Solar Panels

Unread post by **The Tinker** » 28 Nov 2013, 17:49

Noticed the neighbours have put a couple of these on the back of their bungalow roof - has anyone on here had them installed and are they worth having?

Unread post by **Suekersh** » 28 Nov 2013, 18:13

We had them done 2 years ago. Well worth while. They are not only paying our electricity bills but also our gas bills and plenty more towards cruising? Best investment we have made along with our Carnival shares.

This year they have made more than was projected.

Sue

Unread post by **Silver_Shiney** » 28 Nov 2013, 18:16

My FIL bought some a couple of years ago and thinks they're great. He's noticed significant savings on his electricity bill and every so often gets a decent cheque for the energy he's sold back.

Obviously, if you go for the "free installation" option, you don't get the rebate cheque. Don't know how true it is, but I've heard that, if you go for the free installation option, you may have problems with your mortgage lender because you are deemed to be renting out your roof....

Unread post by **gfwgfw** » 28 Nov 2013, 18:25

These panels are growing like mushrooms in Poole Bay and its environments

Probably because we have plenty of sunshine to fuel the panels most of the year

Me thinks this is a preferable approach to our mega fuel shrinking resources than the wind farms which is a blot on the landscape

Lubooo all lots

Graham x

Unread post by **ChesterfieldJohn** » 28 Nov 2013, 20:28

I belive that if you are 65 or over and have a south facing roof you can get them fitted free.

John

Unread post by **Silver_Shiney** » 28 Nov 2013, 20:30

ChesterfieldJohn wrote:
I belive that if you are 65 or over and have a south facing roof you can get them fitted free.

John

but do you benefit from the sale of surplus energy, or does the fitter?

Unread post by **ChesterfieldJohn** » 28 Nov 2013, 20:33

Silver_Shiney wrote:
ChesterfieldJohn wrote:
I belive that if you are 65 or over and have a south facing roof you can get them fitted free.

John
but do you benefit from the sale of surplus energy, or does the fitter?

You get all the benefits from then, at least according to my neighbour who works for Cheshire Homes.
I dont have a south facing roof though

John

Unread post by **Silver_Shiney** » 28 Nov 2013, 20:35

ChesterfieldJohn wrote:
Silver_Shiney wrote:
ChesterfieldJohn wrote:
I belive that if you are 65 or over and have a south facing roof you can get them fitted free.

John
but do you benefit from the sale of surplus energy, or does the fitter?
You get all the benefits from then, at least according to my neighbour who works for Cheshire Homes.
I dont have a south facing roof though

John

I do, but don't qualify on age grounds!

Unread post by **ChesterfieldJohn** » 28 Nov 2013, 20:42

Silver_Shiney wrote:
ChesterfieldJohn wrote:
Silver_Shiney wrote:
ChesterfieldJohn wrote:
I belive that if you are 65 or over and have a south facing roof you can get them fitted free.

John
but do you benefit from the sale of surplus energy, or does the fitter?
You get all the benefits from then, at least according to my neighbour who works for Cheshire Homes.
I dont have a south facing roof though

John

I do, but don't qualify on age grounds!

I qualify 1 week on sunday lol

John

Unread post by **Ray Scully** » 28 Nov 2013, 20:45

We installed 9.5 Kwh on our Village Hall two years ago. and are getting a 10% return + £600 reduction on our electricity bill . However the feed in tariff payments have dropped like a stone so I wouldn't like to say how viable it would be to install it now.

Ray

Unread post by **Cockers43** » 28 Nov 2013, 22:59

I had 15 panels - 6 on south, 9 on west 2 years ago, cost just over £10K and am getting about 14% return on my investment. But I do live on the south coast!

Best investment I ever made. Mind you, the "FIT" payment has been halved for current installations so don't expect as good a return as I am getting.

Beware offers of free installations. It's potentially a legal minefield and certainly not worth getting just "free" electricity - I am effectively earning enough from the panels to cover all my energy needs!

Unread post by **wolfie** » 28 Nov 2013, 23:00

The homeowner doesn't have to look at them, their neighbour does; they are hideous, spoil the character of period properties and are worse than the plethora of Sky discs that sprang up a few years ago.

Unread post by **Quizzical Bob** » 28 Nov 2013, 23:17

Don't forget that the return on the money is reasonable but once you've spent it you can't get your original investment back! We looked at it but decided that at our age (64) we would not get the full benefit out of it. Especially if we're off cruising all the time...

