Yet another Solar Panel quote!!

2nd_time_buyer

Korkyb said:

Thanks all.

The panels are all going on one roof (2 story detached house) & if we went with the battery option they would be getting installed with the panels.

Methinks I'll continue gathering quotes.

Given that this is a long term investment with no quick gain I wonder if it might be better to hold off a year or 2 until things settle down a bit??

With current electricity prices we will pay off our panels in  around 6 years rather than the 11 that was forecast when we bought them in November. Personally, I am expecting electricity prices to drop significantly within the next 18 months or so and for the initial projections to be about right. But it is crystal ball stuff.

With costs, it is difficult to see the price of panels coming down any time soon. Either in terms of the price of panels themselves or the labour to fit them.

Up until last year the price of batteries had been coming down year on year. Prices have now stopped falling. It is possible that prices will start to fall again at some point, particularly if there is some technological advancement e.g. sodium batteries. 

You probably won't get much of the price of the panels back when you come to sell in terms of asking price. So the other question is whether you intend to stay in your house for the 25 year life of the panels.

EcoScruples

Questions to ask yourself are,
1. Are you likely to move house in the next 20 years?
2. Have you got the money to pay for solar spare or is it something you'll need to budget for?
3. How do you feel about paying the increased unit price for electric?

If you have the cash and are staying where you are then it's a really simple one, waiting 2 years will just delay your payback.
It just the battery question that throws most people because of the poor ROI although if prices of electric keep going up then that will only get shorter.

QrizB

2nd_time_buyer said:

With costs, it is difficult to see the price of panels coming down any time soon. Either in terms of the price of panels themselves or the labour to fit them.

In contrast, I think the current spike in hardware prices is a temporary one. Manufacturing is continuing to grow, factory gate prices are hardly changed and I'm expecting both panels and batteries to resume their gentle price decline once the current supply restrictions let up.

Installation is a different matter, and there does seem to be a shortage of skilled labour at the moment. That could take a year or two to improve.

If electricity prices fall next year, so will demand for new solar PV installations.

arty688

QrizB said:

In contrast, I think the current spike in hardware prices is a temporary one. Manufacturing is continuing to grow, factory gate prices are hardly changed and I'm expecting both panels and batteries to resume their gentle price decline once the current supply restrictions let up.

Installation is a different matter, and there does seem to be a shortage of skilled labour at the moment. That could take a year or two to improve.

If electricity prices fall next year, so will demand for new solar PV installations.

It depends how temporary , I think it will be a few years and factory gate prices will keep going up as well as shipping and handling costs . Also on the demand side there is a massive push in Europe to free themselves from Russian Gas as well as the global net zero targets. What would push panel/battery price down again is cheap generated electric when/if that will happen is anyone's guess.

An example of rising prices , I confirmed my installation date with my installer and he told me the batteries SE energy bank the first shipment is due 10/7 and is sold out and the next shipment is Oct and the prices has been increase by £1k.