Bought a house with owned solar panels

jeffy22

Hi. 
We are moving into our new house next month and it has solar panels which have been bought out right. So we fully own them. 
 
We have never had solar panels before and don't really know who to go with and what's a good deal?

The previous owner told us that their previous tariff doesn't exist anymore.  They used to get money back from the electricity company for power they haven't used but we should be able to find a company that will take us on with our solar panels for a reduced electricity bill..

Any one have any ideas?
We are clueless. 
We live in Exeter in Devon. 

QrizB

Congratulations on your new home!

As part of the pack of documents received from the previous owner via your solicitor you should have received information on the solar panels including a MCS Certificate. This will give you all the basic info on the system.

It will look a bit like this (picture from Bulb's website):

Check the MCS Certificate for the date of commissioning.

• If prior to 31st March 2019 they are likely to be be registered for the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) which is relatively lucrative.
• If commissioned after that date, they won't qualify for FIT payments but you can sign up to your supplier's (or a different supplier's) Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme which will pay a little for any electricity you geenrate but don't use (ie. export).

Once you have the details share them here and we can give you some more pointers.

[Deleted User]

As part of the buying process, your solicitor/conveyancer should have requested the seller to provide details of the system on your roof. When I sold a property 3 years ago, I had to provide the MCS Certificate; receipt showing payment in full; roof strength survey; the electrical compliance certificate; DNO Notification; details of the FIT payer and a signed FIT Transfer Form.

pramsay13

You don't necessarily need to do anything special. 
Simply sign up for your own energy supplier, maybe look for one that offers a cheaper off peak tariff as that is when you will need most normal grid electricity. 
Is there a way of monitoring your solar panel generation? 
If you generate more than you use it will go back to the grid. Some energy companies will buy this back from you although it isn't much if you are not on the feed in tariff. 

Dogbyte009

If the panels don't qualify for the old FIT scheme you can still get paid for surplus power you export via SEG - though typically it's only around 5p per Kwh - https://www.solarpanelprices.co.uk/articles/solar-panels/best-smart-export-guarantee-tariffs/

You don't have to sell power to the company you buy it from, you can buy from one suppler and sell to another.

If you have a smart meter it will monitor the amount exported to the grid. If not there should be a separate generation meter as part of the solar installation.

[Deleted User]

Dogbyte009 said:

If the panels don't qualify for the old FIT scheme you can still get paid for surplus power you export via SEG - though typically it's only around 5p per Kwh - https://www.solarpanelprices.co.uk/articles/solar-panels/best-smart-export-guarantee-tariffs/

You don't have to sell power to the company you buy it from, you can buy from one suppler and sell to another.

If you have a smart meter it will monitor the amount exported to the grid. If not there should be a separate generation meter as part of the solar installation.

Just to be clear, SEG requires a second MPAN (export). Many suppliers now require SEG customers to be import customers as well. Octopus offers a reduced SEG for import customers on some of its cheaper smart tariffs, and Bulb reduced its SEG payments for non import customers. SEG payments are not protected by Ofgem.

Reed_Richards

jeffy22 said:

The previous owner told us that their previous tariff doesn't exist anymore.  

I don't think any tariff payments have been abolished.  Which means if your vendor could claim in the past then you most probably still can.   What may well not exist anymore is the electricity supply company that paid the tariff.  But you can transfer to another provider.

Dogbyte009

Dolor said:

Just to be clear, SEG requires a second MPAN (export).

True, but it's possible for a smart meter to have two MPANs.

tim_p

I think we need more info from the OP before we can be sure of the advice being given. Do we know for sure the array is getting SEG or is it FIT. How old are the panels?
The tariff mentioned might just be the actual electricity (and gas?) tariff. 

jeffy22

Thank you everyone...  We've not moved in yet,  but i have seen a copy of one of those certificates ( although not had a really good look at it)

The panels are quite old and the previous owner told us that we could do the scheme where the electricity company pays us back as that had finished now. 

I know there is a box on the hallway wall that tells us how much solar power we are generating..

Keep_pedalling

jeffy22 said:

Thank you everyone...  We've not moved in yet,  but i have seen a copy of one of those certificates ( although not had a really good look at it)

The panels are quite old and the previous owner told us that we could do the scheme where the electricity company pays us back as that had finished now. 

I know there is a box on the hallway wall that tells us how much solar power we are generating..

What the current owner is saying is rubbish. Even the earliest solar FITs have a good few years to run as they only came in in 2011 and run for 25 years.