Which power company?

Mobby

Hi,
We're moving to a house that happens to have solar panels. The previous owner has told us that it means we'll get free electricity during the day and that excess is sold on...with us picking up our electricity from a traditional power company when it's dark.
Any thoughts on which power provider we use? Presumably that means we should look for lower unit rates and not worry so much about the standing charge from the traditional power company?
We have looked at price comparison websites but because we haven't moved in yet, we can't estimate our power usage and none of the sites allow you to say that you've got free electricity during the day!
Any thoughts welcome...
Mobby

lstar337

If you have gas central heating and hot water then your electricity use will be fairly stable all year round.

Measure your (typical) consumption at the meter for a week and multiply the number by 52. That'll give you a kWh estimate for the year to plug into a comparison site of your choice.

macman

The FIT's rate are fixed. You don't need to register for FITs with the same company that supplies you, so it's not a factor in choosing a supplier.
You will not get 'free electricity all day'. Depending on your system size, you will get some free electricity in daylight hours, but as soon as you switch a kettle or a shower on, you'll be drawing from the grid as the demand will be more than your panels can supply.. Your solar PV system might supply maybe 40% of your annual usage, which is typically otherwise around 3,300kWh. So you can use any comp site on that basis.
S/C's are a red herring, they make no difference to the annual cost unless you are a very low user.