Is this a good quote for Solar?

Crowmann

Hi


Just had 4.24 kw fitted (well actually six weeks ago but faulty inverter meant poor numbers) so I have been lurking reading what folks get out of their system.


At first I thought I had been done with only 2kw some days but now we seem to be pretty much on trend with 2.6 OP's yesterday - us West Norfolk.


The FIT papers went into EON - not heard back - is this a concern?

Cardew

GaryL1957 wrote: »

I live in Leeds and the roofs face West and East

IMO 2,421kWh pa seems very low for that installation/orientation and as said earlier, installation cost too high.


Others may wish to comment.

NacNac

Hello Gary

I am also in the process of selecting a company. While the cost has many factor (quality of the equipment), if the company has its own scaffold or not etc... in 2015 you should not pay more than 6000 pounds for a standard level installation including device to heat your water if you have a water tank

I got a quotation with Omnik but different panels (Ahead) just above 6000.

Your estimation is quite strange. I guess better be conservative but nonetheless even on a west (8 panels) and east (8 panels) orientation you should expect above 3000kWh.

Have you got quotation from other companies.

I got 3 quotations so far and they went from 5300 (but cheap equipment ) to just above 6000.

As said, I am in the process (signing agreement after Christmas now) and I would have not gone for 6990. My view though. If you are running out of time, let see that even if you pay 1000 more than me, as you said, it will get you more return than an ISA

Cardew

NacNac wrote: »

As said, I am in the process (signing agreement after Christmas now) and I would have not gone for 6990. My view though. If you are running out of time, let see that even if you pay 1000 more than me, as you said, it will get you more return than an ISA

Agree with your points except, being semantic, the phrase 'more return than an ISA'


The best long term fixed ISA gives 2.55% so on £6,990 your 'Return' is £178 pa compounded. However, and crucially you still have your £6,990 in the bank.


With PV panels you have spent the £6,990.


Now clearly after xx years(about 14 years is a good estimate) you will have got back YOUR £6,990 and the interest it would have earned and then you start getting an excellent 'return' - provided you have no repairs to pay for in the 20 years.


As has been discussed years ago when FIT was introduced, rather than a return on the investment, it is in some respects like an annuity.


Would I invest £7k with the probability that I would get all my money back in 14 years and then start seeing a useful income? - No Way!

NacNac

HI Cardew

thanks for your comment. I see your point. The cash put in the panels is not longer available as such.

But if you do not need it in a foreseeable future, I still believe it is better spent on PV than on a holiday Holidays only leave you with memories and thousands of photos lol

GaryL1957

Cardew wrote: »

Agree with your points except, being semantic, the phrase 'more return than an ISA'


The best long term fixed ISA gives 2.55% so on £6,990 your 'Return' is £178 pa compounded. However, and crucially you still have your £6,990 in the bank.


With PV panels you have spent the £6,990.


Now clearly after xx years(about 14 years is a good estimate) you will have got back YOUR £6,990 and the interest it would have earned and then you start getting an excellent 'return' - provided you have no repairs to pay for in the 20 years.


As has been discussed years ago when FIT was introduced, rather than a return on the investment, it is in some respects like an annuity.


Would I invest £7k with the probability that I would get all my money back in 14 years and then start seeing a useful income? - No Way!

Some good points made here and above, thanks. My problem is that I do have the money, it isn't earning much interest but I do have other things I could do with it, eg work around the house. The point about the difference between investing and keeping the deposit and losing the lump sum and getting no return for 12 years (on my projections) is very well made.

I had been considering paying £1000 more for this than I should to avoid the reduction in FIT. Now I'm not so sure.

I'm confused about the low generation estimate too. We do have trees here but it's a high building and I wasn't aware of that much shade on the roof.

Thanks again.

tunnel

GaryL1957 wrote: »

£6990
3.99 kW
Solar Modules 14 JA Solar JAM-60/285-PR modules
Module Dimensions 39.0" x 65.0"
Inverter(s) Omnik Omniksol-4.0k-TL-2
First Year Production* 2,421 kWh
Consumption Offset 30%

That's way too much money for what it is

Cardew wrote: »

IMO 2,421kWh pa seems very low for that installation/orientation and as said earlier, installation cost too high.

Have to agree with Cardew on this one. An E/W split would normally produce around 80% of a "normal" south facing roof but would have a better continuation of generation throughout the day
Try putting your details in to this site for a better idea of your estimated generation
http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps4/pvest.php
As an example I pinned central Leeds and got around 2900kWh a year


Also maybe get outside(when we get some sun) and check your roof for any sign of shading, if your going to get any....it's at this time of the year

GaryL1957

tunnel wrote: »

That's way too much money for what it is


Have to agree with Cardew on this one. An E/W split would normally produce around 80% of a "normal" south facing roof but would have a better continuation of generation throughout the day
Try putting your details in to this site for a better idea of your estimated generation
edited (new user not allowed to put in links)
As an example I pinned central Leeds and got around 2900kWh a year


Also maybe get outside(when we get some sun) and check your roof for any sign of shading, if your going to get any....it's at this time of the year

Hi,

I've tried to use this estimation site but don't really know how to populate the right hand grid form - I can find my house but that's about it? It's not easy (for me) to relate the data in the quote, where sometimes two figures are given (eg. pitch and azimuth) but there's only one option in the grid form?

My quote also refers to 75/71% annual shading which I guess is quite a lot? The thing about the trees is that at this time of year they provide no shade as they are bare and in the summer the sunlight hits the roof above the trees.

Thanks again for all your help.

tunnel

Hi Gary
It's quite easy once you know how.
First pin your location on the map
Under installed peak power put 2(2kWp E/2kWp W)
Slope is the pitch of your roof, its set as a standard 35 deg, just change to suit
Under Azimuth first put in -90 for the east facing roof and then click calculate
You'll see a box pop up with a year total at the bottom(left hand figure)
Rinse and repeat then using 90(west) and add the 2 totals


As for shading, there's plenty of ways to manage shading, either with solaredge or micros.
In effect they both manage the panels separately rather than in a string which is the common way of installing for houses without shading.


It DOESN'T come at much more of a premium either so don't be fobbed off with expensive quotes

GaryL1957

tunnel wrote: »

Hi Gary
It's quite easy once you know how.
First pin your location on the map
Under installed peak power put 2(2kWp E/2kWp W)
Slope is the pitch of your roof, its set as a standard 35 deg, just change to suit
Under Azimuth first put in -90 for the east facing roof and then click calculate
You'll see a box pop up with a year total at the bottom(left hand figure)
Rinse and repeat then using 90(west) and add the 2 totals


As for shading, there's plenty of ways to manage shading, either with solaredge or micros.
In effect they both manage the panels separately rather than in a string which is the common way of installing for houses without shading.


It DOESN'T come at much more of a premium either so don't be fobbed off with expensive quotes

Thank you. Now in all the Christmas Day fun and madness will try tomorrow.