A New Quote (What do you think?)

ely_ellis

Had reply about the kit....
10 x LG Mono X 280W panels
10 x Enphase M250 micro-inverters
Envoy Gateway.

Found a company on Ebay, same system but with SunEdison 285W panels, fully installed just under £6,000 but this isn't even a trade price!
Must be the 2 mugs that add the extra price!

Update:
Managed to get a price on exact complete system for £3156.18, this is a trade price so has to add VAT onto it. Not sure how VAT is applied on the system, if it is 5% for the whole system or just the panels and then 20% on the other bits, but either way that means they are looking at over £3000 to install the system. Is this the going rate?

Cheers
Martin

pw22

Is that just for the panels and inverter? If so you probably need to add about £500 for rail, hooks, cables etc. The other main cost would be scaffold if needed.

ely_ellis

No, that is for the complete equipment from a UK supplier at trade price for installers. The quote even lists things like hooks, rails switches, meters and even labels!
So, how much would installation costs be including scaffolding?

theboylard

To be honest, I'd just tell the other company to go do one.
Do not let them waste your time anymore, they are just throwing FUD into the mix.

You are smarter than that, move on.

Have a look at some of the companies on flea bay, shortlist the ones you like the look of and contact them to finesse your quote.

Then come back here, post responses, receive praise/jealous comments for getting great prices!

theboylard

Also, to answer your question, generally if you add 1 to 1.5k to your parts price should cover your install with scaffold.

tunnel

Why don't you get the roof measured up first?

It's quite clear the original quoter was talking from where the sun doesn't shine but:-

Just to satisfy your itch
10 x LG's Just over £1500
1 x Samil dual MPPT inverter £500(no need for micros)
Rest of gubbins(rail, switches, cabling etc etc) £500
£2500 total...all of which are RETAIL prices not TRADE.

Prices are from a well known online retail site which can be found here

ed110220

pw22 wrote: »

Hi Martin,

A couple of things ring alarm bells to me -

1. How can they demonstrate that the system is 20% more efficient - yes LG panels and Enphase are reputable brands within the solar market but I think they would have trouble demonstrating that this system performs 20% better than others.
2. I think this has been mentioned previously - micro inverters are excellent if you have shading issues but a dual tracking inverter can cope as well over 2 aspects.
3. That is a big discount and I think they are breaking RECC guidelines by discounting that much. I think the mention about how they need 3 installs in an area is a pressure tactic to make you sign up quickly.
4. I think the price is still too high for 10 panels

Hope this helps.

I think they are exploiting the different meanings of the word 'efficiency' to try and pull the wool over your eyes. People use the term very loosely often just to imply something is good or bad. Technically they could be correct in that their panels may be 20% more efficient than others. LG make panels of between 280 and 305W, while most other panels are around 250W. Simple arithmetic shows that 305 is more than 20% greater than 250.

That's all efficiency means in terms of PV - getting more wattage out of the same area, which is important to you as you have a rather restricted roof space. What is important is the total wattage of the system. One firm's 3kW system on your roof will produce the same output for practical purposes as any other 3kW system if they are both well designed.


Lastly I'd say their overpriced panels aren't anything particularly special. I was quoted £5995 for twelve BenQ 330W panels. Ten of those on your roof, if that is all that will fit, would squeeze out the most electricity generation possible at the moment.

Ed