It's time to start digging up those Squirrelled Nuts!!!!

cfw1994

DT2001 said:

pensionpawn said:

MallyGirl said:

Retireinten said:

DT2001 said:

Retireinten said:

We're thinking of buying a bit of kit that will redirect our excess solar to heat our water via the immersion heater so we could potentially run the house without gas in the warmer months.

Highly recommend - we bought one about 3 years ago as we have an unvented system with a large hot water tank. I reckon it paid for itself in about 2 years, even then. Minimal gas consumption from April to Oct.

Installed it at the weekend, it works a treat. I was ever so slightly hungover on Saturday but even this did not affect the excitement at seeing the immersion heater ramp up to 2.8kwh when we switched it on. It wasn't the best day weather wise yesterday and it still produced enough hot water for a couple of showers.

Really pleased with it, expect to use very little gas now over the next 6 months or so. 

OH has raised the question of using some cash (liberated by early crystallisation of some of his pension) to maybe look at solar panels. It's a big SW facing roof but is in a conservation area so there might be constraints. A long time ago we saw a system that looked like slate - no idea how much the technology has moved on since then. It would also help to keep the temperature down in the attic room which is his office. Cutting down our fuel bills would make a big difference in our outgoings 

Our panels (installed just over 6 years ago) reduce our electrical import by 25% - 33% over the year and eliminate the need to use gas for H/W from April - Oct inc, if you also install a solar divert. The FiT is now much lower than it used to be (I presently receive 17p / kWhr) and that now pays over £1k pa tax free, however I still will not have paid off my install for another 12 - 18 months. After that it's 12 years of tax free solar cash point to offset the ever increasing energy bills. I've also eventually ordered a Tesla Powerwall to store some / most of the energy that I export (around 2.5 Mwhrs pa) and eliminate import from March to October inc and timeshift E7 from Nov - Feb. This was all part of my pension planning. Do the sums (I spent ages modelling the potential generation / returns etc) to determine the RoI and whether it's worth it. It's not a quick win. The Powerwall will not pay for itself in less than 8 years, unless the tariff's continue to soar, however it will allow me to be electrically independent, which if rationing is imposed from the end of the year (the government said they won't do it, which means they expect to) will keep us warm, illuminated, clean and connected to the outside world. I'm also engineering the central heating to work off water heated by the panels to save on gas from Feb - April and Oct - Nov. Hammer down the outgoings (without compromising on lifestyle) and the rest will look after itself.

FIT has been replaced by SEG. You can get paid for energy you export and the amount per unit is set by the SEG licence holder.

Returning to Mallygirl’s question re panels or tiles we are in an ANOB and we’re allowed panels after a quick check with planning - so best to just ask. If not this link https://www.deegesolar.co.uk/solar_roof_tiles/ gives a lowdown on roof tiles, less efficient, costlier but the only option for some and definitely less intrusive.

We put in 4kw system 9.5 years ago. Took about 8 years of FIT to cover cost of installing as 3 as expensive than now. It still produces pretty much the same as day one so looking good to meet it’s guarantee of 85% output even after 25 years. 

I am holding fire on installing batteries as I hope their development/cost/efficiency will take another leap in the next 2 to 3 years.

We've had panels 11 years - early FIT meant a 7 yr payback.  Replaced the dodgy inverter last year (£1k), but working well again.  No conservation issues here though...

@MallyGirl - if I was looking now, I would defo go for solar+battery - 0% VAT helps make the payback much shorter.

We are considering battery tech - with recent rises, for our use case, it looks like a 7 yr payback, & that assumes energy costs stay flat.....& we have to pay 20% VAT (about a grand)
Tricky to know if prices will fall back after the current crisis, but either way, we may invest anyway.   I don't see any dramatic leaps in tech in the foreseeable future.  Maybe 7-10 years.  

& back on the squirrelled nuts - keep us informed, we have some cash ISAs that complete in May!!

ex-pat_scot

cfw1994 said:

DT2001 said:

pensionpawn said:

MallyGirl said:

Retireinten said:

DT2001 said:

Retireinten said:

We're thinking of buying a bit of kit that will redirect our excess solar to heat our water via the immersion heater so we could potentially run the house without gas in the warmer months.

Highly recommend - we bought one about 3 years ago as we have an unvented system with a large hot water tank. I reckon it paid for itself in about 2 years, even then. Minimal gas consumption from April to Oct.

Installed it at the weekend, it works a treat. I was ever so slightly hungover on Saturday but even this did not affect the excitement at seeing the immersion heater ramp up to 2.8kwh when we switched it on. It wasn't the best day weather wise yesterday and it still produced enough hot water for a couple of showers.

Really pleased with it, expect to use very little gas now over the next 6 months or so. 

