Project Solar - am I getting ripped off? HELP!!

Crowmann wrote: »

OP

Your first post was a little light on the detail around what battery storage (I assume that was included) but allow me to caution you around the 'arm chair' estimators on here who would have you beleive installs are routinely £1000 a Kv. They are not.

My experience is prices have flat lined since mid 2016 and to some extent gone up.

Decent firm, basic system 4Kw, nothing fancy is still £5k.

Batteries - forget them at the current numbers unless they move - ie Nissan Leaf or similar

@Dan. Just to warn you, many threads get one of these posts now, despite being proven wrong time and again.

Here is a recent example post #6 (5/5/18) which was immediately 'destroyed' by post #14 (10/5/18) from the OP/new PV'er:

Opinions on this PV

So you will note that 'the arm chair estimators' are often very new PV'ers who've had installs in the last year or so, plus the rest of us, who chat with such folk. Not everyone will find an excellent deal, but don't be put off looking for a good deal by false claims.

BTW, since that thread, the average install price for a 5kWp system in Australia is now just under £3k .... astonishing.

Happy hunting.

Crowmann wrote: »

Martyn

Maybe I am wrong but even looking through the posts on here with peeps spending a lot of time getting quotes they seem to be struggling to get to £1k per Kw when using the cheapest component options on what sould like simple installs.

Hiya, a few things there. You've been popping a similar post/claim on many threads for a year or more. Each time others point out you are wrong, and we see quotes showing you are wrong.

Not talking about £1k per kWp here, that is something that some on here have approached with 6, 7 or higher kWp's and that seems doable since panels, rails and fixings are probably now around £500/kWp.

We have seen quotes get into the low £4k's for 4kWp in the past, but the massive reduction in the UK PV install industry has pushed prices back up, but sub £6k for a ~4kWp install is still doable, as shown just days after your last claim to the contrary, confirming that £5k is a reasonable target to bear in mind (depending on local issues such as London prices).

Repeatedly calling the PV'ers on here, who are trying to share knowledge and advice "'arm chair' estimators", is odd and dare I say false, since we all have PV, we have all therefore had PV quotes and prices, we all follow the threads and ups and downs in quotes, and many of those 'arm chair' estimators are actually the new blood of PV'ers on here helping to share their recent knowledge, experience and prices with other newbies.

Perhaps you haven't gone back to the threads on which you keep making these statements to read the replies and later posts?

Crowmann wrote: »

allow me to caution you around the 'arm chair' estimators on here who would have you beleive installs are routinely £1000 a Kv. They are not.

Routinely £1000 a kWp? Do we?

Crowmann wrote: »

Martyn

The competition within the market is low - sure you can buy the kit for less and yes you can cobble together a roofer and a sparky for the install but the MCS bit makes it tricky on sign off.

Where have I ever suggested doing this? If you are referring to my Aussie links, then those are installed prices, not kit prices.

Crowmann wrote: »

Nice post - but I beg to differ.

Different opinions make for more interesting discussions, and that's why many people offering differing opinions to your repeated claims each time, and actual results that differ from your repeated claims each time, also make for interesting reading, so long as they are read.

Crowmann wrote: »

However I will post no more on pricing and leave it to the 'experts' who clearly no more than me. :rotfl:

I don't think any of us have ever claimed to be experts, we simply share real information in the face of repeated and unsubstantiated claims.

Similarly, I don't think any of us are 'arm chair' estimators, since that implies we don't have any experience of actual PV installs ourselves, or that our knowledge isn't kept updated by the information on more recent installs and prices acquired by reading that shared by other and newer PV'ers.

If you think about it, you might also be learning from such discussions - two months ago you stated that 'arm chair estimators' were wrong about prices falling, and claimed that £6k (for tiles) and nearer £7k (for slate) was an acceptable target price, but yesterday you revised that figure down to £5k.

Now, personally, I fully accept that the very lowest price might not be a good job, and that just because one of us has gotten a great deal recently, not all new PV'ers might be able to match that. However, new PV'ers should be made aware of what can (and has been achieved) to avoid them focusing on the wrong average price target.*

*For example - If the latest deals by those (not ripped off) are in the £4.5k-£6k range, then that gives people an idea on an average target of around £5.2k, but £6k is OK. However, if you tell people £6k is a reasonable target, then that implies (to me, but perhaps not to others) that £6.5k-£7k is fine. So the more information folk have, the more reasonable their decision can be.

Also, comparisons to 'lowest' prices might be a good thing, as PV is not necessarily a good idea for all, and a realisation that they will have to pay far more than others, might make them think twice about having PV at all. Personally I like to think back at the lower priced deals some on here obtained after first arriving with horrendous quotes, but I also feel proud (of myself and other G&E members) when folk walk away from PV (for now) when they see it simply makes no sense for them. It's about the right deal, not just the least worse deal.