Should I remove my solar panels ?

ed110220

Shanaz_Patel wrote: »

Hi
I purchased and had 10 pv solar panels installed by Npower in 2008 with the FITs scheme. I am now selling my house . I thought the solar panels would be an incentive but I guess not everyone is interested in having them!
How easy is it to remove them and then sell them on? What is the best way of doing this? any help/advice/signposting will be greatly appreciated.
thank you

Have any potential buyers actually said that the panels put them off? Some people are confused by tabloid type propaganda and confuse rent-a-roof panels owned by a third party with those that are part of the house and its fixtures and fittings. They read stories about the former causing problems for mortgages etc and don't understand the difference.

Some people may not like the look of them, others do. People who don't like them tend to assume their tastes are universal. Our neighbours opposite have them, their house is lower than ours so they are very visible but I hardly even notice them anymore.

Solar panels registered for FIT are a rather unique feature as you can actually put a pretty accurate yearly value on them and say they will give you £X per year for Y years. What other fixture or fitting does that? A new bathroom or kitchen might be fantastic to one person and hideous to another, but with the FIT a pound is a pound.

Freepost

ed110220 wrote: »

Solar panels registered for FIT are a rather unique feature as you can actually put a pretty accurate yearly value on them and say they will give you £X per year for Y years. What other fixture or fitting does that? A new bathroom or kitchen might be fantastic to one person and hideous to another, but with the FIT a pound is a pound.

I totally agree, my 3.8kWp system provides >£1600pa that’s enough to cover my annual Elec/Gas & water bills for 25 years .... what’s not like!

Incidentally, my house is going on the market next year and if I could take the system with me then I would.


F.

MacMickster

I would never consider buying a house with solar panels fitted. It is not a case of people who come to view the property saying that solar panels put them off. Those of us who think that they are a blot on the landscape simply wouldn't view the property in the first place.

£1000 per year from the feed in tariff? A pittance if it knocks thousands of pounds off the value of the property.

I'm sure that in 10 to 20 years time solar panels will be smaller, more efficient and less downright ugly. Until then I, and many others, will give them (and any property with them) a miss.

Some people may not like the look of them, others do. People who don't like them tend to assume their tastes are universal. Our neighbours opposite have them, their house is lower than ours so they are very visible but I hardly even notice them anymore.

It is possible that someone who installed a 15 foot motorised satellite dish on their roof may be able to receive thousands of additional free TV channels and consequently save on a Sky subscription. I wouldn't view that house either.

I don't believe that my dislike of ugly solar panels is universal, but there are a significant number of people who do share my point of view. If you make an alteration to your property which makes it unattractive to a sizeable proportion of potential buyers then you effectively reduce its market value.

jimjames

Freepost wrote: »

I totally agree, my 3.8kWp system provides >£1600pa that’s enough to cover my annual Elec/Gas & water bills for 25 years .... what’s not like!

Incidentally, my house is going on the market next year and if I could take the system with me then I would.
F.

With panels fitted at the old FIT rate you'd be crazy to remove them in my view. An asset worth £20k-30k plus would be worth nothing once removed as current panel prices have dropped so much.

However I noticed OP said they were fitted in 2008. Surely that would be before the FIT scheme was introduced so they'd get no FIT payments?

madharrier

Since 2008, the cost of solar panels has come down. Installation is a considerable part of the cost, you will also leave marks on the roofs where the panels used to be installed. I would NOT remove them.

tunnel

MacMickster wrote: »

I would never consider buying a house with solar panels fitted.

MacMickster wrote: »

It is possible that someone who installed a 15 foot motorised satellite dish on their roof may be able to receive thousands of additional free TV channels and consequently save on a Sky subscription. I wouldn't view that house either.

It's a good job I'll be keeping my house then with it's £2k a year FiT AND it's many thousands of free tv channels(only a 1.5m dish might I add)

Cardew

[QUOTE=EricMears;69566024
Well fitted, solar panels would never be 'ugly' - but in any case, anything on the roof will always be completely invisible to anyone inside the house. [/QUOTE]

Some people may not like the look of them, others do.

Really? Does anyone seriously consider that solar panels enhance the appearance of a property or area?

Government guidelines

If you live in a house within a conservation area or World Heritage Site the roof slope on which the panels are fitted must not face onto and be visible from a road

.

tunnel

Cardew wrote: »

Really? Does anyone seriously consider that solar panels enhance the appearance of a property or area?

Maybe not enhance. but I have black on black panels facing the roadside on a black roof, which are much better looking than the garish bright red roof tiles that have been placed on the roof of a house on the row behind me, that's a row of black rooves, sticks out like a saw thumb, makes my panels look very unobtrusive.

jimjames

Maybe the OP needs to clarify dates. If installed in 2008 they would not be getting FIT payments, the scheme only came into effect in 2010.

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/domestic/feed-tariff-scheme
For any house sale you need to make sure your info is accurate and can give the buyers details of exactly what was installed, what payments you get and any restrictions.

Oscargrouch

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

Well I'm sure that you installed your solar panels because of ecological 'save the planet' reasons, not because you could get a great financial return on an investment, but not everyone is that altruistic.

I installed mine purely to get FIT payments and to save on electric bills... If, I ever buy another house it will have to be one with PV fitted. I would not buy a house that has a 'Rent a Roof' system fitted. If I did decide to sell my house, the buyer would have to appreciate the value of the System installed or he/she could do one. My system is at the front, but who looks into the sky when arriving at a house? Think the OP needs to get the Estate Agent to clarify the benefits and cash to be earned.....Or, arrange viewings after sunset.....:rotfl:

Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religious traditions and secular worldviews, though the concept of "others" toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. 'Me, look after No.1 as no one else will.....