Solar Panels - why bother?
Discussion
Super Slo Mo said:
Ok, I was working on the assumption that 3.5 k was kWh rather than sterling. The numbers look rather better like that, although £3,500 per annum doesn't sound like a small system to me!
Indeed - assuming the OP meant 8 kW rather than 8 kWh, it is double (or more) the normal.Jambo85 said:
Super Slo Mo said:
Ok, I was working on the assumption that 3.5 k was kWh rather than sterling. The numbers look rather better like that, although £3,500 per annum doesn't sound like a small system to me!
Indeed - assuming the OP meant 8 kW rather than 8 kWh, it is double (or more) the normal.In practice it wouldn't be hard to get much bigger growth of the initial cash with some careful investment in blue chip high yielding shares.
Solar panels for home use are pretty much a lame duck. The goverment has decimated the FIT tariff and the panels prices have stopped decreasing.
My system produces 3000kwh per year and the pay back will be about 8 years. But I got lucky and bought during the sweet spot a few years back with cheap panel prices and high FIT tariff. No point purchasing now though, financials make zero sense
My system produces 3000kwh per year and the pay back will be about 8 years. But I got lucky and bought during the sweet spot a few years back with cheap panel prices and high FIT tariff. No point purchasing now though, financials make zero sense
"The number of solar panels being installed in the UK has fallen by more than 80 per cent, according to an analysis of new figures"
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/solar-pow...
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/solar-pow...
Jambo85 said:
Super Slo Mo said:
bearman68 said:
I have a very small system - about 8kwh worth. It generates about 3.5k a year (FIT now about 52p per unit IIRC), so from an investment perspective it's rather good. I spent about 20k on the system. That's better than most financial investments.
I realise I'm quoting a 2 week old post, but the bit in bold seems to miss the point to me, in common with what seems to be the 'man maths' used by everyone who is trying to justify solar on cost grounds.Using the example above, the £20k example will take around 13 years to pay back.
Given that, presumably, the solar panels have no real asset value, as far as I can see the 'investor' is now at point Zero, or in other words, the point he was at before investing the £20k in the first place 13 years earlier.
This is not great investing, unless I've missed something.
Assuming useful life of 20 years then 14.3 yrs x 3.5k = £50k of income after payback.
But the original post is vague enough that I could also be interpreting it incorrectly.
HannsG said:
Mother in law had solar panels pre installed on a house she had brought.
I think it was a bodge job as during winter a pipe burst in loft and damaged the whole house.
It had to be gutted and put through insurance.
There's no water in the panels we're discussing here as they're electric panels. I think it was a bodge job as during winter a pipe burst in loft and damaged the whole house.
It had to be gutted and put through insurance.
If they're solar thermal panels they should be filled with a glycol (antifreeze) fluid rated to -20C not water so won't freeze and burst a pipe in a uk loft ever. A typical system will contain 12- 18 litres in total depending on pipe length so shouldn't damage the whole house, even if a joint failed at the lowest point in the system and drained completely. If it burst in the loft then you'd lose maybe 5 litres or so of fluid which would give you damp patch on the ceiling. I'm calling bulls
t. Edited by 4Q on Tuesday 18th April 22:42
Read all of this thread, which seems to be going round in circles. It seems very difficult to get an honest, unbiased opinion whether solar panels are a good idea in our circumstances. Perhaps some kind soul can help?
Three bedroom semi. Roof faces south-west. 30% pitch (probably). Fairly high daily electricity usage - averages around £70 month (£50 summer, double in winter) BUT we've just ordered an electric car (Leaf) so are expecting this to double - home charge from around 3pm each day.
Panels appear to now cost around the £4K mark (quote from Ikea, 8 panels).
It *seems* to me to be a good investment. The figures I find online seem to imply they are - but they're there to sell panels.
Still worth it?
Three bedroom semi. Roof faces south-west. 30% pitch (probably). Fairly high daily electricity usage - averages around £70 month (£50 summer, double in winter) BUT we've just ordered an electric car (Leaf) so are expecting this to double - home charge from around 3pm each day.
Panels appear to now cost around the £4K mark (quote from Ikea, 8 panels).
It *seems* to me to be a good investment. The figures I find online seem to imply they are - but they're there to sell panels.
Still worth it?
page3 said:
Usage averages around £70 month (£50 summer, double in winter) BUT we've just ordered an electric car (Leaf) so are expecting this to double - home charge from around 3pm each day.
You will need to factor in the cost of some storage (such as a Tesla Powerwall) to take advantage of panel generated power in the car, if it is not plugged in all dayWhat is the output of the panels? Electric cars will take everything they can give all day long on a sunny day and then may only get a 'quarter tank' [say 20kw from panels on a good sunny day and a Tesla needing 80kwh to recharge fully). All ish!
I get 25kw daily from 3.5Kw panels at best - about 5 yrs old now so have dropped a bit. Get the back of yer fag packet out and be sure that everything is still high quality kit (at those prices) with very long warranty on panels and panel output and inverter...
I get 25kw daily from 3.5Kw panels at best - about 5 yrs old now so have dropped a bit. Get the back of yer fag packet out and be sure that everything is still high quality kit (at those prices) with very long warranty on panels and panel output and inverter...
page3 said:
Read all of this thread, which seems to be going round in circles. It seems very difficult to get an honest, unbiased opinion whether solar panels are a good idea in our circumstances. Perhaps some kind soul can help?
