Solar Panels Cost?

thriftytracey

Hi Forumites

I was invited to participate in a group quote for solar panels by my local council.  I sent in some basic information about my house, (3 bedroom detached house with a south facing roof), and received a preliminary quote of £10,500 for solar panels and battery.

I am not sure if the cost will go up if they come out to survey (have to pay £150).  Payback is estimated to be 7 years.  

The quote ends on 17th April.  I just wondered if this was a good quote?  Can anyone who has had solar panels and battery fitted to their three bedroom detached house confirm.

We are retired and have modest savings.  I was going to take the money out of my tax free lump sum of my pension to pay for it.  I don't think we can carry on winter after winter not having any heating other than the wood burner and a couple of halogen electric fires.  We have GCH but if we had the solar panels then I could feel less anxious about using it in the winter.

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

MattMattMattUK

You would need to provide more information, what is the installed capacity of the panels (kWp), what kind of inverter, what make, model and capacity of battery, mounting of the panels, whether it includes all electrical work, islanding etc.

Then in terms of payback that requires a survey, direction and inclination of the roof, and occlusion from trees or other buildings and structures. You would also need to manage your usage to account for most efficient usage. How do you heat your home, gas, heat pump, electricity, alternative fuel?

matt_drummer

Hi,

You will need to tell us what they have quoted for in some detail.

It's impossible to say whether the quote is good or not without knowing exactly what it is for.

It would also be helpful to know your electricity usage, how much and when.

[Deleted User]

Solar prices have risen as a result of inflation and increased demand.

I would like to address your last paragraph. Solar output falls dramatically from November through to February. I have a 6.35kWp array which generated 150kWh last December: the previous December it was only 110kWh. Daily outputs ranged from 350Wh to 10kWh.  Most days, I would struggle to power a one bar (1kW) electric fire. In sum, you will still need to import electricity from the Grid to see you through the Winter months so you need to factor this into your thinking.

GCH is, of course, much cheaper per kWh than an electric fire.

Finally, I would be interested to see how the installer has calculated a 7 year return on investment? That is, what assumptions has he used for import and export costs and solar output?

Alnat1

Although you will make a big saving on electricity used and some decent money from exported electricity this is only going to be for around 7 months of the year, Mar-Sep.

In winter the sun is low and days are short, often dark and gloomy. You won't generate much and your heating costs will be the same. I had many days of less than 1kWh of generation last winter.

The summer profits will make a dent in the winter bills but don't imagine they will cover all your costs.

markin

Batteries tend to have a 13-16 year payback. With only solar, around £5.5 - £6K you would be looking at a 6 year payback at current prices, exporting 50% of a 4kwh system.

This tool will tell you how much solar you can generate in your location.
https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/#api_5.1

macman

Why are you using electric heaters when you have gas CH? Single rate electricity is 350% more expensive than mains gas.
I find a 7 year payback claim risible: that would require an average saving of £1,500 each year, without taking into account loss of interest on capital at about £420pa. Let's see the calculations please.
'Quote ends 17/4' makes me even more dubious: classic pressure sales technique.

Alnat1

Do not pay £150 for a survey, they should be free. Do not be pressured into signing anything. The scheme sounds pretty dodgy to me.

If you want solar installing, get in touch with local installers who will call round and discuss your needs, survey your property and send no obligation, no pressure quotes. 

macman

PS: how on earth can they give even  preliminary quote prior to a survey? The primary factors are the roof area and direction, which will together determine the capacity of the system and it's likely yield. 
Unless you've sent pictures of the roof, or theyv'e done a drone survey, I can see no way that any preliminary quote can be more than a wild guess.

dunstonh

macman said:

PS: how on earth can they give even  preliminary quote prior to a survey? The primary factors are the roof area and direction, which will together determine the capacity of the system and it's likely yield. 
Unless you've sent pictures of the roof, or theyv'e done a drone survey, I can see no way that any preliminary quote can be more than a wild guess.

The council-supported scheme pre-prices items on a bulk basis.   Its fixed price installation with the cost factored into the number of panels, size of batteries, and a few addons.

They then do a satellite survey followed by a site survey.

I signed up the scheme but did not proceed as they site surveyor didn't want to do ours as it was more complicated than they are set up for.  They wanted easy buildings they could turn around in a day and move onto the next one.     The scheme also had too many limitations for me.     So, it was mutually beneficial to not proceed.

Slinky

We were going to go ahead with our local council scheme a few months ago, but got some other companies in for a sanity check and have got cheaper quotes. The scheme date has run out now, our £150 has been returned, and the scheme company who did the quote have price matched the cheapest quote we got from the other installer. Just deciding now which option to go with.