Just considering about getting solar roof panels over the next year and have some questions to those who already have them or work in the industry.
1. Have your electricity bills been reduced much?
2. What is the timespan suggested for you to get your money back?
3. Anybody had to get none related roof repairs done after solar panels were fitted? Just wondering about potential repairs after storm damage etc?
4. Do you need to inform your insurer?
5. Anybody got anything bad to say about them?
We live in a 3 bedroom ex-council house with conservatory & utility room. 2 kids so electric bill is only gonna increase and that's without the companies putting it up....
All advice and replies appreciated
I don't have them but we're part part way through making the most of various "green" schemes available. The RHI will alter the playing field considerably when it comes out for domestic users later this year (worth googling "Renewable Heat Incentive Domestic" if you haven't already). If you have solar thermal then you will get a payment for each unit of heat that goes into your hot water - probably for the next 20 years, although it's not all finalised yet. Solar thermal is a far more efficient way of harvesting energy anyway - of course it depends on what type of water heating you have, not so easy to make it work with combis for example.
The guy from the Energy Saving Trust (i.e., encouraging but not a bare faced liar like some solar panel companies) came to visit us and he reckoned you get 7% return on a typical solar pv installation, plus the free leccie which from memory is up to 1/3 of a "normal" family's annual usage for a 4m^2 installation.
We have got them and yes they do reduce the electric bill. But we also try and do washing/dish washing and water heating when the sun shines. So today for example the washing machine is going full tilt but there was not enough to run the immersion heater.
We got ours when the FIT rate was higher, though I think the price of the panels has now reduced so I am not up with the figures at the moment. So for us it is providing a good return on investment.
I am thinking of getting a device that detects what we are exporting and automatically switches on the immersion heater and another that reduces the output of it by 50%. I feel that should be included as part of the initial installation, so do not need an electrician twice.
I think it keeps part of the roof drier and wind off roof so I think that may slightly reduce heating bill very slightly as well.
Not been producing much recently at all. :BangHead: It produces most when you do not want it. ie in the middle of sunny days.
I personally think that 1/3 reduction of your electricity/fuel would be difficult to achieve. You would have to be constantly working on it. Maybe if you are on oil or liquid gas or all electric.
I suppose that the only downside is when the snow falls off it suddenly. Also trying to use as much free electricity as possible is something of an addiction. It may become a recognised disease soon. :toothy10: And they are ugly. And a large bird has shat on it and I do not know how to get it off.
I was not lied to by solar panel co. Though it produces fewer kw than I expected. It tends to max at about 90% of its given capaciity. It takes some to run the inverter. I had expected more output mid summer but our roof is too steep so we loose power. Though I did know that from the start.
It was installed by my son's company. But the constant changes in the regulations and the need to pay a large ever increasing registration fee made them decide to stop doing it. So I expect a huge number of them have gone out of business. So a big downside is that the installation companies are disappearing. They only work now as subcontractors.
We've just ordered a full set of photo voltaic panels to provide upto 10,000kw per annum which is the max allowed for a domestic installation here in Belgium. All the people who came to quote estimated between 4 and 4.5 years to get our money back and then free leccy for the lifetime of the product. Minimum guarantee was 20 years but the one we've chosen does 30 years by which time annual production will be about 9,000kw per annum.
We can also expect government subsidies for the installation but exactly how much is not clear as they've just halted the old scheme and haven't announced the new.
One reason we chose this chap is that he has a rugged fixing system which will cope with teh strong winds we get here. He's been doing this system for 8 years now and has never had a problem but does find himself going to fix other companies' problems.
Be careful, if you go ahead, about buying panels with cells made in China as the quality is less good and they don't offer full recycling in case of replacements. We've bought German to keep jobs in Europe.
