Solar PV quotations

CutGlass

I've just bought my first house and I'm planning on getting a solar PV system soon, so I've been browsing some of the discussions here as well as gathering quotations. So far I've got numbers from about 6 different companies, and I was wondering if I could solicit people's opinions here?

For reference, due to some local rules I'm only really likely to be able to put anything on the rear roof, which is about 30% and WSW facing. Most companies that have measured it up claim 12 panels should fit. I've driven a Nissan Leaf for the past 4 years, but on weekdays I'm not likely home enough during daylight hours to charge it that much (maybe late afternoon for a bit). In our current (very similar) house we get through about 7000kWh per year, about half of which is, I believe, my car.

So the main offers (all including VAT) that seem appealing to me so far are:

Company 1
12 JA Solar (275W) panels. SolarEdge inverter.
3.30 kWp
£4615

Company 2
12 JA Solar (295W) panels. SolarEdge inverter.
3.54 kWp
£6047

Company 3 (quotation 1)
12 LG Mono Neon R A5 (335W) panels. SolarEdge inverter.
4.02 kWp
£6383

Company 3 (quotation 2)
12 LG Mono Neon R A5 (360W) panels. SolarEdge inverter.
4.32 kWp
£7612

These are some of the better prices of the (24) various quotations I've received, but from reading here I get the impression that they may still be on the higher side. I would appreciate anyone's thoughts or opinions.

pinnks

Hi, and welcome. We'll all pile in pretty quickly with thoughts but here are my first ones.

Do you have any issues with shading of the roof in question? If not it may not be worth paying out for the SolarEdge system (good as it is) as you won't gain much increase in performance from its ability to manage shade on one or other panel if there is no shade.

Also, by shading I mean when the panels are in direct sunlight. My roof with the larger of my two systems faces about 20 degrees south of west and doesn't come into direct sun until shortly before midday. By that time the visible shadow of my chimney has passed over the panels but as they only produce about 200W when getting "borrowed" light (the sun is beating down from the east and south east in the morning, so coming from behind the ridge as it were) the shadow makes virtually no difference. Come 11:30 production ramps up within 30 minutes to max. So, rather than a bell curve of production, a west facing roof gets a half bell curve with a bit of extra to cover your base load before midday and a longer tail into the evening than a south facing roof of course.

My system is 3500Wp (14 panels) and generates (with a bit of shade at times from a neighbour's roof, especially in winter) about 2,800kWh per year.

If you want to go over 3.68kW export capability then you need approval but you can go oversize on the panels and limit the size of the inverter to 3.68kW without going that route. Given that you only go marginally over that with the last quote in your list it is probably worth thinking about the 3.68kW inverter option.

Most of us will suggest going as large as possible but with a fixed number of panels that does come at a price as your quotes show. Going 30% bigger on panel Wp adds about 70% to the quote, so a balance to be struck there in terms of cost and what you think you can do with the electricity you generate, whether you care that it may currently go to the grid and whether you want to max out on kW production to be able to power power-guzzlers like washing machine for free or are content with a lower peak production to power lower wattage devices for longer. You pays your money and takes your changes...

Anyway, enough from me for now otherwise you will be bored to death before the real experts chip in:rotfl:

CutGlass

pinnks wrote: »

Do you have any issues with shading of the roof in question? If not it may not be worth paying out for the SolarEdge system (good as it is) as you won't gain much increase in performance from its ability to manage shade on one or other panel if there is no shade.

There is a small amount of shading likely from a couple of sources at different times. I'm not sure it's enough to warrant the SolarEdge being needed, but I also liked the idea of the monitoring software I've seen for it. It didn't seem much of an additional expense, so I thought I'd go for it anyway.

pinnks wrote: »

If you want to go over 3.68kW export capability then you need approval but you can go oversize on the panels and limit the size of the inverter to 3.68kW without going that route. Given that you only go marginally over that with the last quote in your list it is probably worth thinking about the 3.68kW inverter option.

Interesting. Most of them said the cut-off was 4kW, but that getting approval likely wouldn't be difficult either way.

pinnks wrote: »

Most of us will suggest going as large as possible but with a fixed number of panels that does come at a price as your quotes show. Going 30% bigger on panel Wp adds about 70% to the quote,

That's one bit I'm struggling to get my head round. Between the last two options, for example, is it worth paying an extra £1200 for an extra 0.3kWp? I'm inclined to think not, but I wanted to see what others might think.

pinnks wrote: »

so a balance to be struck there in terms of cost and what you think you can do with the electricity you generate, whether you care that it may currently go to the grid and whether you want to max out on kW production to be able to power power-guzzlers like washing machine for free or are content with a lower peak production to power lower wattage devices for longer. You pays your money and takes your changes...

