overall cost of installing Solar panels
Discussion
Looking at PH's who have had panels installed .... what were the installation costs , how much electricity do you produce , any advantages / disadvantages
or recommendations advice would be appreciated .
wife has a plug in hybrid , so using a fair amount of electricity
.
Large 4 bedroom house in the New forest
cheers
or recommendations advice would be appreciated .
wife has a plug in hybrid , so using a fair amount of electricity
.
Large 4 bedroom house in the New forest
cheers
Also interested to hear.
My folks got one side of their double garage fitted with solar panels about 10-15 years ago. They got one of the last decent grants and got about £1000/pa grant and also about £800-1000 from selling elec back or from subsidising their bill.
Cost £16k to install then so they got their money back in 8 years and whilst the rebate has gone down they still make a decent amount back (£1k or so pa). I’d hazard a guess their install would only be £7-8k now but obviously grants not the same either...
My folks got one side of their double garage fitted with solar panels about 10-15 years ago. They got one of the last decent grants and got about £1000/pa grant and also about £800-1000 from selling elec back or from subsidising their bill.
Cost £16k to install then so they got their money back in 8 years and whilst the rebate has gone down they still make a decent amount back (£1k or so pa). I’d hazard a guess their install would only be £7-8k now but obviously grants not the same either...
We had 16 Canadian PV panels installed in July, a 5.5 kW system with Solar Edge inverter and an iBoost, this sends excess electricity to the hot water cylinder immersion heater, so saves on gas costs during the daytime too. Total installation cost was £6,000. Our original quote was £12,000 from a local company who seemed really good and had great reviews, but we decided to get some check quotes before signing. ECH Group in Fareham (who we went with) told us we were being ripped off and they could install the same system for half the price. We had a few issues with installation as the scaffolding put up wasn’t around enough of the house so the installation team had to fit the panels on one roof from ladders, which I wouldn’t have wanted to do but they did it without a fuss.
One a sunny day in July the system was generating 27 kWh a day, way more than we were using and more than enough to heat all the hot water we need on its own. On an overcast day in October (such as today) it produces less than 1.5 kWh.
It was £7,000 for a battery, and although this is more than the whole system it can mean you’re using virtually no electricity from the grid. We didn’t get one as we intend to get an electric car that will be at home during the day, so that will use any excess (and therefore the home battery won’t charge).
The feed in tariffs are gone now, replaced by the laughable Smart Export Guarantee, which means after filling out a questionnaire and waiting a couple of months your energy provider will give you 3.5p/kW. Compared with the 15.5p/kW that you give them. I worked out that this will credit me with about tuppence a year.
It’s very hard for a domestic PV system to pay for itself now, it can just about do it over the life of the panels if you’re lucky, so do it for environmental reasons, or if you like providing a warm, dry, but restricted headroom, habitat for all of your neighbourhood pigeons. Seriously, make sure you tick the anti-pigeon mesh option, they will move in on day one.
I have only just got a smart meter installed so I can’t give an accurate before and after comparison. And I haven’t had them for a whole year. But our electric and gas bills have reduced significantly (gas was virtually zero over summer), and we’ve got a 3.5kW heater hot tub, which uses more electric than everything else combined.
One a sunny day in July the system was generating 27 kWh a day, way more than we were using and more than enough to heat all the hot water we need on its own. On an overcast day in October (such as today) it produces less than 1.5 kWh.
It was £7,000 for a battery, and although this is more than the whole system it can mean you’re using virtually no electricity from the grid. We didn’t get one as we intend to get an electric car that will be at home during the day, so that will use any excess (and therefore the home battery won’t charge).
The feed in tariffs are gone now, replaced by the laughable Smart Export Guarantee, which means after filling out a questionnaire and waiting a couple of months your energy provider will give you 3.5p/kW. Compared with the 15.5p/kW that you give them. I worked out that this will credit me with about tuppence a year.
It’s very hard for a domestic PV system to pay for itself now, it can just about do it over the life of the panels if you’re lucky, so do it for environmental reasons, or if you like providing a warm, dry, but restricted headroom, habitat for all of your neighbourhood pigeons. Seriously, make sure you tick the anti-pigeon mesh option, they will move in on day one.
I have only just got a smart meter installed so I can’t give an accurate before and after comparison. And I haven’t had them for a whole year. But our electric and gas bills have reduced significantly (gas was virtually zero over summer), and we’ve got a 3.5kW heater hot tub, which uses more electric than everything else combined.
I'm in the process of building a house and although I wanted all the panels I could fit, hooked up with 2 Tesla batteries, when I looked into the financials and payback period, it was financial suicide.
There is such a long pay back period for these now, without taking breakdowns/malfunction/maintenance into it, it just wasn't worth considering further unless I gave up my job and starting hugging trees full time
There is such a long pay back period for these now, without taking breakdowns/malfunction/maintenance into it, it just wasn't worth considering further unless I gave up my job and starting hugging trees full time
I paid £6k for 4kw system 7.5 years ago. It has been faultless since install. The FIT payments have just reached £6k since install so 7.5 years to pay for it self. Plus I get a lot of free electricity when the sun shines. I easily make 4000kw a year.
