Are Solar Panels a good investment?

Sterlingtimes

FreeBear said:

sazzlelondon said:  really hard to decide if its right economically in the long term, even though it certainly is environmentally.

You need to read up on the environmental damage caused by mining of the materials used in solar panels & batteries - Much of it is really dirty business and does a huge amount of damage.

This will be an unpopular view but it is one with which I agree.

Reed_Richards

What @matelodave does not say explicitly is that solar panels are not a good investment when it comes to adding value to a house.  Please ask an estate agent or two if I am correct about this.    

[Deleted User]

Sterlingtimes said:

FreeBear said:

sazzlelondon said:  really hard to decide if its right economically in the long term, even though it certainly is environmentally.

You need to read up on the environmental damage caused by mining of the materials used in solar panels & batteries - Much of it is really dirty business and does a huge amount of damage.

This will be an unpopular view but it is one with which I agree.

Versus what though? Nuclear waste, birds killed by windfarms, climate change due to fossil fuels....

Please provide a detailed comparison. Ta.

[Deleted User]

Reed_Richards said:

What @matelodave does not say explicitly is that solar panels are not a good investment when it comes to adding value to a house.  Please ask an estate agent or two if I am correct about this.    

I sold a 5 bedroomed house 3 years ago with PV solar to the first buyer that walked through the door: £2k a year in FIT payments was on offer.  At the time of selling, my home was on the market for £10k more than the one next door and I got the full asking price.  The issue for Estate Agents and solicitors is solar rent-a-roof schemes.

QrizB

[Deleted User] said:

Will it pay for itself? All I can say is that the ‘man maths’ have got considerably better in the past few weeks! PS. Make sure that your installer understands the VAT rules for over 60s.

The man maths for solar panels typically gives a payback time of 8-15 years, depending on exactly what you pay for them and how much of the power they generate you can use vs. export. Inconveniently, larger installations cost less per watt installed but you then use a smaller % of the power generated. It take a bit of careful thought to find the balance.

Batteries can take longer to pay back and, for some, the payback time might exceed their service life. A 12-year payback period on a battery deosn't sound too bad but what if the battery is only rated to last 8 years?

matelodave said:

You really do need to do the sums if you are hoping to save money, especially if your paraents are "elderly" (whatever that means).

Agreed. When I was in my 20s, my parents were in their 50s and I thought they were elderly. Now I'm in my 50s and my parents are in their 70s; I still think they are elderly!

Someone in their 60s with no plans to move house will almost certainly live to see their solar panels pay for themselves. Someone in their 90s, maybe not.

sazzlelondon

matelodave said:

sazzlelondon said:

Reed_Richards said:

You (or rather your parents) will export lots, or generate a lot of power that could be exported if export were not limited (without special permission).  During the summer months they'll likely be able to charge the battery in the morning on a sunny day.  But the current with which the battery can be charged is limited so they'll export most of the excess.  Then they can run the immersion heater to re-heat the hot water tank for an hour or two but they'll probably have more power than the 3 kW needed to do this, most of which will get exported.  Then it's maybe 2 pm and they will export most of the electricity generated for the rest of the afternoon.  It's different in winter but they will generate very much less solar power then.     

Ok lota for me to absorb here thank you. My dad was actually thinking about whether 2 batteries were worthwhile, sounds like that would be overkill. I also read somewhere it does take 20yrs or so to break even but by then you are looking at high maintanence costs... really hard to decide if its right economically in the long term, even though it certainly is environmentally.

You need to decide whether you are going for them because you want to be green or you want to save money.

You really do need to do the sums if you are hoping to save money, especially if your paraents are "elderly" (whatever that means). The payback period of the panels could easily exceed 10 years and even more, if at all for the battery, so you have to be convinced that they will remain living in the place for the next ten years or so to make it financially viable..

Just my opinion. 

Thanks… i didn’t want to be too morbid in public but my dad (who is in decent health, its jut his tone of talking and planning) is in his 80s and has got quite obsessed with tying up all loose ends in his life and leaving the family with a good future. As we (the kids are grown up) he has turned his concentration to mitigating the number of things my mum may need to look after in the event he gets ill or passes… his theory is if install solar now, mum will have less to pay out in the future… and the kids dont have to worry so much about looking after her… he doesn’t have a crystal ball (the family take his planning lightly!) but he gets anxiety about leaving the family with costs after he has gone.

sazzlelondon

MWT said:

Why don’t you post the basic details of the equipment they propose to install, the cost and the name of the company, so you can get some more informed feedback?

The are some great installers out there and also some you would never want to use…

Yes sure 

Company: Green Eco Solar Solutions (GESS)

They have advised its probably best to install the panels get some usage and think about a battery later. 

A few quotes for Solar PV based on 310w panels (they advised this would be better for us that than the larger 390 panels and total system kWp is similar.

1. Standard Inverter System - box/string inverter
5,667kWh/ yr installation £7300 inc VAT

2. SolarEdge Inverter & Optimiser System
6233 kWh/ yr installation £7900 inc VAT

3. Enphase Micro Inverter System
6800 KWh/ yr installation £7900 inc VAT

4. Solax Hybrid PV System with 4.5kW battery storage
6200 kWh/ yr installation £11500 inc VAT

Above prices include tech survey, IWA.biz insurance protection, NAPIT building & electrical certification, Roof Team, PV Generation Meter. Panels cabling and sundries in accordance with MCS guidelines, MCS certification, scaffolding, DNO notification

tim_p

sazzlelondon said

Thanks… i didn’t want to be too morbid in public but my dad (who is in decent health, its jut his tone of talking and planning) is in his 80s and has got quite obsessed with tying up all loose ends in his life and leaving the family with a good future. As we (the kids are grown up) he has turned his concentration to mitigating the number of things my mum may need to look after in the event he gets ill or passes… his theory is if install solar now, mum will have less to pay out in the future… and the kids dont have to worry so much about looking after her… he doesn’t have a crystal ball (the family take his planning lightly!) but he gets anxiety about leaving the family with costs after he has gone.

Nothing morbid about that, every single one of us will die at some point so being practical is to be commended not derided. 

[Deleted User]

sazzlelondon said:

MWT said:

Why don’t you post the basic details of the equipment they propose to install, the cost and the name of the company, so you can get some more informed feedback?

The are some great installers out there and also some you would never want to use…

Yes sure 

Company: Green Eco Solar Solutions (GESS)

They have advised its probably best to install the panels get some usage and think about a battery later. 

A few quotes for Solar PV based on 310w panels (they advised this would be better for us that than the larger 390 panels and total system kWp is similar.

1. Standard Inverter System - box/string inverter
5,667kWh/ yr installation £7300 inc VAT

2. SolarEdge Inverter & Optimiser System
6233 kWh/ yr installation £7900 inc VAT

3. Enphase Micro Inverter System
6800 KWh/ yr installation £7900 inc VAT

4. Solax Hybrid PV System with 4.5kW battery storage
6200 kWh/ yr installation £11500 inc VAT

Above prices include tech survey, IWA.biz insurance protection, NAPIT building & electrical certification, Roof Team, PV Generation Meter. Panels cabling and sundries in accordance with MCS guidelines, MCS certification, scaffolding, DNO notification

Panels are a bit on the small side. I had 350w panels installed last year and there are better products on the market today. I paid c.£1k per 1kWp which included SolarEdge and in, rather than on, roof fittings. All 4 systems above require prior DNO approval UNLESS the installer only intends to fit a 3.86kW inverter. Given the size of the array, this would be silly as it would limit maximum solar output to 3.86kWs.

gefnew

You could post here may get more info from the crew.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/green-ethical-moneysaving