What things to consider when comparing/haggling solar panel costs?

geek84

Hi Folks

 

I have had a few solar panel installation quotes ranging from £8k to £15k.

 

Apart from the below questions, what else could I ask the installers in order to get the best deal?

 

The total output produced?

The size and number of panels?

The quality of the panels?

​How long the warranty is for?

How long would it take for me to break even?

 

I had one installer say I may only need 11 panels whereas another said I would need 26.

 

There is a vast difference and I don't want to get ripped off.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

EssexHebridean

My thread on the subject might help - I got a lot of helpful info. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6417681/solar-what-do-i-need-to-know/p1

Qyburn

geek84 said:

I had one installer say I may only need 11 panels whereas another said I would need 26.

To be fair I don't think there's a correct answer to that question. There's a good chance that even a small number of panels will produce more than you use in the Summer, and even a large number won't be enough in Winter. It may be that your 11 panel installer was trying to keep his price down, or maybe he wants to avoid G.99 formalities so is only offering g a 3.6kW inverter.

Petriix

Solar panels cost at most £150 each. Add £500 for an inverter and £500 for everything else needed to complete the installation. For 20 panels you're looking at £4k for materials. Add £1k for scaffolding, £500 for labour and £500 for other business costs and you get to £6k for what should be an 8kWp system. Anything over this is being creamed off as profit but £2k would be typical making £8k for an 8kWp system about right.

You'll probably find installers using £100 panels and should be able to get a 4kWp system for under £5k, but you'll have to shop around. 

geek84

Hi Folks

Any further advice much appreciated

Petriix

Have you tried the green and ethical money saving forum on here? 

Reed_Richards

You don't mention a battery.  It's worth considering whether you should include a battery as part of solar installation.

ThorOdinson

Yeah, get a battery if you can, there is 0% VAT if you have it installed at the same time as the panels.

My advice would be to install as many panels as you can, especially if you have a battery. They are cheap and the bulk of the cost is other stuff and labour. Make sure you get fencing to stop birds getting under them too.

Then look for a good tariff. Octopus is a good place to start. 15p per kWh you generate and feed into the grid. If you give them control of your battery you can make even bigger savings.

NedS

With SEG rates of 15p per kWh of unused solar, I'm trying to work out if a battery represents good value and is able to deliver decent savings when the difference between SEG and import rates is small.

Reed_Richards

It's difficult.  A battery will boost your total power capability so you can run appliances without importing when otherwise you couldn't.  And if you are on a night-rate tariff then you can charge your battery cheaply overnight all year round.  Some people buy a battery purely to do this and don't bother with the solar panels!

NedS

Reed_Richards said:

It's difficult.  A battery will boost your total power capability so you can run appliances without importing when otherwise you couldn't.  And if you are on a night-rate tariff then you can charge your battery cheaply overnight all year round.  Some people buy a battery purely to do this and don't bother with the solar panels!

Yes, agreed. There are so many different tariffs and ways of utilising a battery, it's not a simple yes or no  decision, but more about why you may want a battery and how you intend to use it.

The other concern for me is that the economics can change - I could cost the payback on a battery based on today's cheap TOU tariff and SEG payments etc, and find that those may change significantly which may fundamentally change the reason it was purchased in the first place. As you say - it's difficult.