Solar panels

[hayfield]

Essex County Council have joined up with Solar Together to offer solar panels at a competitive price, has anyone had any experience with this company ? The deal is by grouping customers together bulk discount prices can be obtained

 

My initial estimate/quotation is for 10 panels generating 3950kWh for £3551 installed.  From what can see for 4000kw installations usually cost £4800

 

Seemingly my £3500 investment is likely to save / provide an 8% return, which I guess will increase over the years as prices rise, 

 

Any thoughts please

 

[Hibelroad]

I think the output needs clarifying first, kWh and Kw seems confused and a 4 Mw installation for £4800 would be a bargain. 

[MarkC]

Well, I'm not impressed with my solar panels, & they've been up some 5 years now. Pay for themselves within 10 years, as promised? No way. Perhaps in 15 if I'm lucky.

 

Mark

[hayfield]

My quote is for 10 panels which would generate 3,590 kWh

 

Money Savings Expert says the average system costs £4800 and takes 4 to 22 years to recoup your money, paying £3500 will shorten this time

Edited April 27, 2021 by hayfield

[hayfield]

5 minutes ago, MarkC said:

Well, I'm not impressed with my solar panels, & they've been up some 5 years now. Pay for themselves within 10 years, as promised? No way. Perhaps in 15 if I'm lucky.

 

Mark

 

Given money on deposit is earning little an 8% return is good. If you will break even in 15 years that sounds impressive, the idea is making better use of our money, electricity in the future will only get dearer

 

I also played with the numbers, if I have 7 panels the cost reduces to £2620

The savings on usage from £139 pa to £117 income from sales drops from £150 to £98 but it saves me 26% on outlay, my only concern is this might be false economy

 

Looking at the increase in solar farms business sees it as a worthwhile exercise !! 

[John ks]

22 minutes ago, hayfield said:

My quote is for 10 panels which would generate 3,590 kWh

Assuming that your panels are 395W (which could be correct for modern panels) then 10 panels gives 3.95Kw

Now for these panels to produce 3590KWh they would have to output at maximum capacity for 1000 Hrs

 

As Hibelroad says

56 minutes ago, Hibelroad said:

I think the output needs clarifying first, kWh and Kw seems confused

KWh is Energy used or produced

KW or W is the power rating of the device

If you were to measure the power outputed by a solar panel it would vary from 0W at night to max output on a clear sunny day

Sorry if i am being a bit pedantic but it can handy to know the difference between Power & Energy. Simply put Energy is power by time 

John 

[MarkC]

34 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

Given money on deposit is earning little an 8% return is good. If you will break even in 15 years that sounds impressive, the idea is making better use of our money, electricity in the future will only get dearer

 

I also played with the numbers, if I have 7 panels the cost reduces to £2620

The savings on usage from £139 pa to £117 income from sales drops from £150 to £98 but it saves me 26% on outlay, my only concern is this might be false economy

 

Looking at the increase in solar farms business sees it as a worthwhile exercise !! 

Hi John

 

As I say, 15 years <may> just happen, IF we get some decent clear weather for long periods of time.

 

Still, at least I actually authorised installation, unlike someone I know who told the salesman that he wasn't interested. 3 weeks later, he came home from work at lunchtime one day, to find scaffolding up around his house & solar panels about to be fitted to his roof. He had to get the police involved to get the installers to stop, and spent the next 6 months arguing with the solar company, who were demanding he pay for the work done - the scaffolding - and were going to sue him for breach of contract! They finally backed off when he counter-claimed against them & demanded they show him a signed contract, which, of course, they couldn't...

 

Too many cowboys about 

 

Mark

[Tony_S]

44 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

Given money on deposit is earning little an 8% return is good. If you will break even in 15 years that sounds impressive, the idea is making better use of our money, electricity in the future will only get dearer

 

I also played with the numbers, if I have 7 panels the cost reduces to £2620

The savings on usage from £139 pa to £117 income from sales drops from £150 to £98 but it saves me 26% on outlay, my only concern is this might be false economy

 

Looking at the increase in solar farms business sees it as a worthwhile exercise !! 

