Is 14,500 for solar too much?

kayleigh

I got an online quote from Octopus - who s suggested about 10k with a smaller battery (5 kWh).

A local company (Scotland)

14x Trina Vertex S 400W Black Framed Mono solar panel £2,600

GivEnergy 5kW Hybrid inverter £1,480

G2 GivEnergy 9.5kWh LiFePO4 Battery (integrated DC breaker) £3,700 

Install price  £5500

Does that seem a reasonable price?  Total price once bird proofing, etc £14,500

Do you think the local company is over the top?

Heedtheadvice

Difficult to say without knowing the circumstances of the building and the location and exactly what is required for the installation.

But on first sight seems well OTT compared to good priced installations - mainly the installation cost.

I assume DNO approval for G99 is included?

Are you a long way from the installation company such as on the islands?

Is building access easy or problematic such as multi storey or a tenament?

Does the installation require electrical work over and above wiring it all together ( with isolators) such as a new consumer unit?

Best option is to get at least two more quotes and for different brands...

Martyn1981

Install looks way too much to me too, plus I get the feeling they are double dipping, making money on both the goods and the install, rather than just one. For instance Trina Vertex S+ 450Wp panels will probably cost them £60-£70 each (plus delivery). But I appreciate there is mounting, rails, connectors etc to include.

Screwdriva

Installations in Scotland are roughly £1K more expensive that the South of England but the above quote is (ridiculously) overpriced by ~£5K. Additionally Trina panels are among the lowest end on the market - several installers I know won't touch them. The 400W model specified is obsolete and available heavily discounted.

I would contact Heatable for a quote - they offer quality PV brands and should offer coverage in your area. As an example, I've seen them offer quotes for 14 440W REA Bifacial panels and the Tesla Powerwall 3 (top shelf kit) for ~£13K in Edinburgh. 

MallyGirl

Not in Scotland, but with a building requiring significant scaffolding, my quote was similar.
For that I got

• 15 x 425w Sharp Solar black panels, 25-year combined warranty
• 15 x Solar Edge optimizers fitted to each panel. 25-year warranty.
• Solar Edge SE6000 HD Wave inverter 20-year warranty
• GivEnergy all in one 13.5kh battery 12-year warranty
• GivEnergy gateway. 12-year warranty
• Bird Protection/Scaffolding/installation
• MCS and G99 Certificates

Solarchaser

In short, yeah thats very expensive.
Everyone i know that has gotten a recent (last two years) install has ended up around £1/w or a little less than that, though they have all been in central belt, so I'd expect a bit more if you are up in the heelands or doon in the borders.

actd

I spend £14,000 on a solar installation 2 years ago, that was for 2 @ 3kw batteries, and 20 @ 375 w panels (so 7.5kw) plus the inverter. It took a couple of months before Octopus got me onto their fixed export (at 15p per unit). I have been paying Octopus £10 per month (yes, a tenner) because I think it needs a transaction to go through - but in those 2 years, I am now £650 in credit from exporting vast amounts in summer (since installation, our system has generated just over 15 megawatts in total, have imported  4.2 MW, used 10.5 MW and exported 9.3 MW. The credit we have built up will take us through winter again, so on the basis that we use about 5 MW per year, this would cost us about £1250 per year at current rates, plus another £150 in charges (covered by our credit), so we are saving £1400 per year at current rates, so the system pays itself off over 10 years (I keep an accurate daily log) - in fact it's extended a little because electricity went down in price - the higher the energy costs, the sooner the system pays for itself. Our bungalow is modern, so very efficient, and has air source heat pump - we are on electric only.

The big benefit for me is that I am close to retirement, and I know that I effectively have no energy bills for my retirement. No doubt, in 25 years, some parts will need replacement, but by then, I expect that panels and batteries will have come down in cost even further, and almost certainly be more efficient.

Hopefully this will help others to make the decision - knowing what I know now, my only regret is that I waited a year after moving in to have this fitted, instead of having it done as soon as we moved in.

I will add that I was aware that my system was probably on the higher side in terms of cost, however, I contacted one installed who never came back to me, and I'd seen a couple of horror stories with the wiring that had been done, so I spoke to a near neighbour who had a system installed about 7 years earlier, and they were still very happy with it, and the salesman who came out to them was still there and came out to see us. I thought the additional cost was worth it for the peace of mind.