That's a good point, and one that I probably should have mentioned. My wife is home most of the day (and especially afternoons) with our kids, so I am hoping we are able to make good use of the power being produced.

I should also add that, within the ranges of what I've posted above, I'm not too bothered about the initial cost and return on investment. This is being paid for out of the money left over after getting a cheaper price than I expected for the house and I just consider it kind of part of the house purchase. At the same time though, I don't want to be throwing extra money at it for little extra gain.

rustyg

CutGlass wrote: »

. So far I've got numbers from about 6 different companies, and I was wondering if I could solicit people's opinions here?

These are some of the better prices of the (24) various quotations I've received, but from reading here I get the impression that they may still be on the higher side. I would appreciate anyone's thoughts or opinions.

How many more companies are you planning to speak to? Forgive me, but only one of these companies will be successful and the rest will have wasted precious time and resources dealing with you. If every householder behaved like this before selecting a tradesman, they would have to increase their prices massively to cover their costs.

Find someone who knows what they are doing and trust them to do a good job for you. Don't go for the bargain basement option as this is a long-term investment. Many people from this forum had their PV systems installed by the same company based on recommendations here. Guess what - some ended up regretting it as that installer disappeared without trace.

CutGlass

rustyg wrote: »

How many more companies are you planning to speak to? Forgive me, but only one of these companies will be successful and the rest will have wasted precious time and resources dealing with you. If every householder behaved like this before selecting a tradesman, they would have to increase their prices massively to cover their costs.

Unless someone here gives me good reason to, I probably won't speak to any more companies. 6 is probably more than I expected to, but the first two didn't fill me with any confidence at all. If I'm going to spend several thousand pounds on something, I need to be comfortable with my options.

rustyg wrote: »

Find someone who knows what they are doing and trust them to do a good job for you. Don't go for the bargain basement option as this is a long-term investment. Many people from this forum had their PV systems installed by the same company based on recommendations here. Guess what - some ended up regretting it as that installer disappeared without trace.

This bit is a good point, though. I struggled a little bit finding much information about any solar PV companies, and there are so many I wasn't sure where to start. The main one I could find information on (Project Solar) seems to be mentioned here usually as being overpriced. The list above is based on those people I dealt with where I felt they seemed to be competent and trying to produce a reliable system, rather than the cheapest option.

All that being said, do you think those seem like reasonable prices given the information I have provided?

ASavvyBuyer

As you say, trying to find good companies can be difficult, so it is worth asking for advice & recommendations. Even if that does mean approaching more than you expected to find a company that you are comfortable with. We had six companies visit when we were getting quotes. Some turned out to be typical salesmen and pushy, but others were very good at explaining the options. Guess who got the business, even though they were not the cheapest.



From the quotes you have, No.1 is the most reasonable, the others appear to be a bit overpriced for the small increase in output. However, from what others have achieved, IMO you should be able to get 300watt panels for the same as No.1 price with a bit of hangling.


Regarding Solaredge, I agree the monitoring is good even if you don't have a shading problem. It is worth bearing in mind that the panels tend to have a 5-10% tolerance on their output. Therefore, without the solaredge optimisers, all the panels can be restricted to the lowest performing panel. With the solaredge optimisers, you can get the maximum possible out of each panel.

Merlin139

I went for a SolarEdge system and I am very glad that I did. My main shading issue comes from my neighbour who is to the West based on the direction my panels facing South.

Their house is built at a 40% angle to mine and because of a different shaped roof it becomes a shading issue from around 17:00 at the summer equinox. 2 hours later all my panels are in shade. They still producing but obviously at a reduced rate.

I did one day set up a camcorder and record how the shadow effects my production, against what each panel produces. I also noted that my TV Arial effects production during the day it is on the East side of my panels and can effect 2 panels at a time during the day.

If you have the time maybe set up a camera on a sunny day and take photo's every 15 minutes where the shading will effect your roof. You would then see how the shading will effect your production. If it only effects one side or the top or bottom then you could get the installer to set up the 2 strings of panels so only 1 would ever be effected.

In the 4 years 2 months I have had my system my best panel has produced 1.25 MWh's and my worst 1.09 MWh's. Really glad I went with SolarEdge.

Have you also looked at an Iboost to divert generation to heat water depending on how your already do this?

