Are solar panels worth it?

longwalks1

our neighbour has solar panels on the back of their house (south facing) and claims (he does like a story or 2, so we never know when to believe him or not) that all his electricity is free, year round and he gets paid between £1000 and £1200 a year from the electricity company for 'extra' that he generates? Does this sound true? I'm sure he said the whole set up cost him about £8000 (we are i Hertfordshire)

He keeps mentioning the batteries he has in the loft that store electricity that isnt needed yet?

Does this sound right, or is he spinning us a yarn?

spadoosh

It would be unusual to have a battery system with a feed in tariff . He could have b astardised some system to do it but thats hard to know without seeing it.

Put your details into this website (many others available, not sure which are better) and it should give you an idea of whether its worth it.

http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/

onomatopoeia99

If you get over to the green and ethical moneysaving section, there is are big topics on solar PV and renewable energy in general, so you are likely to get some more informed opinions from people that have them.

The feed in tariff for solar PV has been massively reduced in recent times, so what you could earn from them may not be the same as what he is earning from them.

Keep_pedalling

If he was an early adopter then he will be getting a very good feed in tariff, and the sort of money he is being paid is achievable (I get half that on my small 6 panel system) He will be getting paid for everything he generates not just the stuff fed to the grid.

He could only avoid all electricity costs with battery storage included, but £8k for panels and a battery system is unrealistic. a 14KWh Tesla Powerwall costs just over £6k fitted.I Might add one once the price falls significantly.

Feed in tariffs have fallen dramatically in the last few years which is why most of the companies supplying domestic SPs are no longer trading. I happened to speak to the company who installed mine recently and they are now only doing commercial projects as it is no longer worth it for private house owners. Their main business is roofing which is why they are one of the few still trading.

thebaldwindowfitter

i had a sales rep at my home last year who was quoting 14k for a 16 panel system with batteries

Ectophile

thebaldwindowfitter wrote: »

i had a sales rep at my home last year who was quoting 14k for a 16 panel system with batteries

That's some seriously expensive batteries, then. A basic solar install shouldn't cost more than about £5000-6000 these days.

thebaldwindowfitter

Ectophile wrote: »

That's some seriously expensive batteries, then. A basic solar install shouldn't cost more than about £5000-6000 these days.

Tesla battery system and another company wanted just under 9k for panels needless to say i didnt go ahead

phil24_7

I paid £5.5k for a 3.98kW system a year and a half ago (a very good price for the SW). I haggled quite a bit and helped to spec it (Black panels with black frames on a low (ish) profile mount.

It returns about £600-700 a year but my brother, who was an early adopter, has a much smaller system and gets quite a bit more than me! He paid £6.5k for his with a decent discount due to it being bought for another customer that changed their mind and had already paid a deposit.

They are worthwhile if the numbers add up, though if you aren't at home during the day much, it wont really affect your energy bills!

My system would have paid for itself in 8 - 10 years and will then be earning money. I will also add a battery or 2 once they become a lot more accessible (cheaper) which will make it even more worthwhile.

When I get the roof re-done I will have the panels mounted in the roof, saving weight and the cost of tiles for this area too, I will also look at adding more panels into a west facing roof for the afternoon sun. In a perfect world I would have a roof solely made up of solar panels, connected to enough batteries to last most nights but that is probably a long way off yet!

In short though, they are a good idea as, even now, the FiT payments will cover the installation (and the first 2 or more inverter replacements) and maintenance for the first 20+ years or so!

krey

It's worth it if you can install them yourself, and buy them panels yourself as well. It's just stupidly overpriced if you pay someone to do it and supply the panels , 3-4x isn't unheard of!

Ectophile

The trouble with a DIY install is that you won't get the magic certificate to go with the install, that allows you to claim the FIT and the value of any electricity you export.

phil24_7

And the FiT payment will more than pay for the installation, overpriced or not! You will also get insurance backed (if your smart) guarantees for the install and equipment as well as someone who knows what they are doing (hopefully!) and how to make sure your roof is capable of the extra loading as well as the lift from the wind.