Solar: using a best providers, quotes and key considerations

AndyMay11

Hi there,

I'm trying as a novice to assess the best value for money solar system. So far had quotes from two firms and waiting on PowerPac.

One quote was £12,250 for a regional firm 6 years operation

• 12x Mono PV 385 watt Panels, 1 x 6.5 kW Growatt storage batteries, 1 x Inverter, all installation/kit.
• 25-year panel performance warranty. HIES Insurance Backed Guarantee (2 year)

The other quote was £15,809 from a large national firm 12 years + operation:

• Evolution Titan 445W, 6w battery. Inverter, all installation/kit.
• Included lifetime manufacturer warranty, 10-year workmanship warranty, HIES warranty,  48hr repair and export tarriff. 

Am trying to assess what firm has better reviews, I initially tried to use Which Trusted Traders to find firms combined with the local authority scheme. I also reviewed Trustpilot.  The cheaper firm had 30% 1 star reviews which really put me off. The other firm had good reviews only 13% one star but several people on this forum seemed to dislike them.

But I'm really not sure who to trust and whether such review sites can even be gamed?!

What are the biggest factors others have used to determine their quote and do the figures quoted above sound reasonable?

powerful_Rogue

In October last year I paid £14k for 16x400w panels,16 solaredge optimisers, 2x 6.5kWh batteries, 6 kWh solaredge inverter, 3.6kWh inverter, bird netting.

This company was recommened to me by a user on here and several others had used the same installer, Trustpilot reviews were a mixed bag, however I couldn't fault the service they offered and been very happy with the setup.

Screwdriva

Always happy to help! I would not proceed with either exhorbitant quote, as my advice would always be to go with the best brands of components available and skip the battery entirely if you don't have a heat pump or EV. An example of a recent quote I would recommend:

12 X 410W SHARP Panels
12 X SolarEdge Optimizers
  1 X SolarEdge Inverter 

25 year warranty on all of the above components. £6.4K installed. 

Hope this helps guide you with your decision!

AndyMay11

Thanks for both your comments - I'd be curious to know who the installer was if you don't mind me asking!

AndyMay11

Thanks also for the tip re: battery. We are thinking about heat pumps in the future. But I suppose could always get the battery retrofitted. We both work from home most days so we'd be efficient users of the solar power I think.

ecraig

This is how I would use solar if I didn't have a battery - I would use 'delay start' settings on my dishwasher, washing machine to run when the panels are performing well. Some days I would be successful but others I would probably end up paying some import too.

But here's what I love about my battery - I can run the dishwasher, washing machine whenever I want. If I don't produce enough solar power one day to charge my battery, I top up the battery with cheaper off peak power.

I love having this little power plant in the loft.

Btw, I used screwdriva's installer - 100% recommend them. 

AndyMay11

Thank you  - this is what I've been offered by another provider - much better price but not sure how good the panels are. They are Longi. HiMo5. Only the HiMo4 reviewed on FMB (which seems a good source of comparison) 

FS

4.8KW SOLAR PV SYSTEM

12 x 400w Black Panels

1 x Solis Hybrid Inverter

1 x Pylontech 4.8kw Battery (4.8kw)

1 x Cables, conduit, isolators

1 x HIES insurance backed warranty

1 x MCS sign off 

1 x Installation 

1 x Scaffolding 

TOTAL - £9,100 Fitted 

ecraig

AndyMay11 said:

Thank you  - this is what I've been offered by another provider - much better price but not sure how good the panels are. They are Longi. HiMo5. Only the HiMo4 reviewed on FMB (which seems a good source of comparison) 

FS

4.8KW SOLAR PV SYSTEM

12 x 400w Black Panels

1 x Solis Hybrid Inverter

1 x Pylontech 4.8kw Battery (4.8kw)

1 x Cables, conduit, isolators

1 x HIES insurance backed warranty

1 x MCS sign off 

1 x Installation 

1 x Scaffolding 

TOTAL - £9,100 Fitted 

It's a good price compared with the others you received.. I paid a grand more via screwdriva's suggested installer but I got a 6.5kwh battery, solaredge inverter and all panels have the solaredge optimisers.

The best quote I received was £8490 for 16x 400w perlights, sofar 3.6kwh hybrid And 4.8kwh pylontech including scaffs, paperwork, warranty etc.
So by comparison, this quote you've got is still poor. 

Alnat1

AndyMay11 said:

Thank you  - this is what I've been offered by another provider - much better price but not sure how good the panels are. They are Longi. HiMo5. Only the HiMo4 reviewed on FMB (which seems a good source of comparison) 

FS

4.8KW SOLAR PV SYSTEM

12 x 400w Black Panels

1 x Solis Hybrid Inverter

1 x Pylontech 4.8kw Battery (4.8kw)

1 x Cables, conduit, isolators

1 x HIES insurance backed warranty

1 x MCS sign off 

1 x Installation 

1 x Scaffolding 

TOTAL - £9,100 Fitted 

You can see from my sig that my set up is similar, just a bit more on the roof. Paid £8,500 in March last year and prices have risen quite a bit since. I'd say that's a decent quote for you.

BTW, I love my battery, without it I'd be paying peak rate right now. At this time of year it doesn't quite get us through until the panels get going again around 9am in the morning but we've only used 0.53kWh today. I think that was my breakfast tea and toast and the tortoise's heat lamps 7-9am.

Petriix

To understand the market right now you should consider that 400W panels retail at around £150 and a decent inverter is £700 (including VAT). A trader with reasonable volumes will be getting a trade discount too. 4kWp is ~ £2k for components.

Obviously a business has overheads and scaffolding has gone up in price, but £2k should cover installation with a couple of people earning a decent day rate. The rest is pure greed. 

Screwdriva

AndyMay11 said:

Thanks also for the tip re: battery. We are thinking about heat pumps in the future. But I suppose could always get the battery retrofitted. We both work from home most days so we'd be efficient users of the solar power I think.

In that case, I would skip the battery for now, despite the positive sentiment, as the numbers likely won't add up. This calculator should help you determine your return on investment in either scenario (selling via Outgoing Agile vs. battery arbitrage)

The good news is batteries only seem to be getting better with time!