Solar quote - any good?

Blread

Thanks all for a really interesting and useful thread. I'm hoping some companies come forward off the back of this but also I feel much more informed now to negotiate with anyone, and not to get carried away by massive returns being quoted!

tunnel wrote: »

Did you not read my first post, benQ's are sunpowers in disguise, why pay more for the same thing.

Sorry I did read this Tunnel but there's the 25 year warranty with SunPower to consider. Also I was told by another company that BenQ use defective SunPower cells, but this was a SunPower Premier Partner so might have been sour grapes.

Andy_WSM

Blread wrote: »

Also any recommendations for installers in the Bristol area that could deliver at these prices?

This is who fitted mine 4 years ago: http://www.1worldsolar.co.uk/

They were competitive at the time and I've had no issues with installation or equipment since it was fitted.

C_Mababejive

Never trust quotes that involve supply of LEDs.

Blread

ed110220 wrote: »

I was quoted by Solargen UK £5995 for 12x BenQ 330W panels, £4895 for 14x BenQ 285W panels (the narrowest 285W panels I could find as this is the critical dimension for our roof) or £4495 for 14x Yingli 275W panels. £695 extra for SolarEdge inverter and optimisers.

Ed

I've just been quoted the following from Solargen UK:
12 x BENQ 330W (Black Frame) solar panels
1 x Solar Edge SE inverter
1 x Schletter roof mounting kit (layout tbc)
1 x APEX voltage optimiser
1 x Owl Intuition PV monitoring
20 x LED light bulbs
1 x All cables, clips, isolators needed for the installation
1 x Full MCS / NICEIC Installation including the EPC and completion of all the paperwork
£6,895 inc VAT

This is matching my previous quote like for like but is a grand cheaper, so already moving nicely in the right direction thanks to all you helpful people on here. Any thoughts/observations on any of the above? I know it still includes the voltage optimisation which a few of you have said is a waste of money but I figure it can't hurt as long as the price is right?

Does anyone have any experience of using Solargen UK? Ed did you use them in the end??

Blread

Markj1110 wrote: »

Hi Mart, the smaller roof area for panels is more difficult to access, so I was wanting to find out the cost of putting the BenQ panels on the main roof only, but still ending up with a 4kw system. Also it helps me to look at all options, not just the cheapest ones.

Pw22 is correct in what he says, nice to know the sort of price I should be aiming for.

Tunnel is a mind of information and suggestions!! Sub £5k achievable, Wow! He now has me wondering about all Black JA 250W Mono Solaredge embedded panels. Has anybody on the Forum fitted them?

I will keep on investigating. Many thanks for suggestions though, it is very helpful, not just for me, but for other people thinking about installing Solar panels.

Mark

Hi Mark any updates your end? What's your best quote to date?

zeupater

Blread wrote: »

I've just been quoted the following ..

....This is matching my previous quote like for like but is a grand cheaper, so already moving nicely in the right direction thanks to all you helpful people on here. Any thoughts/observations on any of the above? I know it still includes the voltage optimisation which a few of you have said is a waste of money but I figure it can't hurt as long as the price is right?

Does anyone have any experience of using Solargen UK? Ed did you use them in the end??

Hi

Initial thoughts on the VO ... 'figure it can't hurt as long as the price is right?' ...

Have either of the suppliers given any idea of what you'd expect to save from having the voltage optimisation ? ... doubt it, they'll probably waffle on, and on, and on with technobabble about how VO works and totally neglect to mention that it's only really an advantage if you're metered & billed on an industrial/commercial basis .... as for prolonging the useful life of appliances, well, if it's purely resistive (heating element or filament lightbulb) that could be possible, but marginal, that's very, very marginal but if the unit has any form of load/speed control (motors etc) or modern transformer (TV etc) then there should be as close to no benefit as is possible to measure ....

Considering the above, the question comes around to what you would consider paying for something which would have between little & no benefit or monetary saving potential ?? .... once you've thought about it you'll be able to decide whether the price you'd be willing to pay is right or not ... if you're really well off and decide to go down the VO route the eventual realisation that money was effectively wasted won't 'hurt', but it might sting the 'ego' a little, conversely, if you're pushing your finances a little and want to maximise returns on the pv system then the price could almost never be 'right' and would really 'hurt' your returns, probably pushing your breakeven point on the installation back by a year-or-so ...

As for the LED bulbs, well, depending on type/size - if you allow somewhere between £5 & £10/bulb from a local supplier you'll have an idea of what should be charged, so it might be better to ask the installers to itemise the costs and see what their mark-up is - it could make sense to take a trip to you local electrical wholesaler (Alt. Scr3wfix/T00lstation etc) and DIY ....