Unread post by **Cockers43** » 28 Nov 2013, 23:29

Quizzical Bob wrote:
Don't forget that the return on the money is reasonable but once you've spent it you can't get your original investment back! We looked at it but decided that at our age (64) we would not get the full benefit out of it. Especially if we're off cruising all the time...

I intend to pass 80! That should mean best part of 10 years free power. Can't be bad.

Incidentally, Ray, the only obvious panels on our house are on the rear of the property and are only visible to one of our neighbours, and then only from their bedroom window!

Unread post by **Suekersh** » 29 Nov 2013, 05:16

Quizzical Bob wrote:
Don't forget that the return on the money is reasonable but once you've spent it you can't get your original investment back! We looked at it but decided that at our age (64) we would not get the full benefit out of it. Especially if we're off cruising all the time...

When we are cruising and hear the weather back home is sunny we get a kick out of thinking that our house is making money whilst we are away. Although the free electricity generated during the day cuts our electricity bill down, the real money maker is the Fit tariff. Bring on the sunny days. Even in winter as long as it is clear skies they make money.

Sue

Unread post by **Manoverboard** » 29 Nov 2013, 14:49

I agree with Wolfie ... they are indeed ' HIDEOUS '.

We qualify on both age and having a south facing roof but I have no intention of turning our home into a Disney Outlet, perhaps one day when the panels look like slates rather than mirrors out of a Bingo Hall we will think again.

There is also an issue regarding water penetration if tiles / slates slide out of position beneath the panels ... or so I was advised.

Unread post by **Mervyn and Trish** » 29 Nov 2013, 14:55

I believe you can now get small panels which replace and look more like tile and/or slates, but they are a lot more expensive.

As to the falling FIT it's interesting that the installation cost seems to have fallen too (market forces I suspect - i.e. charging what they can to make the deal still look good).

My brother has them and is very pleased but I'm not sure given that the payback time to actually retrieve the capital may be longer than we wish to live in our current house (or the grim reaper allows us to!)

Unread post by **Dark Knight** » 29 Nov 2013, 14:59

you CAN get a full roof of solar panels that look exactly like slates, try google ??
they won a design award for them

Unread post by **Manoverboard** » 29 Nov 2013, 15:14

Dark Knight wrote:
you CAN get a full roof of solar panels that look exactly like slates, try google ??
they won a design award for them

I should of course have added " ... at a cost effective price ".

I Googled as instructed

It states " All planning applications have been approved where Solar Slate has been specified. The average cost is £40 per slate plus electrical equipment and installation. "

As Merv suggested it sounds like I will be kicking up the daisies long before a profit is shown

Unread post by **Dark Knight** » 29 Nov 2013, 15:21

what happens if you move house, does the income stay with the new buyer, coz to my mind you would have to stay in the house for ever to get your money back

Unread post by **Mervyn and Trish** » 29 Nov 2013, 15:29

Dark Knight wrote:
what happens if you move house, does the income stay with the new buyer, coz to my mind you would have to stay in the house for ever to get your money back

I think the income does stay with the house and to my understanding there is little or no premium on price for a house with panels as against one without.

Manoverboard wrote:
The average cost is £40 per slate plus electrical equipment and installation.

Thanks for the estimate Moby. I wonder how much lecky I'd get if I bought 2 slates? I think I could afford that.

Unread post by **davecttr** » 29 Nov 2013, 15:45

how many watts does one panel generate then? My roof faces west of south and there is room for about 8 panels.

Apparently if you live in the centre of a city there are panels which work at night. They convert the infra red given off by all the hot highrise buildings etc

Unread post by **david63** » 29 Nov 2013, 15:48

A concern that I have is that are solar panels something that would help to sell your house or would they put people off?

Unread post by **Cockers43** » 29 Nov 2013, 19:08

Mervyn and Trish wrote:
I think the income does stay with the house and to my understanding there is little or no premium on price for a house with panels as against one without.

As I understand it the contract is between you and the Electricity supplier so the panels can be used in negotiating the house sale. Effectively the purchasers can buy the contract off you or if they are not interested you can maintain the contract yourself. Only trouble may be getting the reading to supply to the Electric Co. if you are no longer living in the house!

Unread post by **Dancing Queen** » 29 Nov 2013, 20:38

david63 wrote:
A concern that I have is that are solar panels something that would help to sell your house or would they put people off?

Purely a personal opinion but if I were looking to buy a house it would put me off, I don't doubt there are benefits from solar panels but I think they look awful

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