We live in Essex too and have paid the deposit. I will now see what happens. First step is a remote roof survey! 

[Ruffnut Thorston]

This thing about panels paying for themselves over time can be a red herring.

 

We have 12 volt panels on our narrow boat.

 

We don’t have a clue if they have paid for themselves yet.

 

We look at the savings in engine running to charge the batteries, wear and tear, fuel, noise and vibration, etc.

 

As long as you get some benefit...it’s all to the good we believe. 

[hayfield]

Mark

 

Thank you, this is a program Essex CC has initiated / recommended, I have checked out the installer using Which Trusted Traders. Hopefully these things will reduce the risk

 

I live in Essex, which has the least rainfall, plus have a nigh on due south rear roof with no large trees to shade it, guaranteed for 10 years with an insurance guarantee, just seems a good use of capital given low interest rates and rising fuel costs, plus we are home all day so if clever enough clean and cook during daylight

[hayfield]

8 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

We live in Essex too and have paid the deposit. I will now see what happens. First step is a remote roof survey! 

 

What reasons interested you/made you take up the offer please

[Pete the Elaner]

4 minutes ago, John ks said:

Assuming that your panels are 395W (which could be correct for modern panels) then 10 panels gives 3.95Kw

Now for these panels to produce 3590KWh they would have to output at maximum capacity for 1000 Hrs

 

As Hibelroad says

KWh is Energy used or produced

KW or W is the power rating of the device

If you were to measure the power outputed by a solar panel it would vary from 0W at night to max output on a clear sunny day

Sorry if i am being a bit pedantic but it can handy to know the difference between Power & Energy. Simply put Energy is power by time 

John 

 

I don't think you are being pedantic.

3590kW is rather a lot of power, similar to the amount drawn by a class 86. If this much power could be generated from a rooftop, we would all be travelling in solar/battery powered vehicles by now.

 

Maybe the warranty is for 3590KWh of energy production, after which any failed calls will be charged to the customer?

I would ask them to get their figures sorted!

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, hayfield said:

 

What reasons interested you/made you take up the offer please

My wife has been keen to have solar power. Her brother has a similar sized house with panels in the Midlands and is very happy though it will have been another supplier. Our gas and electricity supplier sent us details about an installation offer but it turned out it wasn’t available in this region. The initial letter we received via Essex County Council looked interesting so I asked for a quote. The biggest thing stopping me was that I would need to clear the loft for the inverter but apparently not as we have a linked garage, where the fuse box and meter are also conveniently located. I did look up the company who will follow up on the quote and they do have a nice website! It does state that we may not hear for a while now. That doesn’t bother me, we don’t seem to be going anywhere at present.

If anything happens I will post back here. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Tony_S

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

3590KWh

I read my documentation and the KWh figure for mine is a bit higher but is the figure per annum not a 100 hours or some other number. 

[Nearholmer]

Do these deals include:

 

- insurance against ‘knock on’ costs that might arise if the roof installation isn’t carried-out absolutely diligently; and,

 

- removal, disposal, and remedial work to the roof at life expiry?

 

I decided against an installation both because the pay-back period seemed incredibly long, even making some assumptions about electricity price inflation, and even given a very high % subsidy on first cost, and because of imponderables such as the above.

 

The salesman, BTW, was a world-class BS merchant, and I practically had to put thumb-screws on him to get solid numbers out of him upon which to base my calculations.

 

Caveat emptor.

 

 

[hayfield]

5 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Do these deals include:

 

- insurance against ‘knock on’ costs that might arise if the roof installation isn’t carried-out absolutely diligently; and,

 

- removal, disposal, and remedial work to the roof at life expiry?

 

I decided against an installation both because the pay-back period seemed incredibly long, even making some assumptions about electricity price inflation, and even given a very high % subsidy on first cost, and because of imponderables such as the above.

