Thinking of installing Solar Panels

hollie.weimeraner

I have a South/ South East facing roof and am thinking of having solar panels installed.
I should have enough room for a 4Kw system but as I have a combi boiler for my heating system I can't use my power to heat my water system.
My electric usage over the last 12 months is just under 5,000 kwh and I am wondering if the installation is going to be cost effective at around the £5,000 mark.
I live in Sheffield and have nothing that blocks sunlight from my roof.
If anyone can give me some pointers towards the best way of calculating the costs involved I'd be grateful. I have had a look at some spreadsheets but they seem to take water heating into account.

tunnel

Welcome,
Work on 25% usage of your generated power(for Sheffield that's around 900kWh)
Your Fit should be around £550-£600 a year for both your generation and export
Added together that should be around £700-£750 return a year


Depending if you're in during the day to make the most of the generation then your usage can increase thus giving better savings on your leccy bill and better returns for your investment
How many quotes have you had so far, being not too far away from me you may be able to get that price down to £4.5k meaning even better returns


Tunnel

hollie.weimeraner

tunnel wrote: »

How many quotes have you had so far, being not too far away from me you may be able to get that price down to £4.5k meaning even better returns
Tunnel

Thanks for the response. We haven't had any quotes yet as we have only just started thinking about this due to seeing nearby properties installing them.

If you can point me in the direction of any decent local installers I'd be grateful

oldskoo1

Tunnel says it best

You may also find these sites useful

to calculate sun position based on your roof
http://suncalc.net/

Look at what nearby arrays are generating... register, sign in and use the search box and type the first part of your postcode then 50km. E.g. WS13 50km
http://pvoutput.org

This gives you a month by month breakdown of expected generation, taking into account your location, install, tilt and orientation
http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps4/pvest.php?lang=en&map=europe

You can use that to calc expected returns. So the yearly generation x 0.138 (or whatever the current FIT is). Then 50% of that x 0.048 or whatever the current export rate is.

Then you can estimate that you will cut your electricity bills by maybe half? So then you can work out your total saving.

Any water heating device if used optimally, such as turning off your boiler in the morning between march and end of october and setting the immersion stat higher than the main indirect (boiler heated hot water stat) stat, you are likely to pay back the cost of install £300 in around the same time as the solar panels, maybe less depending on your quote. I think if i recall the payback on my iBoost is about 5 years. Gas is cheaper but every little helps, and why not.

I agree with tunnel, you should probably be able to achieve the price he stated.

oldskoo1

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

Thanks for the response. We haven't had any quotes yet as we have only just started thinking about this due to seeing nearby properties installing them.

If you can point me in the direction of any decent local installers I'd be grateful

I recommend you get 5 quotes and compare.

I judged them on their assertiveness, willingness to help and clarity of their desktop quote procedure and info provided.

I then looked at their generation figures and their recommendations.

I generally ruled anyone who tried to bundle in silly extras or wouldn't break down the cost a waste of time.

Generally speaking you get better quotes from local(ish) installers vs nationwide chains.

Martyn1981

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

I have a South/ South East facing roof and am thinking of having solar panels installed.
I should have enough room for a 4Kw system but as I have a combi boiler for my heating system I can't use my power to heat my water system.
My electric usage over the last 12 months is just under 5,000 kwh and I am wondering if the installation is going to be cost effective at around the £5,000 mark.
I live in Sheffield and have nothing that blocks sunlight from my roof.
If anyone can give me some pointers towards the best way of calculating the costs involved I'd be grateful. I have had a look at some spreadsheets but they seem to take water heating into account.

Hi.

For some basic advice and a breakdown of income and savings, you can start with the PV FAQs.

Sounds like you have an ideal location, so just need to get some good quotes.

Mart.

hollie.weimeraner

Just a quick thank you to everyone that replied and pm'd me regarding this matter. The help and advice was excellent.

I have just signed up for a 15 panel 4kw system with Canadian solar 265 black panels with a Sunny Boy 3600TL and sunny view monitor for £5,600. That quote was over £500 cheaper than the next cheapest which didn't include a monitor and used a Fronius Inverter. The most expensive came in at £7,800 with a Samil Inverter so the difference is staggering.

My cheapest quote of 5 also just happens to be the company that inspired most confidence and has excellent reviews over 5 years.

hollie.weimeraner

Last update on this. I used a company called CTS renewables from Mansfield and had the system installed at weekend. very pleased with the install and can honestly say they are the best commercial company I have ever used. I would recommend them to anyone on here for a Solar Install.