Prices and suppliers for solar PV in W Kent

MEVW62

Hi all
I'm looking at taking the solar plunge and found this very helpful forum after getting an initial quote from myplanet (and yes, I have now seen the lengthy thread about them on one of the other forums on MSE).

I've been quoted just under £8k for a 3.92 kWp system of 14 x 280W Sunedison panels, string inverter (model not specified at this stage), immersion heater tie-in, smart controller, remote monitoring, various manufacturer/insurance-backed warranties, etc. There's a £500 discount for so-called 'group fit' but they haven't been too pushy about it yet and say I don't have to pay up front.

From what I read here that looks pretty much on the high side, so can anyone recommend a more reasonably-priced and local supplier/installer? I'm in Tunbridge Wells on the Kent/E Sussex border.

Thanks

Michael

oldskoo1

I think that's more than on the high side.

I recommend you get a few desktop quotes in and see where you end up. When I started the process I picked 5 and rang them. Judged them on their assertiveness, willingness to help and information provided in the early stages.

My prices ranged from £4.5k to 6k.

Low end all Chinese kit, high end all German kit.

You shouldn't be led by supposedly premium kit, just the right kit especially if you have shading. But first explore your options, 5 companies, at least 5 quotes, then ask them for their cheaper options. Then you may want to work up by upgrading the inverter and adding an immersion controller.

I just paid 5k for a 4kW system + iBoost immersion controller, if that helps. Next best quote was 5.3k and then 5.5k then a couple at 6k.

You may find these sites useful
http://suncalc.net
http://pvoutput.org/
http://photovoltaic-software.com/pvgis.php

As for monitoring, I don't have any other systems. My Samil inverter has wifi and pushes fairly detailed running data every 15min. So not great if you are a stat junkie and want realtime data but if gives you voltage/current/power by string or AC every 15 mins plus a very simple overview such as total generation, last recorded, graph for day/m/y etc etc

Ps I'm not n Kent, I'm in the Midlands

jimjames

We used Solar Advanced Systems based in Edenbridge.

4 years ago the cost was almost what you are being quoted now so I'm sure they will be a much more competitive price.

This is them at work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ukxKHW6-c

MEVW62

Thanks to all who replied, I now have some much more attractive quotes. I have some questions about shading, micro inverters and layout of panels across more than one roof but will start a new thread for these as I think the responses may interest others with similar decisions to make.