Solar Panel - is now the time to invest

[Deleted User]

QrizB said:

Deleted_User said:

Absolutely - prices have doubled in the last few years.

Prices have not doubled in the "last few years". They haven't doubled at all.

Last year, prices had fallen to around £1/Wp installed. Right now, the prices being shared regularly on the "Green and Ethical" forum are in the £1.20 - £1.30/Wp range.

Deleted_User said:

£6000 at the moment would probably get you a 2.5kWp system - budget £10000 for a 4kWp system, with at least £3500 for a decent battery.

Those prices do not reflect the quotes peoiple are actually receiving right now.

See for example here, here and here.

Perhaps I should have said "prices have doubled from some suppliers".  It's like upvc - the possible range of quotes is massive.

I personally had a quote of £5500 for a 6 panel system (2.54kWp iirc), with £3400 more for the battery.  I did also have a quote of £7500 for a 12 panel system without the option of a battery.

Needless to say, I didn't accept either.  I must have only asked for quotes from the equivalent of Anglian Home Improvements! 

morhen

Deleted_User said:

QrizB said:

Deleted_User said:

Absolutely - prices have doubled in the last few years.

Prices have not doubled in the "last few years". They haven't doubled at all.

Last year, prices had fallen to around £1/Wp installed. Right now, the prices being shared regularly on the "Green and Ethical" forum are in the £1.20 - £1.30/Wp range.

Deleted_User said:

£6000 at the moment would probably get you a 2.5kWp system - budget £10000 for a 4kWp system, with at least £3500 for a decent battery.

Those prices do not reflect the quotes peoiple are actually receiving right now.

See for example here, here and here.

Perhaps I should have said "prices have doubled from some suppliers".  It's like upvc - the possible range of quotes is massive.

I personally had a quote of £5500 for a 6 panel system (2.54kWp iirc), with £3400 more for the battery.  I did also have a quote of £7500 for a 12 panel system without the option of a battery.

Needless to say, I didn't accept either.  I must have only asked for quotes from the equivalent of Anglian Home Improvements! 

While some installers are taking the pee with the quotes, the price of all wholesalers have gone up since June.  Good installers are passing on this added cost and maintaining their profit margins, others are just taking the proverbial.... 7.8KW with 15kw battery recently installed for £13.5k, to give an example of a very reasonable price.

Alnat1

I had 5.25kW panels with 4.8kW battery installed in March for £8,600.

From prices I've seen on this forum I would expect it to cost £10,000-£11,000 now.

I'd also have gone for a bit more battery with hindsight and the knowledge I've gained since installation (enough for 24 hours use)

wrf12345

Are there any solar panel factories in the UK, surely an area for the govn to invest in if they want to throw money about?

to answer my own question but no direct means of seeing their pricing
https://www.uksolarpower.com/solarpanels

looking on eBay, two panels at £500-ish inc delivery gives 900-1000W, I know it is plus inverter and bits plus knowledge but does not feel like a desperate situation at that pricing.

[Deleted User]

Some bits from the BBC today:

"A decade ago a typical solar panel system cost around £20,000 and would take around a decade to cover those set-up costs.  But prices for solar panel systems have fallen by more than 60% since then, meaning it takes between four and five years for a system to pay for itself."

"The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests a standard solar panel system costs between £9,000 to £11,700, while Solar Energy UK lists the cost of a "typical" 3.1kWp system for a three-bed house as £3,925."

"A report for Solar Energy UK suggests that a typical home could cut electricity bills by more than £300 a year."

Kevin Holland, managing director of The Solar Shed, said the value of electricity generated by a typical system could be around £3,240.

So a standard? system costs £9k - £12k, but a typical? one costs £4k, which could either save you £300 or £3000 per year.  Now I see why people are needing to come on the forum to ask these questions.

gefnew

I had my panels installed November 2011 for the cost of £9685.00p for a 3.9kwp system wit SMA inverter.
No where near what the badly researched article on the BBC news site.

[Deleted User]

gefnew said:

I had my panels installed November 2011 for the cost of £9685.00p for a 3.9kwp system wit SMA inverter.
No where near what the badly researched article on the BBC news site.

It does seem like they've sort of just asked one bloke somewhere and thought that'll do.

Ectophile

wrf12345 said:

Are there any solar panel factories in the UK, surely an area for the govn to invest in if they want to throw money about?

to answer my own question but no direct means of seeing their pricing
https://www.uksolarpower.com/solarpanels

looking on eBay, two panels at £500-ish inc delivery gives 900-1000W, I know it is plus inverter and bits plus knowledge but does not feel like a desperate situation at that pricing.

China have pretty much taken over the solar panel industry, driving all the other companies out of busines.  They are doing much the same with batteries too.

QrizB

Ectophile said:

China have pretty much taken over the solar panel industry, driving all the other companies out of busines.  They are doing much the same with batteries too.

Agreed.

I bought a few shares in one of the bigger UK solar panel manufacturers a decade or so ago. It seemed to be a growth industry and a good choice of investment.

They were undercut by the Chinese and went bust within 3-5 years.

Oscarmax

rjmachin said:

Deleted_User said:

£6000 at the moment would probably get you a 2.5kWp system - budget £10000 for a 4kWp system, with at least £3500 for a decent battery.

I have had a 5.18kWp array fitted last month.  It cost me £5216 installed.

In the next few weeks, I am also having a 5.8kWh battery fitted (ordered in May) for a cost of £4426 installed.

In March 12 x J A Solar black 370w panels £4668,80 October Solax 5.8 kWh triple batter and AC invertor £4426.09