 

The salesman, BTW, was a world-class BS merchant, and I practically had to put thumb-screws on him to get solid numbers out of him upon which to base my calculations.

 

Caveat emptor.

 

 

 

 

The good thing to date is that there has been no salesman (I spent years being one). yes there is an insurance backed scheme for both installation and materials for 10 years.

I may have thought differently had the price been higher, but it seems these collective schemes bring the initial outlay down. Link below

 

https://solartogether.co.uk/essex/home?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search&utm_content=brand&gclid=CjwKCAjw7J6EBhBDEiwA5UUM2qM9tm3WuBXh_UB1iOMf14A03h4OKMGDpUW70GU8mwvZxqShib4fQRoCHSIQAvD_BwE

[trevora]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I read my documentation and the KWh figure for mine is a bit higher but is the figure per annum not a 100 hours or some other number. 

That would work out at about 10kwh per day

which my 4kw (2 east + 2 west faceing)

is doing this month /more in summer less in winter

in north devon

[Vistisen]

Another thing to consider is house insurance. In a case of fire. The fire brigade cannot just start spraying water. They have to individually smash each panel to stop them generating current first. At least that was the case when the council looked into putting solar panels on the roof of our local school. ( I was one of the governors)

 

[Stanley Melrose]

All I will add to this thread is that you get on and do it.  We paid £10780 for a 16 panel installation in 2011 and got our capital back in 6 years.  OK, we were very early adopters and just happened to have the cash available (from our 25% tax free retirement pension lump sums).  We've now been paid over 150% of our initial capital outlay and still have 15+ years of inflation proofed income ahead of us.  The FIT rate we got as early adopters means we are getting over £2000 a year tax free income.  I realise that these figures are way beyond what is on offer nowadays but I get to charge my BEV for nothing as well as much of the electricity we use in the house and even export some to the grid.

 

 

Just do it is my message.

 

Stan

[Graham108]

I'm the same as @Stanley MelroseI got in at the very end of the most-generous FIT payments - Feb 2012. Investment (just under £10000) paid off in 6 years. I now get approx £2000 p.a. which covers gas, electricity & water bills with a little bit left over.  So I consider us to be 'utility neutral' - and I'd be better off if the rest of the family understood how it works. 

 

One thing I regret not chasing is the panels which are used to generate hot water - in my view they'd have been better earners than straight-forward electricity generators.

 

There's nothing in the  above posts relating to FIT payments - so I'm guessing  they are no longer available for new installations?

[Nick C]

1 hour ago, Vistisen said:

Another thing to consider is house insurance. In a case of fire. The fire brigade cannot just start spraying water. They have to individually smash each panel to stop them generating current first. At least that was the case when the council looked into putting solar panels on the roof of our local school. ( I was one of the governors)

 

Not a problem any more:

 

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2017-news/brigade-trials-light-blocking-solution-for-solar-panel-fires/

[hayfield]

I decided to bite the bullet and paid my deposit, I cannot see electricity getting any cheaper, I have two trains of thought either go for 10 panels as per the quote, or settle for 7 panels for a £1000 less, both seemingly cover my electric usage give or take a few £'s, selling excess electricity is not as economic   

[Graham108]

7 minutes ago, hayfield said:

I decided to bite the bullet and paid my deposit, I cannot see electricity getting any cheaper, I have two trains of thought either go for 10 panels as per the quote, or settle for 7 panels for a £1000 less, both seemingly cover my electric usage give or take a few £'s, selling excess electricity is not as economic   

Will you be getting a battery which will store any excess generated for use when it's dark? This option wasn't available when I got mine.

[Trainshed Terry]

I have had solor panels since 2017, I only had room for 6 panels. To get the best from your solor panels, your panels need to be facing south, I am getting a resonable return every 3 months. The funds go towards my pension pot.

 

Terry. 

[Tony_S]

5 hours ago, Graham108 said:

Will you be getting a battery which will store any excess generated for use when it's dark? This option wasn't available when I got mine.

The battery is an option with the Essex scheme. I have specified one.