Forumites Thoughts On Fitting Solar Panels To My Roof Please.

[MainbraceSplicer]

My energy supplier has just sent me a flea mail regarding the offer of giving me a one thousand odd discount on them fitting solar panels to my roof.

Now! considering that I am among one of the dinosaurs of this forum and wondering if in my lifetime I would ever get back the extra outlay for the rest of the setup, I believe the panels fitted are about a thousand quid each.

My house is fully insulated with about 18 ins of insulation in the loft, cavity walls insulated by a reputable company and modern K Glass fully sealed windows fitted. I am a low user of energy.

They are offering a feedback price but given the fact that I will still have to pay that controversial standing charge I really do not think the proposal is even worth considering.

What do the notably informed forumites think of this proposal?

Thanks for your comments. Regards.

Pat.  

[Regulo]

You will never get back your outlay at the rates being offered for kwh exported to the grid. And you need to use the power generated during the time it is generated i. e. the daytime. Unless you want to spend even more on battery storage. Unfortunately, this is not a viable proposition for most people now. IMO of course. Do your own maths, and don't rush in. 

[deebee29]

Hi

We had 10 panels + battery storage fitted to our south facing roof a year past May and are being paid for energy we don’t use which is sent back to the grid. 
since May this year we have not paid anything for energy ( no heating on at the moment only water heating) in fact we have our account credited a few pounds each month.

we still pay a monthly direct debit but have just reclaimed £500.00 back, still retaining some credit for the winter.

we live in the North East (close to Angel of the North) and still generate on dull days.obviously it’s not as good in the winter with shorter days but we are very happy with the system.

 

Hope this helps

 

David

[grendel]

its interesting, you can save money, the payback will be in the order of decades- but to the energy company every little bit of generation they can tap into add to their resources in an area.

Basically while solar panels have been proven to still be generating 80% of original capacity after 25 years thus assuring they are a good long term investment- you will gain more by using them to charge a battery bank which you can then use overnight than just having the panels and exporting the 'spare' energy to the grid. I run a small scale solar setup to power my shed- its not connected to the house electrics making all the power I get available for my use.

its basically a swings and roundabouts topic. I have seen reports where people can virtually exist without using grid power, but then if you are not using the energy and its being exported to the grid- the tarriff you are paid is quite meager compared to what the energy company can charge your neighbour to use the same energy.

my take- if you want to do it then take their saving but have a system with a battery bank, then you can make best advantage of the energy.

[annv]

Hi Pat I had 16 panels = 4 Kwh fitted in 2015 by a firm in Oulton Broad, very pleased with them was told it would be 12 to 15 years pay back. In Fact payback was 5 years, i now get free hot water and a yearly earnings of £720=00 this last year April 23__24 Until they increased the unit cost in 2020 i would have had  gas and electric paid for. At the time electric cost me 14.47  and solar payment 13.83 with 5p meter charge,Now i get 18.34 solar and have to pay 23.17 with a 47.53 meter charge,( someone is making a killing) . for what i use during the night. So overall i now pay £1030 a year offset by £720 solar pay back. Plus free hot water and the electric i use during the day. which I can't tell  as i dont have a magic meter. I had thought about a battery set up but £300 into 10,000 = 30years so not worth it As with a morgige the cost today stays the same but the savings increase over time. The main thing to look out for is how the fixings are attached to the roof, Will they leak/drip over time without you noticing, you need fixings that go under not through the slates/tiles. John

[MainbraceSplicer]

Thanks everybody for your excellent advice. I have decided that it is not worth me having solar panels fitted to my house.

I do have a couple of small ones fitted in my boat which do an admirable job in keeping the battery topped up and I use a little four watt panel in my car during the winter time to balance the outgoings ie, alarm, ecu, and whatever drains my battery. My car does not get used much as you can imagine as I have London Freedom Pass. No matter what people say about public transport, if you are not carrying a load of gear and have a bit of time it wins every time, in London anyway. And if you want to "splice the mainbrace" when you are out, no problem.

Cheers everybody!  

[Regulo]

Annv's figures are using the old FIT payments, which were a no-brainer - very generous, with most people getting a full refund of initial outlay in 5 to 7 years. That scheme is no longer available to new installs, with very small payments now for kwh returned to the grid. It really makes no sense financially, unless you have a battery to store the generated power for evening/night use. 

[Davydine]

We had solar panels installed about a year ago and a battery installed about 6 months ago. Year to date we have generated approx. 4.9MWh and we have exported approx 3.1MWh The Octopus Flux tariff pays 15.5p per KWh through the day and 23.6p per KWh at peak period (4pm to 7pm i think). Hard to completely quantify the savings. The exported electricity will pay about £1000 in a year and the electricity I have used may save another £400. Furthermore, in the winter, I can charge the battery overnight on cheap electricity.

I think it will take about 15 years to pay for itself. One thing I can't quantify, does the solar panel / battery set up add to the value of the house.

[ExSurveyor]

They used to devalue a property as it was all a bit unknown and lenders don't like uncertainty.

Now they have a neutral effect as long as they are a recognised installation company.

[oldgregg]

I've had a quote recently as well, we have a relatively small property but the shape and orientation of the roof means we could fit 13 panels and therefore have a 5.6KWh peak install with circa 9KWh of storage.

The trouble is the cheapest option was around £10K and the better spec with GivEnergy inverter and battery came to around £12K.

Looking at the figures it seems the payback period is around 14 years, however the inverter and battery have an estimated life of 12 years.

OVO are offering 20p per KWh for excess energy and combined with the energy saving, the total benefit per annum is around £800...

But the system is effectively a grand a year if you amortize over the 12 years before stuff starts needing replacement.

Current retail cost for the inverter and battery comes to around £5K. In 12 years I would expect replacement units and installation to be nearer £7.5K.

There is also the question of how long that 20p export rate is going to be available.

I can't make the numbers add up, so I think as Grendel says (and it's his industry!) this is very much about the energy providers looking to add capacity and have someone else pay for it.

 

[grendel]

really if you are a developer building new houses, then its a no brainer, bulk reduces the costs and the energy provider will contribute to the  cost of the install and it will lower the peak demands for your development (plus it will tick boxes on planning permission) they do have to be wary of generating too much as the substation needs to be sized to handle the possible export loads as well as incoming as do the cable sizes.

I have seen recently that if you are doing a self install its cheaper to buy whole palletts of panels and resell the ones you dont use where you can then cover the cost of the panels you need in the resale price.

[MargeandParge]

Does the installation affect insurance costs.?

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[Norfolkangler]

It seems like everything affects insurance costs these days and it only goes one way. I am sure they will tell you there is more of a fire risk with the panels as well as the extra weight on the roof not to mention the already touched on subject of leaks after installation. I would love to be proved wrong of course.

[Regulo]

Since I've had solar panels (2014), I've never been asked by any insurance company about them. No doubt they'd wriggle out of any payout, if they thought the panels would contribute to any claim! 

[William92]

My Dad was an early adopter, he's had panels on his house since 2009, rated for 2.4kW. He found those paid themselves back after 7-8 years, and they're still going fine with basically no maintenance. But his feed-in tariff is fixed until 2034 and I think might be superior to those in play now. He did look into an upgrade a few years ago, where each panel is managed independently instead of as a full array, but I don't think the RoI was there.

Energy suppliers are often required to provide all sorts of crazy (sounding) assistance to people for the reduction of energy consumption in their homes. Grab what you can. You might be able to find more discounts/grants you can apply for 😄