help with solar pv - south west london

Cardew

django01 wrote: »

Another question - my leccy supplier don't do FIT tariff. Can i apply to any of the other suppliers without changing my supply over to them? EDF seem to have a good reputation for paying out quick.

Affirmative. Payment of FIT is not tied to the firm who supply your property.

You can keep FIT payments with the firm you choose for the 20 years.

[Deleted User]

django01 wrote: »

Finally, pulled the trigger on this project and placed the order. I was hoping for a vendor who will not ask me for my first born!! Turns out the wait was futile!!

Although I (with lot of difficulty) got some attention from google earth jockeys - with some very aggressive pricing, I could only get the one quote from a guy who did the impressive bit of turning up onsite, climbing up the roof and measuring. Pricing £6700 for 15 X 285's (4275w) I think the exchange rates post Brexit have also played a role in keeping prices high. Thanks again to this group..

Another question - my leccy supplier don't do FIT tariff. Can i apply to any of the other suppliers without changing my supply over to them? EDF seem to have a good reputation for paying out quick.

I use npower for FITs. Online recording of meter readings and speedy pay-out. never had an issue and when I've had to call them e.g. change account monies are paid to there are no long waits on the phone etc

pinnks

Similarly, I use EOn and not had any issues. Online system and fast payment. There is thread on here where we all go on about our experiences and how things have got better or worse - worth reading - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3512647

django01

Thanks Cardew, jeepjunkie & pinnks.

Martyn1981

django01 wrote: »

Another question - my leccy supplier don't do FIT tariff. Can i apply to any of the other suppliers without changing my supply over to them? EDF seem to have a good reputation for paying out quick.

Hiya. I'm with EDF and they are excellent. Also the Green Team is really helpful, which might help if you need to contact them about the FiT application.

If your leccy provider doesn't 'do' FiTs, you should be fine. The only restriction is that the Big Six won't accept you for FiTs, if you have an account with one of the other Big Six (or their sub-companies), sort of forcing you to register with the company you are with - but that doesn't sound like it applies to you. So if you have any plans to change supplier now, you may want to register for FiTs first. Once the FiT is set up, you can switch your leccy account as and when you wish, your FiT account won't be affected.

Mart.

django01

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions. We have finally installed the system yesterday evening. System installed is a 15 X LG 310's, 4.65KW, with SMA sunny boy 3.6 TL inverter.
Paid £6100.

Chose to go with LG since we had concerns whether solarworld would go the sun edision way. Figured LG might just be around for longer (time will tell!). Although I quite liked the solaredge solution, the fear of future scaffolding costs should optimisers fail, put paid to that! Therefore SMA inverter.

Installation was completed in one day and installer generated the MCS certificate on the spot and helped me fill in the FIT application form. Very good experience throughout the install. We chose to go with EDF energy for the FIT payments.

The system has generated 7611 WH so far today. It was weird watching the leccy meter run backwards. Have told the supplier extraenergy to do something about it. The SMA portal is good with reporting. I thought I will report here, before updating the generation thread.

Thanks again all!!!:beer:

django01

Please could you advice me on what documentation I need from the solar PV installer for warranty and insurance claims etc...My installation has 5 year workmanship warranty.. What happens if (god forbid) my installer goes under?

I have gone ahead with a string inverter (SMA) to avoid the potentially costly failures on the roof... I have found out that I need to inform my mortgage provider and home insurance provider. I will do these 2 things off within the week.

The FIT application is now processed through EDF and they have sent me confirmation that all is well etc...

Another minor issue is that I am finding PV monitoring very addictive

Apologies for this unstructured preamble... but am i missing anything crucial ?

Martyn1981

django01 wrote: »

Please could you advice me on what documentation I need from the solar PV installer for warranty and insurance claims etc...My installation has 5 year workmanship warranty.. What happens if (god forbid) my installer goes under?

I have gone ahead with a string inverter (SMA) to avoid the potentially costly failures on the roof... I have found out that I need to inform my mortgage provider and home insurance provider. I will do these 2 things off within the week.

The FIT application is now processed through EDF and they have sent me confirmation that all is well etc...

Another minor issue is that I am finding PV monitoring very addictive

Apologies for this unstructured preamble... but am i missing anything crucial ?

Hiya, congrats.

Is the guarantee 'insured', in which case you want a copy of that to prove you are covered if the installer goes through.

Hopefully your mortgage company won't bat an eye at this, they just need to know if you make any significant changes to the property. If they are at all concerned, then they are probably misunderstanding the situation. Make sure they realise you own the system ..... perhaps mention that your income (ability to make mortgage payments) has now gone up for the next 20yrs.

The same goes for the insurer. Check that the PV system is now simply covered as part of the building structure. It should have no effect on your premium at all (unless there's a small fee to make amendments). You probably have a silly rebuild cost that is many times greater than would be needed.

Million to one, but read the EDF contract before you sign and return it, just in case they've made a mistake with the FiT and/or export rate (unlikely).

Addictive, nonsense, I've had PV for over 5yrs, and any day now I'm going to stop recording daily generation. I can stop anytime I want ....... it's up to me .......... I want to keep doing it .......... look, just get off my back OK!!!!

django01

Hi Mart, Thank you for the advice. Its a relief to know that I have not missed anything significant.