OH has raised the question of using some cash (liberated by early crystallisation of some of his pension) to maybe look at solar panels. It's a big SW facing roof but is in a conservation area so there might be constraints. A long time ago we saw a system that looked like slate - no idea how much the technology has moved on since then. It would also help to keep the temperature down in the attic room which is his office. Cutting down our fuel bills would make a big difference in our outgoings 

Our panels (installed just over 6 years ago) reduce our electrical import by 25% - 33% over the year and eliminate the need to use gas for H/W from April - Oct inc, if you also install a solar divert. The FiT is now much lower than it used to be (I presently receive 17p / kWhr) and that now pays over £1k pa tax free, however I still will not have paid off my install for another 12 - 18 months. After that it's 12 years of tax free solar cash point to offset the ever increasing energy bills. I've also eventually ordered a Tesla Powerwall to store some / most of the energy that I export (around 2.5 Mwhrs pa) and eliminate import from March to October inc and timeshift E7 from Nov - Feb. This was all part of my pension planning. Do the sums (I spent ages modelling the potential generation / returns etc) to determine the RoI and whether it's worth it. It's not a quick win. The Powerwall will not pay for itself in less than 8 years, unless the tariff's continue to soar, however it will allow me to be electrically independent, which if rationing is imposed from the end of the year (the government said they won't do it, which means they expect to) will keep us warm, illuminated, clean and connected to the outside world. I'm also engineering the central heating to work off water heated by the panels to save on gas from Feb - April and Oct - Nov. Hammer down the outgoings (without compromising on lifestyle) and the rest will look after itself.

FIT has been replaced by SEG. You can get paid for energy you export and the amount per unit is set by the SEG licence holder.

Returning to Mallygirl’s question re panels or tiles we are in an ANOB and we’re allowed panels after a quick check with planning - so best to just ask. If not this link https://www.deegesolar.co.uk/solar_roof_tiles/ gives a lowdown on roof tiles, less efficient, costlier but the only option for some and definitely less intrusive.

We put in 4kw system 9.5 years ago. Took about 8 years of FIT to cover cost of installing as 3 as expensive than now. It still produces pretty much the same as day one so looking good to meet it’s guarantee of 85% output even after 25 years. 

I am holding fire on installing batteries as I hope their development/cost/efficiency will take another leap in the next 2 to 3 years.

We've had panels 11 years - early FIT meant a 7 yr payback.  Replaced the dodgy inverter last year (£1k), but working well again.  No conservation issues here though...

@MallyGirl - if I was looking now, I would defo go for solar+battery - 0% VAT helps make the payback much shorter.

We are considering battery tech - with recent rises, for our use case, it looks like a 7 yr payback, & that assumes energy costs stay flat.....& we have to pay 20% VAT (about a grand)
Tricky to know if prices will fall back after the current crisis, but either way, we may invest anyway.   I don't see any dramatic leaps in tech in the foreseeable future.  Maybe 7-10 years.  

& back on the squirrelled nuts - keep us informed, we have some cash ISAs that complete in May!!

Interesting.
It's not just the simple payback.
There's also the small matter of supply interruption, and predictability of (some of the) price.
A couple of my neighbours are installing solar + battery. They are wealthy and WFH mostly, and their confidence in being able to work effectively has taken a bit of a knock recently. 
Finally there's the green credential - doing one's bit.
And finally finally, there's the near option of using a V2L electric car to act as battery capacity.

The downsides, as I see it.
1. capital required
2. visual and maintenance elements of roofing
3. suitability of site (we don't get much really strong sunshine here in the North Yorks moors) and roof alignment with optimal southerly facing panels
4. needs local specialists. Plenty of local panel installers, but few who understand how to design a proper system and maintain it.

QrizB

ex-pat_scot said:

The downsides, as I see it.
1. capital required
2. visual and maintenance elements of roofing
3. suitability of site (we don't get much really strong sunshine here in the North Yorks moors) and roof alignment with optimal southerly facing panels
4. needs local specialists. Plenty of local panel installers, but few who understand how to design a proper system and maintain it.

1. Capital requirements are a lot less than they were; I had an array installed last year for under £4k (my installers weren't great but that's another story).

2. Visuals are subjective. Maintenance should be minimal assuming your roof is sound; and if your roof isn't sound, you should be fixing it anyway!

3. You can check your site suitability with eg. PVGIS. This will give you a reasonable idea of typical annual generation but won't account for eg. next door's cherry tree.

4. Choosing an installer is probably the most difficult part. Price isn't a good guide (there are plenty of expensive-but-bad examples) and it's not always easy to find someone who was happy with their install *and* the installer is still in business. My installer last year was a recommendation from the forum but you'll see from the thread that it turned out to be more trouble than I'd hoped.

Sea_Shell

Now Marcus have increased to 1%, time to sell up the rest of the Premium bonds.

It's a fast moving market!

quirkydeptless

Sea_Shell said:

Now Marcus have increased to 1%, time to sell up the rest of the Premium bonds.

It's a fast moving market!

Ooh, new highest rate...

Sea_Shell

Thanks Quirky, that made me laugh out loud!!!!

Very apt 

moving_forward

Hope rates keep on increasing. Our PB's only total £625 so far so may keep them there. If rates do improve lots I may come back for advice on where to stash!

Stubod

...I think PB's work best if you can afford to "max out", ie £50k per person...more likely to achieve the "average" rate?

Sea_Shell

Well, that's two new Santander Regular eSavers opened and funded.😇

£200 pm @2.5%


Here we go... I'll be back to 30+ accounts before I know it!! 😲

Sea_Shell

DOH!!!

Just also twigged there is no point in keeping max balance on club Lloyds now either.

I'll keep meeting the account requirements, as I want to use the cinema tickets, but I can reduce the balance right down and move the rest to Marcus.