Staybrite 3kw quote with 2 panels free!?

seismicsi

Hey people
Any advise here would be awesome. The staybrite solar Rep has just left. The system quote is:

10 panels, 1 inverter, 10yr guarantee for both
5 Sth, 5 West, on 40° pitch
Peak output 2.45kwp
Annual radiation 963 (Im on the coast in Cornwall so should be brtter but im told the whole quote is calculated as 'worst scenario' so no misleading figures).
Total units generated 2359 kwh/year

Income/savings:
Current FIT of 0.149 = £351.49 yr1
Units saved at 50% use is 1184 (0.154 unit cost) = £182.34
Total exported units at 50% with 0.0464 tariff = £54.94 yr1
Total potential income = £587.26 yr1 and £15,721 yr20
Total cost = £7950 (7.1%) but.....
As I am first in area I qualify as a market partner (2 panels free) so £6575 (8.9%)

I received a higher quote a yr ago from another co. but this time im offered finance. I could take a loan from zopa but this loan through an RBS subsiduary will allow me to pay £100 to have them fitted by 1st April to qualify for the current FIT. I then can pay off half the total early with a work payout i get in 6mths, then continue to complete the payment within 2yrs of fitting. This agreement is also without interest being fixed so in effect I can clear it earlier without penalty and paying less interest. (APR being 6.9% so will pay off asap).

Can you guys let me know if you think the quote is competitive and if the earning figures sound right?

Currently I pay on avg about £35pm electric and same for gas bottle with combi boiler. House is 3bed, 3yrs old, detached, worth 190k, energy SAP rated B.

Any wise words appreciated! Cheers

tunnel

seismicsi wrote: »

Hey people
Any advise here would be awesome. The staybrite solar Rep has just left. The system quote is:

10 panels, 1 inverter, 10yr guarantee for both
5 Sth, 5 West, on 40° pitch
Peak output 2.45kwp
Annual radiation 963 (Im on the coast in Cornwall so should be brtter but im told the whole quote is calculated as 'worst scenario' so no misleading figures).
Total units generated 2359 kwh/year

Income/savings:
Current FIT of 0.149 = £351.49 yr1
Units saved at 50% use is 1184 (0.154 unit cost) = £182.34
Total exported units at 50% with 0.0464 tariff = £54.94 yr1
Total potential income = £587.26 yr1 and £15,721 yr20
Total cost = £7950 (7.1%) but.....
As I am first in area I qualify as a market partner (2 panels free) so £6575 (8.9%)

I received a higher quote a yr ago from another co. but this time im offered finance. I could take a loan from zopa but this loan through an RBS subsiduary will allow me to pay £100 to have them fitted by 1st April to qualify for the current FIT. I then can pay off half the total early with a work payout i get in 6mths, then continue to complete the payment within 2yrs of fitting. This agreement is also without interest being fixed so in effect I can clear it earlier without penalty and paying less interest. (APR being 6.9% so will pay off asap).

Can you guys let me know if you think the quote is competitive and if the earning figures sound right?

Currently I pay on avg about £35pm electric and same for gas bottle with combi boiler. House is 3bed, 3yrs old, detached, worth 190k, energy SAP rated B.

Any wise words appreciated! Cheers

Run away as fast as you can as that's about £2000 above the cost you should be aiming at.
Sounds more like a window quote than solar, push them and you may get buy one get one free


Seriously though, you energy saved is too high, try £80-120 if your lucky.


Why such a small system, are you pushed for room on your roof? No you can't be as they're offering 2 panels free, where would they go?


Did I say run?


tunnel

Martyn1981

seismicsi wrote: »

10 panels, 1 inverter, 10yr guarantee for both
5 Sth, 5 West, on 40° pitch
Peak output 2.45kwp
Annual radiation 963 (Im on the coast in Cornwall so should be brtter but im told the whole quote is calculated as 'worst scenario' so no misleading figures).
Total units generated 2359 kwh/year

I'm with Tunnel, too expensive, start running!

Looking at the details, let's have a go at checking the bits and bobs.

Generation, I tried a quick guess by using PVGIS (see section 5 on this link thread)

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

I didn't know quite where to stick the pin in Cornwall, but between Newquay and Plymouth, I got 1,240 for South 1.25kWp, and 973 for West 1.25kWp, so approx 2,200kWh pa. I suspect these numbers will vary, especially as you said near the coast, so have a play.

seismicsi wrote: »

Income/savings:
Current FIT of 0.149 = £351.49 yr1
Units saved at 50% use is 1184 (0.154 unit cost) = £182.34
Total exported units at 50% with 0.0464 tariff = £54.94 yr1
Total potential income = £587.26 yr1 and £15,721 yr20
Total cost = £7950 (7.1%) but.....
As I am first in area I qualify as a market partner (2 panels free) so £6575 (8.9%)

The FiT and export look spot on (for the generation they have estimated), but as Tunnel says, the leccy savings are too high. I tend to estimate savings as between £80 and £160 as a starting point, with £80 probably impossible to miss. I therefore suggest about £120 as (an admittedly pessimistic) starting point, but best to aim low and do better, than to be disappointed.

