Do I need solar?

JDills

Hey MSE Peeps!

I am thinking of getting solar, does anyone know the benefits? Does it actually make and save money? I will probably get it interest free (I hope) lol...
Would be great to get some advice.
Cheers

Martyn1981

JDills wrote: »

Hey MSE Peeps!

I am thinking of getting solar, does anyone know the benefits? Does it actually make and save money? I will probably get it interest free (I hope) lol...
Would be great to get some advice.
Cheers

Hiya JDills. Assuming you mean PV (for leccy) not ST (solar thermal for hot water), then have a read of the PV FAQ.

Don't panic about the size, just have a gentle read of sections 1 & 2. If it makes sense, then try reading some of the links within the sections, and maybe have a go at section 5 to get a good estimate of your potential generation.

Once you have the generation, and understand the 3 income streams, then you can start to get an idea of the returns you'll get.

For cost, have a read of some of the recent threads on this G&E board, for a large(ish) system of 4kWp you want to aim for £6k or less. See posts of folk that have recently paid £5.5k or less.

Lastly - Come back and ask many more questions.

Mart.

JDills

Thank you so much! I will have a read then contact some fitters! See what deal I can get.

pw22

If you post your rough location on here, then you might be able to get some good recommendations from other posters.

SailorSam

There have been lots of previous threads about Solar, this is probably the main one.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4751353

JDills

Thanks peeps! I made a few phone calls, decided to go for it! And thank you so much for the great info, seems like an awesome idea! Does anyone know any good companies to install them?
I am waiting on a quote from http://www.energyinstalls.co.uk Bristol based. If you got any more you can think of il give them a call, I guess it would be best to get loads of quotes and use the cheapest one.

rustyg

JDills wrote: »

If you got any more you can think of il give them a call, I guess it would be best to get loads of quotes and use the cheapest one.

Be careful before you go with that strategy. The cheapest isn't always the best. Do you want them to cut corners on your installation to save money? Do you want tacky stuff from the bargain bucket sitting on your roof for 20+ years?

Surely with a long-term investment such as this you really want decent quality kit fitted by people who know what they are doing rather than skimping at the outset and have a leaking roof after 5 years but the installer will have long since vanished as he hadn't made a decent enough profit to cover his shoddy workmanship....

JDills

Hmm yes money saving obviously is the best for me! But I dont know much about solar, for me I just want a good company who know what there doing, and of course good quality panels, if anyone knows a good installer please give me there details and il call them on my lunch break.. But all of you have been fantastic!

Minrich

I sacrificed some cost savings by having a well respected large local company do my install (Well i have agreed and signed contract , not yet installed) It added about 10% to the cost which for me is well worth the reassurance.
Now even though i have signed up i still keep thinking about the decision . It has helped looking at what can be achieved in returns ...
They only quote lower values as they are restricted in doing so . Our 4kw install in Suffolk will earn us around £600pa and save around £200pa on our electricity cost , this is on a £6k outlay . So a return on your investment in the first year of around 13% tax free , even if it is just £600pa that would be 10% . A no brainer i think . In any investment you would be lucky to get 3% ...and all the income is tax free ...
We intend to put the feed in tariff money in an account somewhere , perhaps an interest bearing current account (We already have 2 single 1 joint 123 accounts) so we know exactly where were are with the income side of things.
The payments are linked to RPI (expect that to change to CPI)
Once our £6k is back the panels/install will create us an income for free . If that lasts just another 5/6 years we will be fairly happy .
The panels we have are guaranteed for 20 years ... so should produce an income for 20 years ? Probably they will become less efficient , but any free income is better than nothing ?

GO FOR IT - Especially if the money is just sitting somewhere .