HTH
Z

ed110220

Blread wrote: »

I've just been quoted the following from Solargen UK:
12 x BENQ 330W (Black Frame) solar panels
1 x Solar Edge SE inverter
1 x Schletter roof mounting kit (layout tbc)
1 x APEX voltage optimiser
1 x Owl Intuition PV monitoring
20 x LED light bulbs
1 x All cables, clips, isolators needed for the installation
1 x Full MCS / NICEIC Installation including the EPC and completion of all the paperwork
£6,895 inc VAT

This is matching my previous quote like for like but is a grand cheaper, so already moving nicely in the right direction thanks to all you helpful people on here. Any thoughts/observations on any of the above? I know it still includes the voltage optimisation which a few of you have said is a waste of money but I figure it can't hurt as long as the price is right?

Does anyone have any experience of using Solargen UK? Ed did you use them in the end??

Hi, not yet. My situation is a bit different as the solar bit will be the last and probably most straightforward of a whole chain of things that needs doing... Back boiler needs replacing (waiting for Instagroup to say when they can do it), then the old chimney flue can be removed, then the present asbestos roof covering removed and replaced and once that's done the solar can be installed.

Solargen just provided the best quote I had, I can't vouch for them. For their main quote they did not include voltage optimisation or anything of dubious value like that, but it was at the bottom as an optional extra.

Ed

Markj1110

Blread wrote: »

Hi Mark any updates your end? What's your best quote to date?

Hi Blread,

Well what a minefield! Plus of course Tunnel throwing in the possibility of using Solaredge embedded panels. I am still waiting for two "local" companys to send me their quotes!, but i have received some others which i will list below. Everything is the same as my previous posting, i.e size, type, shading roof angle etc.

Installer one - No change on the £10,099 price for Solarworld panels, Won't be using that Company!!

Installer two - Prices still the same as before, Canadian-£5750, Solarworld-£6250 and BenQ-£7250, as i have'nt been back to negotiate with them yet. I have asked for a price on Solaredge embedded panels from them and they came back with a price for "PhonoSolar" solaredge embedded panels, rather than the "J A Solar" ones i requested, inc the solaredge inverter etc, the price was £5450, which i thought was not bad, just concerned that they are Poly-Crystalline panels, rather than Mono-Crystalline panels and that opens up another discussion, as i am unsure about the difference in panels, apart from the Poly ones are cheaper to make.

Installer Three

16 Solarworld panels/Solaredge/EPC/Fittings etc - £5935
16 Hyundai panels/Solaredge/EPC/Fittings etc - £5970
16 JA Solar Embedded panels/Solaredge/EPC/Fittings etc -£5799
12 BenQ 330 panels/Solaredge/EPC/Fittings etc - £6662

As I said still waiting for more prices, but they are heading in the right direction.

As long as you base your FIT/Feed In/Electricity used calculations on your own figures, rather than other companies, you will have a better understanding of your "actual" savings rather than the rather larger figures most companies produce for you.

I am tending to lean towards the more expensive 12 BenQ panels on one roof, rather than the 16 across two roofs, but I am very tempted by the JA Solar panels! - Decisions, Decisions!

Hope that all makes sense, when i have some more prices, or make my decision I will post them on the Forum.

Mark

pw22

"the price was £5450, which i thought was not bad, just concerned that they are Poly-Crystalline panels, rather than Mono-Crystalline panels and that opens up another discussion, as i am unsure about the difference in panels, apart from the Poly ones are cheaper to make."

Hi Mark, the above has been discussed a number of times on here and the thoughts of most posters are that there is no difference (I think that is what Tunnel and Mart said)

Martyn1981

pw22 wrote: »

Hi Mark, the above has been discussed a number of times on here and the thoughts of most posters are that there is no difference (I think that is what Tunnel and Mart said)

Yep. I've never been able to get to the bottom of it. I think for sunny countries the mono panels (the cells are made from a single (mono) slice of silicon) perform a little better. But for the UK with our slightly poorer climate, you can't ignore the contribution to annual generation from sustained poor periods, and the low start up and finish of each day. Apparently (really not sure anymore) that is when the polys (cells made from multiple bits of silicon) do a bit better.

I'm simply going to assume now, that given the lack of any really solid argument either way, that it must be a draw, or good as. That said, all mine are mono's and I was told they were better when my installs were done, but I can't back those arguments up now.

Mart.