Solar quote, Norwich area. Help!

ed110220

Given that almost all the major Pv installing nations are in the northern hemisphere - China, USA, various European countries, Japan etc - I would have thought the difficulty would be getting southern hemisphere panels if you needed them ;-)

On a more serious note, definitely ask installers to quote for higher efficiency panels. Many will default to smaller systems using standard panels if you don't ask. After all it's not going to be them who lose out on the potential extra electricity generation!

Jeannine

darknite, have sent you a pm.

Minrich

We used CjSolar in Ipswich - 4kw , Immersun , Solarworld panels £6k . Scaffold was quite complicated and increased the cost. Yes i could have got it cheaper but like to support local business .

StaceL1983

darknite1 wrote: »

Had a quote for Solar panels. Company called staybritesolar. 2 panels for free, £7665 for 11 panels 2.75kw system.

Ohh dear god is that a joke? I'd forget them quickly, did they seem professional? That price seems well out of line with everything we was looking at and we had a 16 panel system installed. Would recommend Oakwood Energy, I think they may cover your area as we are in Ipswich. We paid £5350 in the end for ours and had Hanwah Q cell panels, seen a lot saying to use BenQ panels but we thought they were a little pricey. Good Luck, but whatever you do don't pay £7000+

tunnel

StaceL1983 wrote: »

Ohh dear god is that a joke? I'd forget them quickly, did they seem professional? That price seems well out of line with everything we was looking at and we had a 16 panel system installed. Would recommend Oakwood Energy, I think they may cover your area as we are in Ipswich. We paid £5350 in the end for ours and had Hanwah Q cell panels, seen a lot saying to use BenQ panels but we thought they were a little pricey. Good Luck, but whatever you do don't pay £7000+

If you'd taken the time to read the OP you'd have seen that they are pushed for space, hence the reason why people are suggesting benq or similar higher wp panels, not everyone has the luxury of space for 16 panels.

manda1205

We had a quote from Mr Renewables in Great Yarmouth for Canadian Silver 2.5kw system which was £5000, Panasonics were £7500. We knew they were a more expensive company but wanted a few quotes.
We then went to Solar Energy Alliance which is in Lowestoft and they quoted £3950 for a 2kw system, rising to £5750 for a 4kw system. We have had lots of recommendations from friends etc for Solar Energy Alliance so will most likely use them.
Smaller local companies are usually the way to go.

ed110220

StaceL1983 wrote: »

Ohh dear god is that a joke? I'd forget them quickly, did they seem professional? That price seems well out of line with everything we was looking at and we had a 16 panel system installed. Would recommend Oakwood Energy, I think they may cover your area as we are in Ipswich. We paid £5350 in the end for ours and had Hanwah Q cell panels, seen a lot saying to use BenQ panels but we thought they were a little pricey. Good Luck, but whatever you do don't pay £7000+

How big are your Hanwha panels and what is their wattage each? BenQ 330W panels are relatively pricy, but if you only have a limited roof area they will squeeze the most wattage out of it. Say you only have space for 12 normal sized panels you can still get 4kW using 330W panels but only 3kW with 250W panels... If you have plenty of space then obviously there is little point.

Also the proportional costs aren't too bad. 4kW of BenQ 330W panels at £6000 is the same as 3kW of 250W at £4500.

Ed

darknite1

Just to update people. Got a company doing 2 quotes, 1 based on LG 295watt panels which do get some great reviews, and the other on the benq 330watt panels. Ideally 11 panels as they are about to build beside my house and not sure if it will shade the East facing roof. The company im looking at sell a 16x250watt system for £4750. So i'm assuming 11 panels but larger watt ones shouldn't cost too much more. Once I get a item break down emailed i'll post it here for peoples thoughts. If i can get a 3.25 - 3.5kw system for sub £5k i'll go for it. Will find out soon!

Actually 1 other point im sure one of you will know. Is there a limit to the number of panels? Is it 16? So if I got my garage connected, that would give me space for more. 16x330watts. 5.3kw system? Worth getting a quote? Though I see on calculators the price per kw is less, just over 12p.

darknite1

Ok quote
13 x LG 300w panels – total price including fitting and VAT would be £6450
12 x BenQ 327w panels – total price including fitting and VAT would be £6950
13 x Trina 270w panels – total price including fitting and VAT would be £5250
SMA inverter with Geo monitor

They have suggested a survey to see if the 16x250watt system I offer would be suitable on a house roof/garge roof install.

Martyn1981

darknite1 wrote: »

So i'm assuming 11 panels but larger watt ones shouldn't cost too much more. Once I get a item break down emailed i'll post it here for peoples thoughts. If i can get a 3.25 - 3.5kw system for sub £5k i'll go for it. Will find out soon!

Sadly not as simple as that, and I think you've found that out in your next post. The higher efficiency panels cost increases more than proportionately to output. The cost per Wp is usually quite a bit more, since you're not paying so much for the Watts, but for the technology to squeeze more into a smaller space. But always worth doing the numbers to work out the best package if space is limited.

darknite1 wrote: »

Actually 1 other point im sure one of you will know. Is there a limit to the number of panels? Is it 16? So if I got my garage connected, that would give me space for more. 16x330watts. 5.3kw system? Worth getting a quote? Though I see on calculators the price per kw is less, just over 12p.

There is no limit to the size of system (or number of panels), however there are two important factors, partially linked:-

1. As you mention, the FiT rate for systems that are 4kWp to 10kWp in size is 10% lower, to reflect the proportionately lower cost of a larger system.

2. Unless a system has a capped inverter preventing (theoretical) export exceeding 3.68kW, then you will need to get prior approval from the DNO (district network operator). Depending on the local grid (cabling and other potential exporters) permission may not be given. For systems capped at 3.68kW (most 4kWp installs) the DNO is notified afterwards, and there should be no problems.

If your garage has the same orientation as your main roof, then going bigger might necessitate an attempt to get DNO permission. However, if the orientation is different, then a shared capped inverter may be fine, as generation peaks won't coincide.

Your garage mention does suggest another option - to just go with normal panels, and spread 4kWp over the two rooves. This may be cheaper than using high efficiency panels.

Mart.