Looked into it last year September a firm in newport said I would get my money back in about 10 years at a cost of £5000 for a 1.5 to a 2 KWatt system that was all installation batteries in the loft and wired to the grid to sell back energy. My mate up the road has had his for years it was installed free the firm picks up all the bonus money and he gets the free electric. He told me that during the day his wife does all her washing, and a little bit of her ironing and that's there lot they pay for everything else. I have read stories of people who think its great but you pay a heavy price for a top of the range equipment. The first 12 month you are under warranty for your installation but not the ROOF you have to inform your insurance company that you are having solar panels installed so the up the premium or like my company they refused to insure it. They wanted to know exactly how much weight was on the roof would the ex sisting timbers take the extra weight. Alls o if your solar panels have a malfunction you need to know what is the minimum callout and cost which all goes towards the final costs. My wife and both 60 looked at each other and thought the children will not want the house after our days so why should we pay for someone to have a free present as it did not put an extra pound on the sale of our house so bought a safe of eBay the money is in there for a sunny day. Just was not right for us but you are going down the right road ask as many people as you can :wave:
Hi Kt,
We have had solar panels for around a year and generally are quite pleased with the results - we bought ours rather than used a power company scheme with no electricity bills, so it had to be an investment decision on our part, although we are very sympathetic to renewable energy etc and wanted to install panels the moment we moved into a south-facing house.
As part of the installation process we were advised to inform our insurers but didn't have any difficulty with them at all - the large number of installations which I see whenever I travel around the Leeds/Bradford area suggests that this aspect isn't a problem for most households. Like Obbelix, we gave some consideration to the provenance of the solar panels, going for some coming from a German supplier just in case we have to replace them early as we felt this would be more reliable - in terms of distribution, that is. Part of the initial assessment is having your roof inspected by the installation company or a subcontractor, but, from a more sceptical perspective, they may be more interested in installing than necessarily identifying any future problems with your roof. Overall, I am not conversant with the figures, but even last year, which didn't come across as fabulous, the solar panels came up with the goods, even when you consider that we are further north (in Yorkshire).
It is worth bearing in mind that projected lifetime of the inverter - about ten years - is shorter than that of the panels so that it is very likely that you will have to replace the inverter sooner or later. We gave some thought as to where to locate the inverter because apparently the cooler the better and roofspace can get pretty hot, but settled for the roof anyway in the end as there were disadvantages to having extra cabling between the house and, say, the garage.
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As you say, Digeroo, trying to make the most of your free electricity at the right time does concentrate the mind! :happy7: We try to use our low wattage camping kettle when the sun is more reliable as this uses a greater proportion of solar power, but it's a lost cause in winter! Similarly, we have just got a slow cooker, which we hope will replace not so much electricity usage but gas usage, and which doesn't draw from the national grid at all when set on low on a fair day. However, that's still very much work in progress as we got a larger model and are experimenting with adapting recipes. In the meantime, I try not to worry about being decapitated by a falling panel when I'm in the garden! :toothy10:
I enquired with our plumber some time ago. He said as we still have a baxi back boiler, thus still have a hot water tank, if we just had one set put on our roof above the tank we could have free hot water all the time. I think we had to have a small box/contraption put in the airing cupboard as well :)
Didn't actually have it in the end as we needed a new roof and couldn't afford both at the time. x
I've got solar thermal and pv. and was an 'early adopter' who got penalised by the last government and missed the new payment rates by 48hrs. I therefor only get 9p per kw. compared to others 43p..... :tongue3:
However solar thermal is a no brainer if you have room for a large hw tank and a south facing roof. PV is still developing and will for at least the next 10 years. Mine was installed by a reputable firm and nothing has fallen off, broken or needed repairing [..yet] , and its must be 5+ years old now. I try to cook when the sun is out but this can be difficult as I'd rather be in the garden but of course the washing machine etc get the 'sun's out' :sunny: treatment..etc.
Do your homework. I'm out of touch now with the latest deals etc but I was a mini expert when I was doing my research and knew nearly as much as the installers..
We just have just one solar panel which was fitted in September 2009. It heats the hot water.
We asked the rep about maintenance but were assured that it wouldn't require any, but ours has broken down several times. The unit cost over £5000 and we have paid out over £100 for repairs including having more fluid put in to reduce airlocks. We have now given up with the company and when it has gone wrong recently, my husband has bled the pump himself and got it going again. When we saw the pump, we thought it looked much older than 3 years old but the company ignored our calls to do anything about it. If it needs further work in the future, we will get another company out to look at it.
When it does work, we do get quite a bit of hot water from it and hardly ever need the oil boiler on to heat the hot water during the summer months.
