Not getting the most from solar panels..

strongbow1976

Just doing some lunchtime quick research.... It looks like fit scheme has finished?   Does this mean the best route to take would be to go down the battery route??

[Deleted User]

strongbow1976 said:

Just doing some lunchtime quick research.... It looks like fit scheme has finished?   Does this mean the best route to take would be to go down the battery route??

No. You need to ascertain first whether your array is already registered for FITs with the Registrar. If it isn’t then you can apply for SEG payments as I described above. If it is registered then you need to find out with whom and why the FIT was not transferred to you on purchase of the property. 

Batteries are not cheap and they are treated by your DNO as a generator and any installation will require DNO approval (saying hello costs about £350). Depending on the size of your array, you will get very little solar capture in the Winter months so the battery will not charge. You could well end up with the equivalent cost per kWh from the battery costing more than it does from the Grid. Also, you cannot just add a battery to an existing solar array without ensuring that in the event of a Grid failure, the solar and the battery are shutdown in a prescribed time. Some batteries can ‘island’ a home from the Grid but they incorporate special switching.

Edit: I should have added that your supplier may not be the FiT payer as these are separate import and export contracts. Older PV systems normally have a separate generation meter for FIT payments with paying for units exported being deemed at 50% of generation. SEG uses the export side of the meter but it requires its own MPAN.

macman

If it is a 'rent-a-roof' scheme, then you need to talk to your conveyancer as a matter of urgency, because such properties are not normally mortgageable.
If the vendor has concealed the existence of such a lease, then they are in serious trouble.

[Deleted User]

Just to put solar capture into some context. I have a 7kWp array which had a predicted solar output of 158kWhs last December or an average of 5.1kWhs/day. As you know, the sun doesn’t work in averages. My best day produced 10.3kWhs and my worst day only 310 Whs. Moreover, for every kWh that goes into a battery about 10 to 20% less comes out. This is why battery selection has to be considered very carefully.

QrizB

strongbow1976 said:

Just doing some lunchtime quick research.... It looks like fit scheme has finished?   Does this mean the best route to take would be to go down the battery route??

In essence, for electricity-generating solar PV panels:

• Panels installed by an unapproved installer (DIY ones, for example) or prior to April 2010 aren't eligible for any payments.
• Panels installed between April 2010 and March 2019 should be FIT-eligble and will have been registered on the scheme. The FIT scheme involves two payments, one for every kWh generated and a second for every kWh exported to the grid. In most cases the householder will read their generation meter four times a year and be paid by an electricity company (not necessarily the one they get their electricity from).
• Panels installed after March 2019 should be SEG-eligible and an export meter MPAN will have been registered accordingly. The SEG scheme involves payment for exported electricity only. Either the householder reads their export meter or (if smart metered) the meter is read automatically.
• In the early days, when FIT payments were quite generous, there were various rent-a-roof schemes where a 3rd party company would install panels on your roof for free and then claim the FIT payments. You would benefit from use of the electricity but not from the payments. Typically if a house with rent-a-roof panels is sold, the seller is asked to buy out the remaining rental term. If not, the new owner has to take on the contract with the rent-a-roof company.
  

At the risk of repeating myself and everyone else, this should all have been sorted out by your solicitor as part of your house purchase.

MWT

strongbow1976 said:

Many thanks for the replies.  I'm trying to find documents, but I don't believe it's rent a roof scheme, so surely I now own these panels? I have normal smart meters that just send the readings off... 

Sadly not that simple, but start by checking if the site is registered for FiT, that will put you on the path to determining who may still have an interest in the panels.

There should be documentation on the installation and certification of the solar system which you should have been given as part of the house purchase.

That will prove that the original installation was performed to an adequate standard and that your DNO has approved  or at least been notified about the presence of solar at your home.

[Deleted User]

Sadly, PV Solar was mis-sold under the Green Deal with FITs assigned to a shadow company without the knowledge of the homeowner. A check of the FIT Register would reveal if anything similar to this has occurred:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/consumer/energy/energy-supply/making-energy-efficient-home-improvements/helms-home-energy-lifestyle-management-ltd-and-green-deal-complaints-s/

strongbow1976

Update.. I have a  MCS installation certificate - by nationwide solar ltd in 2013 ( which says it's not under green scheme) I have a letter from 2013 from Rutland council saying the panels are gifted to the owner of the house but the recipient will not receive fit.  So I am a bit confused, surely as I am now the 'second' owner of these I can look for fit? Or if they are mine I can take them off the roof ( not that I would.) 

matelodave

I'm wondering where Rutland Council come into the equation. Was the house originally council owned and the panels installed by the council so that they (the council) could claim the FIT and  was there a condition within the sale that if the house was sold then although the council may have "gifted" the panels (so that they could be sold with the house, rather than removed) they still retained the right to claim FIT

Perhaps you need to investigate the situation regading the council as they may still be claiming the FIT as part of the original agreement.

As in all things legal, you'll only get opinions and guesses on this forum because no one actually knows what is in all your documentation.

You need to clarify the situation with your solicitor, the vendor and perhaps even the council to establish the proper ownership of the panels and who is legally entitled to claim the FIT.

[Deleted User]

strongbow1976 said:

Update.. I have a  MCS installation certificate - by nationwide solar ltd in 2013 ( which says it's not under green scheme) I have a letter from 2013 from Rutland council saying the panels are gifted to the owner of the house but the recipient will not receive fit.  So I am a bit confused, surely as I am now the 'second' owner of these I can look for fit? Or if they are mine I can take them off the roof ( not that I would.) 

No. The FITs have already been assigned and I have no doubt that the Council’s lawyers will have covered the situation re a sale of the property. As suggested above, you need to speak to the solicitor that carried out the searches at the time of purchase. Solicitors normally raise a standard form of pre-purchase questions relating to solar arrays.