Solar Panels Cost?

[Deleted User]

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.

Installers can size the roof area using Google Earth: based on my installation it is extremely accurate. 

thriftytracey

Informative and interesting responses.  Thank you.

I believe some commenters have answered questions as to how they can quote without a detailed survey.

This was based on:-

16 panels (average for 3 bed detached house)

Battery was 2.3 kWH capacity  

Advantages in the first year	Solar only 16 panels	Solar + Battery 16 panels + 2.3 kWh
Energy bill savings	£534	£880
Earnings with an export tariff	£710	£557
Electricity generation	6,304 kWh	6,304 kWh
Usage of your own electricity	1,639 kWh (38%)	2,711 kWh (63%)

• On the next page you will pay a £150 deposit. Solar Together will inform your installer once the deposit is received. This deposit is conditionally refundable;
• Your installer will conduct a desktop survey and then contact you to schedule an in-person survey;
• Your installer will confirm that the system in your personal recommendation is right for your property;
• Your installer will schedule an installation date with you.

I asked how long the the quote was for and they stated 17th April.

Must admit, perhaps naively, I thought technology had improved so that solar panels were more efficient in winter as they only needed daylight, not sunlight.

We have a combi boiler and no electric immersion tank so wouldn't be able to use it for hot water.  Also have gas 6 ring hob, although we do use a desktop halogen oven, airfryer and slow cooker.

[Deleted User]

thriftytracey said:

Informative and interesting responses.  Thank you.

I believe some commenters have answered questions as to how they can quote without a detailed survey.

This was based on:-

16 panels (average for 3 bed detached house)

Battery was 2.3 kWH capacity  

Advantages in the first year	Solar only 16 panels	Solar + Battery 16 panels + 2.3 kWh
Energy bill savings	£534	£880
Earnings with an export tariff	£710	£557
Electricity generation	6,304 kWh	6,304 kWh
Usage of your own electricity	1,639 kWh (38%)	2,711 kWh (63%)

• On the next page you will pay a £150 deposit. Solar Together will inform your installer once the deposit is received. This deposit is conditionally refundable;
• Your installer will conduct a desktop survey and then contact you to schedule an in-person survey;
• Your installer will confirm that the system in your personal recommendation is right for your property;
• Your installer will schedule an installation date with you.

I asked how long the the quote was for and they stated 17th April.

Must admit, perhaps naively, I thought technology had improved so that solar panels were more efficient in winter as they only needed daylight, not sunlight.

We have a combi boiler and no electric immersion tank so wouldn't be able to use it for hot water.  Also have gas 6 ring hob, although we do use a desktop halogen oven, airfryer and slow cooker.

What is the size of the proposed array? What is the assumed energy cost that you are saving in p/kWh?

JohnJ_3

thriftytracey said:

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.

Hi
I have recently post this to highlight our PV, battery, EV set up and findings after 1 year.
This might answer some of your questions. If you have any more questions please post it there
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6439045/octopus-agile-pv-home-battery-ev#latest

markin

That battary is so tiny, at that price it should be at least 5kwh, the is no special price here I would say its atleast £2k over priced, get some more quotes, Atleast 5 more.

thriftytracey

markin said:

That battary is so tiny, at that price it should be at least 5kwh, the is no special price here I would say its atleast £2k over priced, get some more quotes, Atleast 5 more.

OK.  I will.  Maybe not 5 but a couple more.

markin

To get the best price you really do need to contact 10, half will probably be too busy to to even get back to you, and some will say a rediculus price to try thire luck, you won't get an idea of the price you should be paying otherwise.

Some for comparison

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6436646/solar-quote-validation-essex

macman

thriftytracey said:

Informative and interesting responses.  Thank you.

I believe some commenters have answered questions as to how they can quote without a detailed survey.

This was based on:-

16 panels (average for 3 bed detached house)

Battery was 2.3 kWH capacity  

Advantages in the first year	Solar only 16 panels	Solar + Battery 16 panels + 2.3 kWh
Energy bill savings	£534	£880
Earnings with an export tariff	£710	£557
Electricity generation	6,304 kWh	6,304 kWh
Usage of your own electricity	1,639 kWh (38%)	2,711 kWh (63%)

• On the next page you will pay a £150 deposit. Solar Together will inform your installer once the deposit is received. This deposit is conditionally refundable;
• Your installer will conduct a desktop survey and then contact you to schedule an in-person survey;
• Your installer will confirm that the system in your personal recommendation is right for your property;
• Your installer will schedule an installation date with you.

I asked how long the the quote was for and they stated 17th April.

Must admit, perhaps naively, I thought technology had improved so that solar panels were more efficient in winter as they only needed daylight, not sunlight.

We have a combi boiler and no electric immersion tank so wouldn't be able to use it for hot water.  Also have gas 6 ring hob, although we do use a desktop halogen oven, airfryer and slow cooker.

They do, but in winter the days are  a lot shorter and the sun a lot lower. The highest output I have ever had was on a cold, clear winter day, but it only lasted for about an hour.

[Deleted User]

A graph is worth a thousand words:

Don’t plan to run your heating in Winter using solar.