Solar Post-FIT

aq42

(I posted this in Energy but it was suggested I repost here)

We have a large roof and I have been thinking about solar for a number of years. We also run a Nissan Leaf and are thinking about changing the diesel estate for something that will plug in. Unfortunately, with the large roof came a large mortgage and that has been taking priority. However, we are going to get an inheritance soon that will take care of the mortgage and leave a bit over.

Because of the FIT, everything I can find on the web has been of the 'call us for a quote' or, even worse, 'give us your phone number so we can call you' variety. I always like to do my own research before i speak to someone trying to sell me something. So -

1 Does anyone have a way of getting an objective picture of what is possible with my property (including a battery) and what it might cost?

2 How do the economics stack up post-FIT. In particular, will it lead to suppliers charging less?

3 Unless and until there is a replacement for the FIT, is there a strategy to stop electricity companies getting my unused generation for free? (God knows pretty well every electricity company I have ever dealt with has tried to rip me off with over-estimated bills and high credit balances that earn no interest, so I have absolutely no goodwill for them any more, if I ever had it in the first place.)

Thanks in anticipation.

jcontest

Well, Since FiT payments only ended yesterday (March 31st 2019) then it's hard to know how the UK solar market will react. The UK Gov hasn't published data for 2018-2019 (but I think should be soon) that shows the average cost of solar is £1,400-£1,500 per kW of installed panels. That would put a 4kW system around £5.6k-£6k. The battery system will vary between £3,900 and £8,100.


Go on google, find out what direction your roof faces. You would need to estimate the pitch yourself, google can calculate your roof area but it doesn't take the pitch into consideration so the value it gives will be slightly lower.


The question of will it drop solar panel install cost... That's one that only time will tell. My GUESS is that it's not going to drop it by much. There was far too much capacity in the system as it was, so I think a lot of that artificial inflation cost has dropped by a lot. And if I recall correctly the FiT fee was only like £7 so that's of little to no help.


Personally I would just find someone in your area that does them and get them around for a quote. I would go with two.


One for Grid-Tie that feeds in (Your limited in size due to DNO rules), and One for the max of what your roof would take with a integrated battery solution. There are a LOT of battery solutions out there and honestly it's not easy to give a simple guide, it's not simple.


My worry would be now that the Fit is gone, installers will not need the MCS Accreditation and that could mean less skilled installers start putting these systems in. I have some problems with mine and it was an accredited installer who I also demanded 3rd party insurance from before my install took place. The MCS scheme also didn't allow for pressure-sales tactics or that type of crap that double glazing firms offer... (50% off now, 50% off later, and an extra 50% off from the 50% off of the 50% off you getting for a referral discount loyalty bonus)....


With the FiT gone, a grid-tie system will still make you money when you sell electricity back to the grid. It would be up to you to ask for a price and the supplier to accept the price, it's not a lot and a dedicated export (not generation) meter would be required.

aq42

Thanks. The roof is very unusual. It's a large detached bungalow with a flat central section to prevent it getting too high relative to the adjacent properties, which are also bungalows. The central section is something over 50 m2 and unshaded, although the long axis is SW-NE. There are 30 degree pitches up from the external walls to the flat section, though 3 of these have skylights and a 'feature gable' at each corner. I reckon I could get a lot of panels up there.

My hope is that the end of FiT will lead to much more transparent pricing from the installers. The issue as I see it is that the payback times are quite long, and if people are going to invest in solar the prices need to be at least clearer and probably lower.

And I hear what you say about pressure sales, but the rules didn't stop my elderly neighbour being royally ripped-off when she installed solar.

JKenH

I was interested in more panels asked my installer how prices were moving and he suggested the price of a panel in the UK had dropped by about £15 in the last year. He said that the EU are preventing the Chinese dumping panels. If we were outside the EU then potentially prices could come down dramatically.

thevilla

EU no longer impose anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese panels. I think this happened in September.

JKenH

thevilla wrote: »

EU no longer impose anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese panels. I think this happened in September.

Just had a look on google and you’re right.

Ectophile

If you aren't getting paid for export, then it makes a large incentive to avoid exporting, and use the electricity yourself.


If you have a hot water tank, you can get a solar diverter that hooks up to the immersion heater. When you're generating more than you're using, it diverts excess power to the immersion, giving you a free tank of hot water.


With the right inverter, you can add a battery. It's quite nice to be able to post on MSE after dark while still running on free solar power, but the batteries are still expensive, so in the long run it's doubtful whether the battery will ever pay for itself.

mgbond

I applied to DNO for a bigger system (6kw) 20 panels it was no extra charge and could have asked for 7kw (kickingmyself for not doing this). The cost was £6841 and was installed a couple of weeks ago. I’m the opposite to you as I face ES-WN. But generation is good with a max day so far of 28kw and today I hit a max on the panels of 5.37kw. Very happy. I’m now looking at a battery, although the return on investment isn’t great I just like the idea of not giving all that extra (on top of heating my water) back each day. If you install a battery with the system then I think you can install a 7kw system without DNO but I think inverter is capped at 5kw. So deffo apply to DNO. You can apply for a budgetary quote yourself, this gives you an idea if they are going to charge you due to possible connection changes being required. I’m looking at a 6.3kw Solax battery that I could double up one day. £4100 fitted although of fitting as part of the solar it would only be +5% Vat, after the event I believe it’s std Vat.

ASavvyBuyer

These may be of interest:
www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/octopus_energy_to_outdo_export_tariff_with_outgoing_product

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/e.on_to_bridge_the_fit_gap_with_first_of_its_kind_solar_rewards_export_paym

Dave_Fowler

ASavvyBuyer wrote: »

These may be of interest:
https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/octopus_energy_to_outdo_export_tariff_with_outgoing_product

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/e.on_to_bridge_the_fit_gap_with_first_of_its_kind_solar_rewards_export_paym

It may be because I am trying to access the URLs on a tablet, but both the links come up with error 404, 'page not found'.

Dave F

ASavvyBuyer

Dave_Fowler wrote: »

It may be because I am trying to access the URLs on a tablet, but both the links come up with error 404, 'page not found'.

Dave F

It is because MSE put the https in front of them. I have removed them and the links should work now.