I'm Eligible for Fully Funded PV up to £10K & Replacement Boiler 28 September 2022 at 3:59PM edited 25 January at 12:44PM in Green & ethical MoneySaving 41 replies 1.9K views

staffsuk

Hi all!

I have just discovered I am eligible for a PV and / or hybrid ASHP installation, fully funded up to £10k via the current Green Homes Grant scheme, available in conjunction with the government, local authorities and E.ON. I'm currently awaiting contact from nominated installers. I have been informed I would fully own any system / equipment installed. The scheme: https://www.eonenergy.com/green-homes-grant.html

I am interested in PV mainly, but wondered if my house would be suitable. My house is a bungalow, with a main roof facing SE of circa 29m2, and another facing SW of circa 16m2, neither with any obstructions.

I have full loft / cavity insulation, & DG windows. I have no CH, my gas boiler is circa 40 years old and long since defunct. I only use gas for my hob. Shower is electric, hot water I get from my kettle! I only heat one room during the winter with an oil radiator. My average annual electric usage has been circa 1100kWh for the last 8 years. House has an EPC rating of D.

Would my house be suitable? What would the likely cost be for PV, what are the pros / cons, and what other things I should take into consideration?

Thanks!

paul991

i would defiantly take pv which would workout free and try to get a inverter battery ready if they are not included in the scheme i doubt there would be much left over to fully fund a ashp  as well

ABrass

PV first. Every £ spent on panels is worth the most to you. When you can't add more because there's no space left or the DNO refuses you can think about batteries.

For £10k you should be aiming at a 10kW array as a starting point for discussion.

You'll be exporting a huge amount of power, but that'll give you a good chance to have negative energy bills and if you go for a heat pump later it will help that too.

ABrass

Your house is probably suitable for PV, nearly all are. Bungalows are easier than average as there is less need for scaffolding and they have large roofs. The direction of the roofs is good for PV.

There aren't many cons to PV, some people don't like the look and it's a large investment. But since it's funded by others it's just down to appearance.

It will slash your electricity bill, and if you get 5kW or more it will probably make the energy company pay you on average over a year.

You could get a battery to be 'self sufficient'. It's nice but the returns are worse than for PV. A battery that costs £4,000 will save you less money than an extra 4kW of panels. Despite my comment above you probably can't get 10kW on your roof, so if you still have money left over after filling it then a battery would be nice.

And with that extra money you're getting from generation means you can run a storage heater in the winter months and be more comfortable. You're clearly surviving on heating a single room, but in a sane world no one should need to worry that they can afford to keep their whole house warm over winter. You could be a glimmer of sanity.

Screwdriva

I posted about a similar scheme in Cornwall earlier this year. The trouble is, despite eligibility, these schemes are terribly oversubscribed. Do you have a timeline for installation? 

I'd go for the full PV system with any insulation improvements they're willing to "throw in". My understanding is that the scheme will permit more than one improvement, dependent on survey. Congrats and remember to persevere should be told that you may not received the benefit at any point during the wait. 

staffsuk

Thanks for the replies 
The scheme doesn't fund storage (batteries), only the PV array & associated equipment. I did ask about the subscription levels, and she said that there was plenty of availability for my region (Staffordshire), but couldn't give me any numbers.
I wonder if there is a limit on the size of array they would install, up to the £10k limit, but I suspect my roof space would be the limiting factor.
I feel sure I'm a minimal user with my 1100kWh annual consumption. I don't see the point of heating unused rooms, I see it only as wastage. My bathroom is unheated, but the shower soon warms one up, and then a quick dash to the bedroom! I also have a heated blanket, bliss during winter. What else does one need?!
I wonder what a 4-5kW array would do for me, and what I could potentially feed back? I guess I could get hot water via my immersion heater (never used before!), and possibly incorporate a storage heater?
Much to learn still...

ABrass

Yes, you're a very low user.

You'd break even in terms of generation and use over a year (in kWh) with a 2kW system.

But due to details of when you generate power and when you use it you'll export most of it, everyone without batteries does. You sell your power for less than you buy it so you'd still be paying for electricity overall with a small array.

But if you export enough power then it doesn't matter. There have been very recent changes to the Solar Export Guarantee available which means you can sell power for 15p a kWh, which isn't much but if you're exporting 5,000 kWh a year (assuming a 5-6kW system) then that's £750 payment on top of the saving you make by not buying as much electricity.

silverwhistle

Start by getting rid of your gas hob for an induction and you'll be able to get rid of your gas supply and the associated standing charge. If you had a hot water tank, and I suspect you might not, you could heat that from solar. I don't use my gas boiler from mid-March to October for DHW.

I have solar for which I get paid, but during the shoulder months like now I also use a direct electric fire when there is spare power available after filling the hot water tank. A bit of batch cooking today too when the sun was out this afternoon.

staffsuk

@silverwhistle, yes I've looked into getting my gas disconnected, given I use less than one unit / year. But the costs of de / re-energisation (should I decide I want Gas CH in the future), were as below. I guess I was just anxious about removing the gas in case I need to sell the house, in which case a future buyer would be wanting some form of full house CH. I guess it's a cost I could deal with if such a time arises.
I do have an existing HW tank with an immersion heater.

staffsuk said:

OK - so I have more information now. Scottish Power would charge £124.63 to de-energise / remove the gas meter. If there was no gas usage after 6 months, then between 6 months and a year Cadent would remove the gas pipe from the gas main to the property, at no cost. They said there is no way this can be stopped, unless I were to start using gas again before they removed the pipe. If I then wanted to use gas again in the future, Cadent would charge £513 to install a new pipe from the gas main to the property, and Scottish Power (if I were still with them) would charge £124.63 to install / energise a meter. Both these costs will increase at a future date. Currently I'm paying £97 / year just for the gas standing charge, and I don't use any gas. Seems like I'm trapped / stuck with paying the £97 standing charge if I want to possibly use gas again in the future, or pay more than £762 to have it disconnected / reconnected... 

paul991

octopus remove their meters free of charge for their customers according to website

silverwhistle

By the time you sell the house buyers may be getting heat pumps, or even obliged to and your solar would be an ideal fit. I can understand the worry but on balance wouldn't let it affect me.

The lowering cost of heat pumps will change many people's position. Octopus are majoring on them, I saw their installation vans locally a few weeks ago, and they are putting investment into both the machinery and training personnel. This may be behind their free removal of gas meters.