Solar quote, Norwich area. Help!

darknite1

Had a quote for Solar panels. Company called staybritesolar. 2 panels for free, £7665 for 11 panels 2.75kw system. Roof can take 13. Now from reading this forum this sounds about 2.5x the price I should be looking at. . . . . There was no haggle, no hard sell either. Nice presentation guy worked out the numbers explained them and left. So in that sense I liked them.

So who else do I get a quote from in the Norwich area?

staybritesolar use Pilkington Glass for their panels. Their panels use micro inverters. Are all black. 25 year panel warranty 10 years on everything else. £90pa life time warranty if wanted.

So suggestions? Haggle? Find a different company? Are they telling the truth that foreign panels don't work as well in the UK climate?

All help welcome

Sterlingtimes

I really did need micro-inverters because of shading. Price was £6,450 for 14 * 270 watt panels = 3,780 watts. Your price is too high. Will be a lot less if you can avoid micro-inverters. Most panels are fit for purpose, so what is the benefit of Pilkington glass? Almost certainly they would not be able to demonstrate by way of facts that "foreign panels" don't work well in the UK climate (it's a ridiculous statement). Are their panels UK manufactured?l

tunnel

Oh dear,
And the cowboys return, forget that quote, its too expensive
If you can only fit around a dozen panels then look at benq 330wp panels, you should be able to get a cheaper quote for nearly a 4kWp system.

Micros? Do you have any shading, if not then it's an unnecessary expense

Do get more quotes and I'm certain someone will give you a recommendation fora ccompany that won't rip your eyes out.

darknite1

Interesting. They explained using the micro's meant panels worked independently rather than in rows?

To be honest i'm reading more and more and it seems prices vary greatly by area.

Mainly hoping someone will suggest a better local company. Did a search and about 30 come up!

Is there any truth about panels made abroad are not so great in our climate? Their webiste say the following "The panels we install have been produced especially for homes in the northern hemisphere. They are extremely robust and are able to resist damage from heavy rain and hail and other severe weather conditions." True? or lie?

KevinG

darknite1 wrote: »

Interesting. They explained using the micro's meant panels worked independently rather than in rows?

True, but only relevant if you have significant shading issues and it will add to the cost and complexity of the system.

darknite1 wrote: »

"The panels we install have been produced especially for homes in the northern hemisphere. They are extremely robust and are able to resist damage from heavy rain and hail and other severe weather conditions."

I suppose that could be true because rain and hail fall downwards in the northern hemisphere, whereas in the southern hemisphere they fall upwards so do less damage.

tunnel

darknite1 wrote: »

Interesting. They explained using the micro's meant panels worked independently rather than in rows?

To be honest i'm reading more and more and it seems prices vary greatly by area.

Mainly hoping someone will suggest a better local company. Did a search and about 30 come up!

Is there any truth about panels made abroad are not so great in our climate? Their webiste say the following "The panels we install have been produced especially for homes in the northern hemisphere. They are extremely robust and are able to resist damage from heavy rain and hail and other severe weather conditions." True? or lie?

Unfortunately some of the more unscrupulous installers will spin you a line so you sign on the dotted line
Funny how the hundreds of thousands of panels already installed nationwide seem to cope quite effectively with the northern hemisphere climate

Going back to micro's. ..do you have any shading issues?

oldskoo1

Just to give you some perspective i recently had a quote for £4,500 for a 4kW system.

Unfortunately they don't cover your area.

Some companies came back +6k, the next cheapest was £5,200. In fact the cheapest quote i got start by giving me a quote for the system i asked for.

When i asked them to quote for their own equipment, thats when they came back with the cheapest.

More quotes the better and ask for a variety of options and their best quote, take it from there.

thanks

pinnks

You could look for local installers on yougen.co.uk, read the reviews and decide whether to get a quote?

darknite1

yougen only gave me 2 installers for norfolk. Both offering systems for £4950. 16 250w panels 4kw systems. Only 10 years warranty. Sadly silver frames rather than the all black. I'll keep looking for an installer of 300watt+ panels. Maybe Norfolk just isn't that popular for solar?

Piggywiggy

Avoid Starfish renewables they will pester you repeatedly every day when you say you want to think about it to yourself and don't want to be pressured in to it, took 6 months for them to get the hint.

tunnel

darknite1 wrote: »

yougen only gave me 2 installers for norfolk. Both offering systems for £4950. 16 250w panels 4kw systems. Only 10 years warranty. Sadly silver frames rather than the all black. I'll keep looking for an installer of 300watt+ panels. Maybe Norfolk just isn't that popular for solar?

Take the bull by the horns and tell the installers what you're looking for instead of what they'll offer. I advised earlier about higher performance panels,if you don't ask they may not offer, just understand you will pay a higher price for higher performance panels but won't need as many