Coastalwatch

ASavvyBuyer wrote: »

As you say, trying to find good companies can be difficult, so it is worth asking for advice & recommendations. Even if that does mean approaching more than you expected to find a company that you are comfortable with. We had six companies visit when we were getting quotes. Some turned out to be typical salesmen and pushy, but others were very good at explaining the options. Guess who got the business, even though they were not the cheapest.

I too had a similar experience, even investigating online at Companies House the history and financial soundness of each. In the end I went with a local company with a sound background and excellent reviews. They weren't the cheapest but did offer to match like for like quotes. Very pleased with the installation itself and reponses since.
Have to agree with all suggested so far. If however you do have another section of roof in a southerly facing direction it might just be worth testing the strictness of local bye laws to see if an increase in output could be achieved as to do it later would mean no FIT or Export payment. I was going to wish you Good luck, but it seems like you've done most of the donkey work taking a large slice of the luck aspect out of the equation!

pinnks

I agree the comments and thoughts on SolarEdge - as long as you are making your decision on a sound basis.

On the 3.68kW v 4kW, the first is the limit in terms of exportable to the grid whereas until recently 4kW was the cut-off for a lower FiT. That has been removed, so no longer an issue. If you do want to go large you may get charged a fee for the application (couple of hundred) or may not depending on where you are. If the DNO flags issues the cost to overcome them will tell you to walk away but if there is not too much other PV in your area you will probably sail through.

If you search on my name and shading you'll find my thoughts on the issue and the impact of my 5% to 10% and my TV aerial, which has now found itself a new home!

There is also some useful info on https://www.yougen.co.uk and links to installers which might help. Also, if you give your general location people on here may be able to recommend installers.

I agree with the thoughts about adding 300W panels to quote 1. Price increase should be quite small.

Do you have an immersion tank? If so you should consider a diverter to put excess generation into your immersion. This saves me about £100 per year in gas. Mine in an immerSUN but not sure if they are sill available as firm went under and although bought out not sure if restarted production. There is the iBoost which is popular and I recently saw that the brains behind the immerSUN have started a new venture with the EDDI that replaces the immerSUN and the ZAPPI which does the same for charging an EV. See if your installer can include one or both in the quote (the ZAPPI qualifies for a govt grant almost equal to its price, not that I have an EV - lol

Good hunting

tunnel

rustyg wrote: »

How many more companies are you planning to speak to? Forgive me, but only one of these companies will be successful and the rest will have wasted precious time and resources dealing with you. If every householder behaved like this before selecting a tradesman, they would have to increase their prices massively to cover their costs.

You're kidding right?
If every tradesman/company were reasonably priced then the OP wouldn't need to contact so many in the first place.

As a matter of interest would you take that stance if you were buying a car/kitchen/bathroom? I wouldn't and don't, i get multiple quotes especially if i'm buying something in the £k's

To the OP, prices are a little too strong. I did a quick search for panels and found these. When you tally up with all the associated extras(mounts,cables,switches,scaffolding,inverter,optimisers) and some fitting costs i'd still hope for around £5k-£5.5k for a near 4kWp system with solaredge and a known brand panel.

CutGlass

pinnks wrote: »

There is also some useful info on [new user can't post links] and links to installers which might help. Also, if you give your general location people on here may be able to recommend installers.

I'm looking around Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire.

pinnks wrote: »

I agree with the thoughts about adding 300W panels to quote 1. Price increase should be quite small.

Thanks. I'll try to contact them today to see what they can do.

pinnks wrote: »

Do you have an immersion tank? If so you should consider a diverter to put excess generation into your immersion. This saves me about £100 per year in gas. Mine in an immerSUN but not sure if they are sill available as firm went under and although bought out not sure if restarted production. There is the iBoost which is popular and I recently saw that the brains behind the immerSUN have started a new venture with the EDDI that replaces the immerSUN and the ZAPPI which does the same for charging an EV. See if your installer can include one or both in the quote (the ZAPPI qualifies for a govt grant almost equal to its price, not that I have an EV - lol

I do have an immersion tank at the moment, but I was considering saving up for a year or two and getting a new condensing combi boiler. So I'm not too sure how much it would be worth me getting an iBoost or Eddi. I did look at them, and one of the installers told me they're pretty easy to install and I could probably do it myself, so it's a plan I'm still considering once I've got all the other stuff out of the way.

I like the look of the Zappi, but I don't think I can justify the £500 cost considering that I already have a charger. I'm not sure what grants you mean. The only ones I know of are the old OLEV grants and I think they're mostly gone now. I used up my shot on the charger I got 4 years ago, anyway.