Advice on solar panel quotes please?

Martyn1981

marcelli wrote: »

... I am not sure how that holds now with the option of batteries, but given that they seem to be quite a price to buy, either outright or via a loan, it seems to me that if you can afford them then it's worth it, which might sound daft but an outright purchase from a healthy bank balance does at least mean that anything you generate or use is a bonus. You certainly have to make the hay while the sun is shining.

I'm a big fan of storage, but it's not worth jumping in yet. I got quotes yesterday for 4kWh of useable storage (8kWh lead acid, or 4.4kWh Li-ion). The prices ranged from £2.7k to £3.8k.

Over 10 years at about £150pa I'd save about £1.5k, so I'd lose money.

I'd also expect prices to fall by £200pa+, so would also lose money v's waiting at the moment.

Environmentally, shifting low carbon generation from the middle of the day to the evening is a good thing, but as coal is dropping fast at the moment, and we are still nowhere near pushing gas generation down to zero at midday, then time shifting PV generation (at the moment) simply displaces gas generation at a different time.

It's also worth noting that the systems I looked at have net efficiencies of 85% LA and 95% Li-Ion, so 'the grid' would see those loses of clean generation, v's simply exporting generation straight to my neighbours whenever gen is greater than demand.

Give it a couple of years and things should be a lot clearer.

tunnel

marcelli wrote: »

...except this quote did not seem to include the battery(ies) which i think the others did. .

That's quite right, but the only quote that did include a battery was for a 3.5kWp system without solaredge and was just shy of £9k
What's the point of having a system on your roof if you don't use the full potential. Did you not see the flue and chimney pics? And now we've learnt that the flue is quite high a standard string inverter would in my opinion be a waste of time.

Martyn1981

wr_uk wrote: »

I immediately get a 50% reduction?

Can I be a little pedantic, but hopefully this will help. It's important to appreciate what the 50% figure relates to, as there are many ways to interpret it.

T's explained the export payment of 50% deemed based on generation, so moving on to leccy savings, there are 3 interpretations:-

1. Some salesmen will suggest you'll consume 50% of generation, but that's hard. I consume 30% and export 70%.

2. Cut your import by 50%, this is easier (depending on initial import and size of PV system). I've cut import from close to 3,000kWh down to about 1,500kWh.

3. Cut bills by 50%, not the same, as most people have a daily standing charge, so you might cut your import by 50%, but the bill won't drop 50% unless you are on a no-standing-charge deal. A NSC deal may be worth considering if import drops enough, but you'll need to run the numbers and compare.

It's difficult to guess at savings as we are all different, hence the PV FAQs suggesting a £80-£160 range. Don't hold it against me, but perhaps work out your estimated generation, then take 30% of that and multiple it by your unit rate p/kWh ........ but this is purely a guess.

wr_uk

lol Jesus .... not as clear cut as I first thought.
Usually if I don't fully understand something I tend not go with it and this is what its turning into. I might just invest in a decent log burner instead

Martyn1981

wr_uk wrote: »

lol Jesus .... not as clear cut as I first thought.
Usually if I don't fully understand something I tend not go with it and this is what its turning into. I might just invest in a decent log burner instead

That set me off on a big laugh, cheered me up no end. I do hope I'm laughing with (not at).

Don't worry, it's all pretty easy (no really) it's just a lot to take in at first. Also you are asking all the right questions, which means you get lots (and lots) of information.

Don't panic, no rush, just have a read and a ponder and it'll make sense slowly ..... once your brain has had a chance to absorb it.

I always think that investing in PV is like buying a car, but no now (when you know what a car does), but back when when folk had horses, and cars were a new magic thing. These days a car is just a car, and we only worry about the price and the right model for us, we simply know what it's for, what it does, and why we want one (or not).

wr_uk

lol... glad I could brighten up your day! yeah its trying to work the figures out really. I have salesmen telling me one thing I have rough guide in the documentation and my actual figures what I pay and the energy I use. Im ok at maths but wasn't one of my better subjects. To be honest CTS have been really good ... no pressure unlike some of the other companies.

Martyn1981

What's your approx location? I can see postcode region 11, but I can't see where. No need to give away your exact address, just nearest city.

From there it should be easy to give a quick guesstimate/breakdown of subsidies, income, savings etc to start you off.

wr_uk

location is doncaster

Martyn1981

wr_uk wrote: »

location is doncaster

Right, PVGIS is predicting 3,360kWh pa generation for doncaster with 4kWp of PV, at -60 from south (SE), and a 40d pitch.

3,360 at 4.18p FiT = £140.49
3,360 at 50% deemed for export is 1,680 at 4.91p = £82.49
Leccy savings estimate at £120

Total = £343 income pa.

Hope that helps. It also shows why you need to get the price down to sub £5k really.

wr_uk

lol.. its melting me head. Just had Ideal solar solutions nice to deal with similar to CTS renewables no pushy, called back to see what I thought of there quote £9902 for 3.5kW system, 14 x Seraphim panels, solax inverter, Battery (UK Made at there head office in Derby) Battery-lite.co.uk and boiler module. I said price was on the high way more than i was initially looking at. He eventually cam down to £6995. He said they guarentee £587.76 Return PA as minimum but said you could add about 15% on top for a more realistic return.