Solar quote

Niv

Hi, I have received a quote for solar install and I wanted to sound out the price with you knowledable lot and maybe any opinions on the quality of the brands being offered.

I have tried to gather a number of quotes but so far have only had a response from one company which makes it really hard to know if this would be value for money or not.

Components quoted for as follows:

JA Solar 370W Solar Panels x 12
1 x 3680W SolarEdge Inverter with Power Optimisers
On Roof Mounting System - Concrete Tiles
Any additional roof works are extra. Waste is left onsite.

Cost £7150.08

Scaffolding 

Cost £1000

Multi array supplement

Cost £350

So core system comes out at £8500.08

Optional extras:

UPGRADE 1: Tesla Powerwall Solar Storage Battery - DNO Required. (13.5kWh of storage and 3.68/5kW of continuous power delivered to your home. This battery can also offer backup power to your home in the event of an outage.)
Cost £8495

UPGRADE 2: SolarEdge DC Battery: 10kWh - No DNO required (SolarEdge 10kWh Battery.SolarEdge1PH230V SolarEdge Modbus Meter. SolarEdge Energy Net for SetApp Inverters.100A Split-Core Current Transformer for SolarEdge Energy Meters with Modbus Connection. MC4 Splitter Male and Female Variants (Pack of 2 Pairs).Labour.Installed maximum 300mm from the ground.)
Cost £7684.20

UPGRADE 3: SolarEdge Smart Energy Hot Water - Immersion Heater Controller 3kW (Solar Edge Smart Energy Hot Water Designed to maximise self-consumption and reduce energy bills by automatically diverting and adjusting excess PV energy to hot water.)
Cost £ 1111.01

UPGRADE 4: ZAPPI - 7kW (myenergi ZAPPI EV Charger WHITE UNTETHERED 32A - TYPE 2 PLUG AS STANDARD. Please specify a Type 1 if required.
Price includes 3 x CT clamp, Hub, 10m CT clamp extension cable, harvi, and delivery)
Cost £1499.89

Obviously you wouldn't pick upgrade 1 and 2 but wanted to see thoughts on the options - is the powerwall worth the extra expense and hassle etc? Is a battery really worth it at all?

If I decide to go for a solar system then I would want upgrade 3 as it makes sense as I already have a hot water tank

I do not currently have an electric car but do plan to get one at some point (no firm timeline) so really any thoughts on if this is a great price worth installing now as its so good a price or if its about the cost if i choose to install it at a later date.

Payback is quoted to be 8.9years
Estimated net lifetime bill savings £20490 (based on 20 year life)

Any comments on price welcomed and any questions i should be asking before making any commitment. I have already thought about asking about warranty periods for the panels and inverter.

Thanks,

Screwdriva

Niv said:

JA Solar 370W Solar Panels x 12
1 x 3680W SolarEdge Inverter with Power Optimisers
On Roof Mounting System - Concrete Tiles
Any additional roof works are extra. Waste is left onsite.

Cost £7150.08

Scaffolding 

Cost £1000

Multi array supplement

Cost £350

So core system comes out at £8500.08

Sorry to say, but that's on the pricey side for an excellent inverter paired with not-so-excellent Chinese panels. My installer will do:

10 X SHARP 400W Panels
10 X SolarEdge Optimizers
1   X SolarEdge inverter (same as your quote).
25 Year warranty on all of the above (Your quote does not state this - 25 years is an installer paid for extra for the inverter)

£5750 installed all inclusive. (If you're more than 120 miles from the London area + £400 for their costs).

I would suggest you think about the need for batteries or a diverter following your install. DM me if I can help. 

EcoScruples

As above, very expensive, I had those exact panels x 11 with a Huawei inverter with scaffold etc and the price was £4.5k
You should definitely be looking at haggling at £5k for a solar system only.
Batteries obviously would be a big bulk of the main extras.

ccbrowning

Sounds very expensive. I'm in the northwest and am getting various quotes currently and all are less even though I'm looking at more panels than you.

Niv

Thank you all for your feedback. I did try to do a little research on the panels and was starting to think they were not the greatest, I also thought it felt a bit expensive which is why I was keen to share on here.

Screwdriva - I will DM you. 

Thanks,

EcoScruples

I'll let you know about the JA panels in 10 years time, they seem absolutely fine at the moment although they're obviously brand new but the build quality looks excellent and performance is on the nose.

Niv

I am now looking at about £6.5k including the immersion heater controller and bird proofing which sounds better than the previous quote.

How people are getting quotes for £4.5k (or less) for a panel + inverter system I do not know but I would say grab that with both hands!

ccbrowning

Seems decent to me, Niv. Prices are really up across the board at the moment. I can't get one as cheap as you have listed. If it is from a different installer it is worth checking inverter diffs, etc. tho. I've had some cheapen out by using the least expensive Solis inverter or similar changes.

Thevegetarian

I have my own scaffold tower the Boss/Youngmans version. I’m hoping that the installer I chose (if I opt to use one) will let me get the panels fitted by a good friend who is a roofer. I could save me a good amount of cash. But then I’m probably dreaming.

Hexane

UPGRADE 3 seems overpriced, the myenergi eddi diverter (currently out of stock at the manufacturer) is £435 inc VAT and would integrate better with the Zappi (also made by myenergi).

UPGRADE 4 seems like a decent price.

You most likely won't make your money back on a battery, but if I were looking at these quotes now, I would be seriously considering UPGRADE 1 just because the sky is predicted to be falling over the next year or two, and being able to deal with prolonged power cuts would be very reassuring.

94JDH

Screwdriva said:

Niv said:

JA Solar 370W Solar Panels x 12
1 x 3680W SolarEdge Inverter with Power Optimisers
On Roof Mounting System - Concrete Tiles
Any additional roof works are extra. Waste is left onsite.

Cost £7150.08

Scaffolding 

Cost £1000

Multi array supplement

Cost £350

So core system comes out at £8500.08

Sorry to say, but that's on the pricey side for an excellent inverter paired with not-so-excellent Chinese panels. My installer will do:

10 X SHARP 400W Panels
10 X SolarEdge Optimizers
1   X SolarEdge inverter (same as your quote).
25 Year warranty on all of the above (Your quote does not state this - 25 years is an installer paid for extra for the inverter)

£5750 installed all inclusive. (If you're more than 120 miles from the London area + £400 for their costs).

I would suggest you think about the need for batteries or a diverter following your install. DM me if I can help. 

JA Solar panels are perfectly fine and certainly don't need bashing because they're Chinese. However, back to the quote and yes it's quite expensive.