This whole experience has put us off having solar panels to provide electricity. Our house faces east anyway so may not be an ideal investment.
Well that sounds miserable Pauline - I have ordered 3 of them today so I hope my supplier is better than yours! Later in the year the RHI will kick in, paying around 17p per kWh for the next 7 years - so as well as the "free" hot water I'm expecting over £1k a year. We will have ours working with a pellet boiler which is kinda cool too.
According to this you should be eligible for a payment too, shouldn't you?- http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy/Getting-money-back/Renewable-Heat-Incentive-RHI/FAQ-on-the-Renewable-Heat-Incentive-RHI (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy/Getting-money-back/Renewable-Heat-Incentive-RHI/FAQ-on-the-Renewable-Heat-Incentive-RHI)
For anyone who currently uses oil I really do recommend researching into the RHI as there's money to be made and free energy to be had.
As GL said, she missed the deadline by a day. We missed it by several years, so no payments for us either.
We had solar hot water for nearly ten years now and touch wood, apart from one new pump which OH installed, that was it. Two days ago the water tank got up to 51C. Not bad for February. Over winter it is usually at least 30C, with a little sun at the moment it gets to 40. By March we often get to the full 65C. It has been a good investment, despite initial cost.
Ah yes, I meant Pauline should be eligible, not gl. Sounds like you're happy with yours then galina - that's encouraging.
Quote from: galina on February 21, 2013, 07:52:25
As Pauline said, she missed the deadline by a day..........
I didn't think I had said that! Lol.
According to Ollies link, the deadline is that it has to be installed after 15th July 2009 and ours was. We will apply and see what happens.
Our house is very well insulated with cavity wall insulation as well. We have loft insulation and low energy light bulbs but am uncertain what is required in the way of draught-proofing as we are double glazed throughout.
Quote from: galina on February 21, 2013, 07:52:25
We had solar hot water for nearly ten years now and touch wood, apart from one new pump which OH installed, that was it...
What company installed your solar panel Galina? (You might want to pm me with this answer). It's strange you too have had problems with the water pump. We are convinced that the contractor used a second hand pump as it looks a lot older than the central heating pump on our boiler and that is 12 years old.
Can panels be attached to anykind of roof? Of course one would not do it on thatched one, but how about slate one? Or does one's roof have to be more modern sort?
No you didn't and I corrected it (was Green Lily), but our posts must have crossed. It was a company in Cambridge, at the time the most local, but now no longer exists. Well pumps do go eventually, same with central heating pumps, so not too cut up about that, considering the hours they do. OH replaced with a Grundfoss pump, which he said is the best. I don't know, but - touch wood - has been ok since.
Yes, and the roof has been through several pretty severe gales since too and all is well. We are happy with it.
Our roof has concrete tiles which was rather a challenge as they are thicker than normal tiles and they managed to break one. Luckily we have a few spares. The also replaced a broken one, so I suppose it was swings and roundabouts. The fittings go underneath the tiles.
The main consideration for all the chaps who came to quote for me was the state of the carpentry frame of the roof. Fortunately, ours is good as it is fairly new and was done well after a storm blew off the roof about 30 years ago. Being a barn, there is no waterproofing membrane or insulation and the tiles are pretend slate so thin but in good nick.
We finally chose our electrician to install the panels as he offered the best guarantees and his roof man was the only one to suggest installing waterproofed insulation between the carpentry frame and the roof tiles. He will remove all the tiles, install a 30cm layer of insulation and then replace the tiles attaching the solar panel supports as he goes and redoing all the gutters. Not the cheapest option but it'll mean we get a good energy rating, will qualify for insulating subsidies and won't have to do anything else to it for the next 30 years or more and by then we'll have sold up and down sized and maybe even headed somewhere with shorter, drier winters.
I have had a quote from this company of £6825 for 12 x 3kw panels and the company is MCS accredited. Opinions please?
http://www.projectsolaruk.com/
About the same as Tesco
http://www.tescohomeefficiency.com/renewable-energy/
Solar Essence offer a better deal:
http://www.solaressence.co.uk/domestic-pv/pv-price-&-payback-calculator.html?gclid=CKL-gYTd9LYCFYXItAod-SwArw
a 4kW system for just under 6K.