To maximise savings you need to use the generation as it's being produced, so is anyone home during daytime, weekends etc, use of timers, and a small amount of planning.

Price is stupid. Quick check of one company (whose blog I like reading) currently has a 2.5kWp, 10 panel system for £4,795 [this is not a recommendation, I won't name them, and nowhere near you anyway, just a way of monitoring prices as they go up and down a bit].

Extra thought, what type of panels are they? Did they say? They may be Panasonic 245Wp panels, which are higher efficiency to squeeze more on, if space is very limited. Same company site (as above) has a Panasonic quote (extrapolated from a 2.9kWp quote) of about £5,200.

seismicsi wrote: »

I received a higher quote a yr ago from another co. but this time im offered finance. I could take a loan from zopa but this loan through an RBS subsiduary will allow me to pay £100 to have them fitted by 1st April to qualify for the current FIT. I then can pay off half the total early with a work payout i get in 6mths, then continue to complete the payment within 2yrs of fitting. This agreement is also without interest being fixed so in effect I can clear it earlier without penalty and paying less interest. (APR being 6.9% so will pay off asap).

If finance is involved, double, triple (then rinse and repeat) your calculations. I'd suggest checking back for more thoughts too, as it'll change the calcs quite a bit. Not being overly negative, might be great for you, just be extra careful.

I don't like the mention of April. That's just a way of locking you into the deal. There is still plenty of time to have a good thunk, and get more quotes, but don't fixate on that date, as the FiT tariff only drops 3.5% from 14.9p to 14.38p. The export and leccy savings don't drop, so it's hardly the end of the world, probably be offset by getting the price down by about 2%.

seismicsi wrote: »

Can you guys let me know if you think the quote is competitive and if the earning figures sound right?

That question is your best tool/weapon, keep asking it. :T

Mart.

seismicsi

Tunnel, Mart, thanks so much for the advise guys. I have arranged for 2 more quotes and am feeling nmuch less pressured into beating the FIT reduction in April.
It was a lot to take in so from memory I believe the panels are made by Romag a uk based co which are monocrystalline with the 10yr guarantee. Stainless steel rails d/t the coastal location (20mls sth of newquay).
Having played about with the numbers I agree the estimate is not too far off and the electricity useage will be high during the day for at least another 3yrs when the kids are all at school & mum returns to f/time work.

RRoof space is restricted. The 8 panels would be in 2 arrays and the extra 2 would be in additon, so not symmetrical but more efficient. I think my first quote was for more panels so I'll revisit this with the next visits.

Tbh I was a little put off by his suggestion to pay £100 deposit last night without having the surveyor confirm his quote!

Thanks once again

tunnel

Knowing now your restricted for space, you could look at a quote for sunpower 327W panels. The price should come in around the £6500 mark(possibly less if you haggle hard) for a 3.27kWp system spread over 2 rooves.

Food for thought for you;)

jimjames

Just had an email earlier from Solar Essence. No idea of the quality of panels but the price was amazing:

3kW 12 panel systems fully fitted from just £5,288
4kW 16 panel systems fully fitted from just £5,949

Dave_Fowler

jimjames wrote: »

Just had an email earlier from Solar Essence. No idea of the quality of panels but the price was amazing:

3kW 12 panel systems fully fitted from just £5,288
4kW 16 panel systems fully fitted from just £5,949

Don't be too amazed, my second system (3kWp) was just under £5,288 and included Solar Edge P.O. and inverter - and that was over a year ago (November 2012).

Dave F

WestonDave

Stainless steel rails sound a good idea in a salty environment because normal steel would rust - right? Except most are put up on aluminium rails so unless there is a wind factor that requires stronger fixings, then this is a smart way of bumping the price up!

I'd personally not have let Safestyle quote for sweeping the front path but that may just be my bias!

ed110220

The other high efficiency panels apart from Sunpower are made by Benq so they would be the other option if you're short on space. They're both available in 327W panels which appear identical in design (they may be the same thing under different names).

Ed

maen

Hi
Did you finally get a good deal in Cornwall? I'm currently getting quoted £8.5k by 2 local companies for a 3.7kwp system which seems excessive.

Henhouse16

Hi all, I have just started looking into the solar panel options around and had the rep from staybrite solar yesterday pm. When he eventually got past all the sales pitch, he quoted £9770 for 12 solar edge panels (3Kw) but for the price of 10 if we signed up quick enough to be marketing partners - no pressure though!! There was lot of talk about inferior foreign panels from competitors that weren't designed for the uk climate and how well 'optimised' his panels were. To be honest, I don't know how to find a firm that I could trust because I just don't know enough about the subject.
Is there an idiots guide to not being ripped off, anywhere?