PV solar quote
Discussion
British gas fitted our combi boiler, and removed the old back boiler, prior to us buying the property. Apparently they charged £4,500 and the job they did of routing pipes was shoddy in the extreme - to get the gas supply from under the stairs into the upstairs cupboard (where they fitted the boiler) they drilled a huge hole in the wall and surface mounted the 18mm pipe all around the entrance hall, bodged another hole into the toilet then up the wall in there. It looked terrible. I chopped the upstairs floor up and paid a plumber £80 to reroute the supply under the floor, but IMHO this should have been done originally, especially given they'd charged roughly double what I'm told it should have cost.
It's kind of related because they probably contract out a lot of work, they won't do it themselves, so the standard of work is pretty random.
What the OP is saying is that he wants the back-up of a company who is likely to be around for a few years, and whose CEO can be brought to book by Annie in the studio on WatchDog rather than chased down the street by Matt.
What the OP is saying is that he wants the back-up of a company who is likely to be around for a few years, and whose CEO can be brought to book by Annie in the studio on WatchDog rather than chased down the street by Matt.
RichyBoy said:
... anyone have any experience of their installations?
I would ask them for some local reference installations - maybe they'll provide them, maybe they'll go all "data protection act" on you.I'd feel happier not paying and arguing with BG if any problems than with some of the other outfits who've got on this bandwagon.
My boss has just had a 3.8(?) kw (16 panels i think, although it might be 17) panel system installed over two roofs, garage and house.
Sanyo panels - think they're a big output for a small panel. Seem best on market at mo.
Solar edge - a mini inverter for each panel, copes better with shade?
A V phase unit which is designed to slightly lower your house voltage which saves 10% a year!?
Anyhow, I think he paid around 14K
There's a dreadful description for you.
Sanyo panels - think they're a big output for a small panel. Seem best on market at mo.
Solar edge - a mini inverter for each panel, copes better with shade?
A V phase unit which is designed to slightly lower your house voltage which saves 10% a year!?
Anyhow, I think he paid around 14K
There's a dreadful description for you.
The voltage lowering thing sounds like a scam to me! The only thing which will reduce in power usage will be incandescent lamps. Ovens will just run the element longer, fridges/freezers will do similarly with the motor, and anything electronic which uses a switched mode power supply (i.e. anything made in the last 20 years) will just increase the current to compensate. The net effect being an identical power consumption.
The whole PV panel market is rammed full of scams, you are right to be wary!
The whole PV panel market is rammed full of scams, you are right to be wary!
Zad said:
The voltage lowering thing sounds like a scam to me! The only thing which will reduce in power usage will be incandescent lamps. Ovens will just run the element longer, fridges/freezers will do similarly with the motor, and anything electronic which uses a switched mode power supply (i.e. anything made in the last 20 years) will just increase the current to compensate. The net effect being an identical power consumption.
The whole PV panel market is rammed full of scams, you are right to be wary!
The V phase unit sounds like a scam but doesn't seem to be anything to do with the PV system. What are the PV panel scams?The whole PV panel market is rammed full of scams, you are right to be wary!
herewego said:
Zad said:
The voltage lowering thing sounds like a scam to me! The only thing which will reduce in power usage will be incandescent lamps. Ovens will just run the element longer, fridges/freezers will do similarly with the motor, and anything electronic which uses a switched mode power supply (i.e. anything made in the last 20 years) will just increase the current to compensate. The net effect being an identical power consumption.
The whole PV panel market is rammed full of scams, you are right to be wary!
The V phase unit sounds like a scam but doesn't seem to be anything to do with the PV system. What are the PV panel scams?The whole PV panel market is rammed full of scams, you are right to be wary!
Bit like John Pressclott passing laws that all new boilers fitted must be condensing boilers that don't actually work in the cold! But wait - no problem British Gas will modify the outlet pipe under warranty - fat chance British Gas charge £150 to what amounts to a design fault.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2...
Zad said:
The voltage lowering thing sounds like a scam to me! The only thing which will reduce in power usage will be incandescent lamps. Ovens will just run the element longer, fridges/freezers will do similarly with the motor, and anything electronic which uses a switched mode power supply (i.e. anything made in the last 20 years) will just increase the current to compensate. The net effect being an identical power consumption.
I'm aware of the V-Phase unit as I live quite close to where they're based but I have no other connection with them. Also, as our mains voltage is 248V we have a lot of room to drop the voltage so I have been looking at the VPhase unit. What's stopping me is our electrics are very old (still have fuses etc) but we have a refurb planned for next year.As I understand it, you're dead right with loads like oven elements and lamps etc - the power remains constant as the voltage drops, but wrong about the electronic stuff, that usually runs on constant current so the power will drop as the voltage drops. These are the kind of items that don't take huge amounts of power but often run for long periods. On things like chargers, it could take a barely noticeable extra amount of time to charge batteries.
Incadescent lamps should last a bit longer on reduced voltage although obviously that's dying benefit. CCFL's, being electronically controlled, should reduce power by about 10%. They reckon power savings with fridge/freezers are significant too.
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