


Bret

tunnel

Hi Bret,


They may be bigger wattage but I'm led to believe that they're roughly the same dimensions(same footprint). I'd suggest you get some other quotes to see how they compare and what else can be offered.


As I said the solaredge has monitoring and is free. Check yourself if there's any shading(perfect time of the year is now!!), you only need one panel to be partially shaded to bring all the rest of the string down with it.


tunnel


ps SMA have Bluetooth so you can download the data from them but don't give up to the minute web based monitoring(someone will correct me if I'm wrong)

Martyn1981

tunnel wrote: »

Hi Bret,

They may be bigger wattage but I'm led to believe that they're roughly the same dimensions(same footprint). I'd suggest you get some other quotes to see how they compare and what else can be offered.

tunnel

Nice spot. Just been checking, and the 330Wp is 1,559mm by 1,046mm, so pretty standard size.

Oddly, the shop site I checked on had the 330Wp for £320 each, and the 325Wp for £277 (both retail, exc VAT), so big cost saving, but may have been a fluke, and won't necessarily reflect what the installers are paying.

If there is roof space for more panels, then no shortage of cheaper 250Wp (ish) panels, including BenQ 265Wp Mono all blacks for £169 (same shop, retail exc VAT).

Purely as an example in this case, and using the numbers I found, not necessarily reflecting the installer's preferred supplier :-
12*£320 = £3,840
15*£169 = £2,535

Mart.

bret_cooper

Hi


Just had another quote


16 HIT Panasonic 245 watt panels
16 Enphase inverter ( I asked for these)
Elster A100c feed in tariff metre
3.92 KWp
I- boost
total including vat £9400


Was trying to get a quote similar to one who offered Panasonic panels but this quote was £11,500 and was a limited time offer.


I have spoken to them and they can offer a SMA inverter with bluetooth which will be cheaper, I think there will be some movement in the price as he said that he will come back and re-quote when im ready. He also said that he will fit anything that I suggests I can personalise it to my requirement, subject to it being suitable.


I have been looking around at the for immersion heaters and have come across the elios4you which I can monitor the energy going into the immersion online.


Im leaning to the above quote with a SMA inverter as the company seems more flexible and offers more advice on tailoring the system.
Does this quote seem ok ?
Thanks


Bret

tunnel

Hi Bret,


Still too expensive at £9400, you really do need to start getting other quotes, hopefully other members may read this and pass on their installer details for the Kent area. In my opinion that price is still £2k too much.


Did you enquire about solaredge?


tunnel

jimjames

Mine were installed by Solar Advanced Systems, cost just under £9k in Nov 2011 for 3kWp so should be well below that now. They're based in Edenbridge.

Definitely look into the effects of shading on your panels and how to mitigate it. This is how our panels were affected when a velux window was left open and the shadow was cast on 2 panels (out of 14)

http://uk-solarpanels.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/effect-shade-solar-panels-output.html

jimjames

bret_cooper wrote: »

There was no option to change the inverter but they can supply a monitoring option which is about £450 but this is to be confirmed. This seems expensive to me.
Is there a monitoring system that doesn't cost the earth the is compatible with an SMA inverter that can be viewed through the web.

The SMA Sunny Boy inverters should have build in bluetooth so you can connect to them via your laptop and view the output using their Sunny Explorer software. It doesn't automatically load to the web but there are various tools available that enable it. Really depends how much you want to be able to view live and what you are prepared to check from home later. Initially it was great to be able to check on an hourly basis how much they were generating; now checking once a month or overnight is plenty as the novelty has worn off. I certainly wouldn't spend £450 on something that you then find isn't used any more.

bret_cooper

jimjames wrote: »

Mine were installed by Solar Advanced Systems, cost just under £9k in Nov 2011 for 3kWp so should be well below that now. They're based in Edenbridge.

They were the second to quote and emailed the quote which was the Benq panels in my first post. For the monitoring was quoted £400 +


just emailed the other company back and mentioned the solaredge as it looks good reading through their website and looking round it seems considerably cheaper that having 16 single inverters.


Thinking about the monitoring I suppose after while I would get bored with it especially after the 1st year when I know what the payback is. Going to get the second company round again to talk about different options but at the moment im thinking the Panasonic panels, Solaredge inverter and Iboost for the hot water.




There are a lot of companies that are not interested round here, I've contacted several but they say they will be in touch after looking on google but never come round. their loss I suppose.


Thanks


Bret

tunnel

bret_cooper wrote: »

There are a lot of companies that are not interested round here, I've contacted several but they say they will be in touch after looking on google but never come round. their loss I suppose.


Thanks


Bret

It is their loss, my last installation was WNW facing and 2.5kWp, only one of five would give me a quote, the rest weren't interested in the slightest.
You'll find there'll be companies that only want the "easy" jobs, anything thought inducing and they shy away.


For your pockets sake, please persevere, you can get that price down, it is expensive. As JJ says, he paid around £9k in 2011 but back then the FIT was 43p and not a smidgin under 15p. Have a look on ebay too, I found my installer on there.


ps, solaredge have power optimisers that are placed under each panel which allows each panel to work independent of the others, its not just an inverter.


tunnel