I am not sure what the costs and FIT's are these days, but I would recommend them to everyone. The ones who don't like them are generally the ones who cant afford them, they will say all kinds of things to justify that hate for them.
I am not sure what the costs and FIT's are these days, but I would recommend them to everyone. The ones who don't like them are generally the ones who cant afford them, they will say all kinds of things to justify that hate for them.
we had a 4kw system installed in April, best day is 33.6KWh, it ws £5k installed and has a doodah to send energy to the immersion. Had monster scaffolding, that was £800 but then the missus spent sometime after the solar job doing all the upstairs windows along the back of the house - we are around a mile inland from the channel so that side takes a beating. dont get a Fit but most days a couple of loads of washing and the dishwasher are on for free. We also have an Everhot cooker so that will cost nothing to run today as its squite sunny.
I’ve been considering the same given a new ev, and worked out that it’s not really an economic decision but environmental instead.
My egolf costs me £3 to charge from empty, something that in normal times I’d do twice a week. My conclusion being that it’s not the car that’s really driving my electricity costs. Do the maths on your hybrid, I bet it’s a very small part of your bill.
Instead I’ve switched to a green tariff to help with the environmental impact, and might put them in eventually, but it’s a heart over head decision
My egolf costs me £3 to charge from empty, something that in normal times I’d do twice a week. My conclusion being that it’s not the car that’s really driving my electricity costs. Do the maths on your hybrid, I bet it’s a very small part of your bill.
Instead I’ve switched to a green tariff to help with the environmental impact, and might put them in eventually, but it’s a heart over head decision
MiseryStreak said:
It was £7,000 for a battery, and although this is more than the whole system it can mean you’re using virtually no electricity from the grid. We didn’t get one as we intend to get an electric car that will be at home during the day, so that will use any excess (and therefore the home battery won’t charge).
Not strictly true. We have a battery which can be utilised for instance when the sun goes behind a cloud, as well as charging during the day. We also have a dual rate electricity meter though so during the winter months I charge the battery at night using the cheaper rate electricity, which then powers the house for some of the day when the rate goes up.Uncle boshy said:
Instead I’ve switched to a green tariff to help with the environmental impact, and might put them in eventually, but it’s a heart over head decision
With so much of our electric coming from renewable sources now anyhow there would be little point in your .0000001% contribution though.Aside from the cost one of the things which puts me off is the ruination of a decent looking house. If my house looked like this I wouldn't want to come home.
We'll look back and cringe at these retro fitted abominations not only now, but for years to come.
Tesla however are here to save us with their new solar panel tiles. A house built for solar is a much better prospect, not only visually, but also in that you haven't paid for two roof coverings.
I used to work in the industry when the FIT's were at a decent rate. Back then it was well worth getting a system. I used to design the electrics for 2MW installs so I know a fair bit about them.
These days it just isn't worth getting a system, as a previous poster mentioned, the pay back would take longer than the life span of the panels (25 years or so) and that is without any problems you could get with the inverter.
These days it just isn't worth getting a system, as a previous poster mentioned, the pay back would take longer than the life span of the panels (25 years or so) and that is without any problems you could get with the inverter.
£7.5k install in 2013 for 4KW system.
returns £75 per month averaged over the year.
meter now reads 28577 KW since initial install
the return covers the cost of all electric used at the house and leaves a fair bit over.
plus all that free electricity for last 7 years.
the system came with the house so we had no initial outlay.
the indoor meter today shows 10Kwh produced and for the most part it has been overcast here (SW Somerset)
in the sunny summer days 25-28Kwh is the norm.
returns £75 per month averaged over the year.
meter now reads 28577 KW since initial install
the return covers the cost of all electric used at the house and leaves a fair bit over.
plus all that free electricity for last 7 years.
the system came with the house so we had no initial outlay.
the indoor meter today shows 10Kwh produced and for the most part it has been overcast here (SW Somerset)
in the sunny summer days 25-28Kwh is the norm.
Edited by V40TC on Monday 26th October 17:30
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Do it for environmental reasons not with the intention of recouping costs and it's probably ok.Personally wouldn't do it. Retrofitted panels look gash and my next door neighbour is currently struggling to get their house sale completed because they rent their solar PV and that's not allowed for some reason.
A 4kW PV system should be in the region of £4.5k - £5k installed and should pay for itself in around 7 years at current electricity prices. A battery and PV system is a little more than double that but will take the same amount of time to pay back as in addition to storing the excess generated energy April - late Sept you can buy cheap rate off peak in the winter.
Simpo Two said:
My opening question is - did you get a hybrid to save money or save the planet?
hell ..no its the wife's she only uses it to go short distances 25 miles round trip PHEV has a range of about 28 miles , and is useful for taking the dogs in the forest ..I'm not exactly eco friendly .... The 3 litre Capri is my daily drive now , probably getting 18 mpg ?
and the DBS probably about 10 mpg ........the way i drive.....
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