Three bedroom semi. Roof faces south-west. 30% pitch (probably). Fairly high daily electricity usage - averages around £70 month (£50 summer, double in winter) BUT we've just ordered an electric car (Leaf) so are expecting this to double - home charge from around 3pm each day.
Panels appear to now cost around the £4K mark (quote from Ikea, 8 panels).
It *seems* to me to be a good investment. The figures I find online seem to imply they are - but they're there to sell panels.
Still worth it?
You will have to work out if it is worth it, but I can give you some figures. The size of your system will be expressed in kWp, the output is measured in kWh.Three bedroom semi. Roof faces south-west. 30% pitch (probably). Fairly high daily electricity usage - averages around £70 month (£50 summer, double in winter) BUT we've just ordered an electric car (Leaf) so are expecting this to double - home charge from around 3pm each day.
Panels appear to now cost around the £4K mark (quote from Ikea, 8 panels).
It *seems* to me to be a good investment. The figures I find online seem to imply they are - but they're there to sell panels.
Still worth it?
My system has been installed for 7 years. The size is 3.88kWp and from that I average 4000kWh per year. That's what I generate and what the FIT is based on, so you can extrapolate from your propose system size, and calculate an approximate income.
The PV system will produce it power when the sun is shining. We use very little power when the sun is shining, so most of ours is exported. For us, having a powerwall would be a waste of money since we would be unable to use anywhere near the power that we export anyway.
The PV system will usually produce modest amounts of power all day. If you intend to charge a BEV from it, you will need to set the charge plan to its lowest power, else it will draw power from the mains as well as what you are producing. There are some clever switches which will allow you only send to the car at a power rate that means yo don't have to import from the grid.
If you're out all day, and recharge at night, you'd probably be best looking at economy 7 type tariff. Again, a powerwall probably won't be effective as the most it could save you would be the number of units it could hold times your cost per unit each day.
Paul Drawmer said:
You will have to work out if it is worth it, but I can give you some figures. The size of your system will be expressed in kWp, the output is measured in kWh.
My system has been installed for 7 years. The size is 3.88kWp and from that I average 4000kWh per year. That's what I generate and what the FIT is based on, so you can extrapolate from your propose system size, and calculate an approximate income.
The PV system will produce it power when the sun is shining. We use very little power when the sun is shining, so most of ours is exported. For us, having a powerwall would be a waste of money since we would be unable to use anywhere near the power that we export anyway.
The PV system will usually produce modest amounts of power all day. If you intend to charge a BEV from it, you will need to set the charge plan to its lowest power, else it will draw power from the mains as well as what you are producing. There are some clever switches which will allow you only send to the car at a power rate that means yo don't have to import from the grid.
If you're out all day, and recharge at night, you'd probably be best looking at economy 7 type tariff. Again, a powerwall probably won't be effective as the most it could save you would be the number of units it could hold times your cost per unit each day.
That's extremely useful - thanks.My system has been installed for 7 years. The size is 3.88kWp and from that I average 4000kWh per year. That's what I generate and what the FIT is based on, so you can extrapolate from your propose system size, and calculate an approximate income.
The PV system will produce it power when the sun is shining. We use very little power when the sun is shining, so most of ours is exported. For us, having a powerwall would be a waste of money since we would be unable to use anywhere near the power that we export anyway.
The PV system will usually produce modest amounts of power all day. If you intend to charge a BEV from it, you will need to set the charge plan to its lowest power, else it will draw power from the mains as well as what you are producing. There are some clever switches which will allow you only send to the car at a power rate that means yo don't have to import from the grid.
If you're out all day, and recharge at night, you'd probably be best looking at economy 7 type tariff. Again, a powerwall probably won't be effective as the most it could save you would be the number of units it could hold times your cost per unit each day.
This looks the business for the future. Tesla Solar roof! https://youtu.be/4sfwDyiPTdU.
BoRED S2upid said:
This looks the business for the future. Tesla Solar roof! https://youtu.be/4sfwDyiPTdU.
Hope so 
Paul Drawmer said:
You will have to work out if it is worth it, but I can give you some figures. The size of your system will be expressed in kWp, the output is measured in kWh.
My system has been installed for 7 years. The size is 3.88kWp and from that I average 4000kWh per year. That's what I generate and what the FIT is based on, so you can extrapolate from your propose system size, and calculate an approximate income.
Some questions if I mayMy system has been installed for 7 years. The size is 3.88kWp and from that I average 4000kWh per year. That's what I generate and what the FIT is based on, so you can extrapolate from your propose system size, and calculate an approximate income.
Who do you sell your power to? To the 'grid'? To your energy supplier? To some third party?
Is there much difference in the price different buyers pay?
How much do you get per kWh?
MrJuice said:
Some questions if I may
Who do you sell your power to? To the 'grid'? To your energy supplier? To some third party?
Is there much difference in the price different buyers pay?
How much do you get per kWh?
You nominally 'sell' 50% of what you generate to the power company you get your FIT payments from, for a fixed payment that is the same across them all.Who do you sell your power to? To the 'grid'? To your energy supplier? To some third party?
Is there much difference in the price different buyers pay?
How much do you get per kWh?
I say "nominally" - they don't measure it but assume it. However, given they only pay pennies for that 'export' amount, it is peanuts.
We have a 4KW system (18 panels, I think), & we gave generated between 3,100 and 3,500kW each year for the past 6.5 years.
Clearly some here are generating more: I guess the East Midlands is a less sunny place!! Our roof is pretty ideally placed, south-facing not overlooked.
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