Topic: Solar Panels - how much can they save per month?

[damian]

I'm currently looking for a new house due to our landlord selling up (I believe thats the reason anyway), less than 6 months after we moved in. Bit of a pain as its going to mean us trying to find almost £2000 for the second time this year for all the fees/deposits/etc. involved.

At present  I'm paying £580 per month for a 3-bedroom house. Just seen one around the corner from here, perfect location for our daughters school which is our main concern at the moment with moving (don't want to move her out of her school a second time in a year) - in fact if we stepped out of our (sorry, the, we haven't taken it yet, getting ahead of myself ) front door we could see her classroom at the end of the street   It's 3 bedroom again, but also has a conservatory which we would love and don't have now, so the perfect house really.

However, it is £650 per month, so £70 per month than we are paying now which we simply cannot afford. But, it does have solar panels, the desription of the house says "free energy during sunny hours with the aid of solar panels". In addition to this there is "passive solar heating of the ktichen and dining room from the conservatory" (not quite sure what they mean by that).

So, what I'm wondering is, how much are the solar panels likely to save us on average per month in energy bills (considering we pay about £120 combined at the moment)? Even if it could save us £40 per month it wouldn't be too bad as the house would only be costing us £30 per month more than now, which we can probably stretch to. I suppose the main issue here is the country we live in, we only get about 3 hours sunshine per year.

So, are there any solar experts here that can advise? Would be much appreciated.

We have got a viewing of another house tomorrow - really nice looking house, quite spacious, driveway with garage etc, however it would be a 35 minute walk to the school each morning, which in the winter when there is ice on the ground will be lethal (particularly trying to push our other daughter up a hill in her pushchair). Unfortunately the wife doesn't drive, so walking is the only method (unless she got the bus, which would be even more expense). So the one mentioned above would be the much better options.

[Azi]

where abouts are you based mate ? also i take it your buying the property and not renting ? 

how much you save varies on how many panels you get installed on your roof with the average house suitable for 10 panels but then the cost from a reputable company can be up to 14k (word of warning the installers have to be mcs approved otherwise your just wasting your money ) ideally they can save you up to 40% a year although these vary  and it doesn't have to be a summers day to create the energy needed even on a cloudy day you can still generate leccy  and any leccy you dont use you can sell it back to the national grid so once you factor in everything your looking at 8 years before you break even and then anything after that is profit

although there are some companies which will install everything for you for free and let you keep energy you make for free but then sell any excess leccy back to the grid

[damian]

where abouts are you based mate ? also i take it your buying the property and not renting ? 

how much you save varies on how many panels you get installed on your roof with the average house suitable for 10 panels but then the cost from a reputable company can be up to 14k (word of warning the installers have to be mcs approved otherwise your just wasting your money ) ideally they can save you up to 40% a year although these vary  and it doesn't have to be a summers day to create the energy needed even on a cloudy day you can still generate leccy  and any leccy you dont use you can sell it back to the national grid so once you factor in everything your looking at 8 years before you break even and then anything after that is profit

although there are some companies which will install everything for you for free and let you keep energy you make for free but then sell any excess leccy back to the grid

I'm based in Leicester. We're renting and they are already installed. Unfortunately I think if any electricity is sold back to the grid the landlord would probably claim the profits (though saying that, not sure he could as we are the bill payers, probably be split).

I did do a search on google but found conflicting information - some saying solar panels can save 50-90% on energy bills, others saying more like £70 per year (so only 10% of the extra rent we'd be paying).

[Azi]

I'm based in Leicester. We're renting and they are already installed. Unfortunately I think if any electricity is sold back to the grid the landlord would probably claim the profits (though saying that, not sure he could as we are the bill payers, probably be split).

I did do a search on google but found conflicting information - some saying solar panels can save 50-90% on energy bills, others saying more like £70 per year (so only 10% of the extra rent we'd be paying).

nope he would get any £ made as he paid for the installs and its all tax free, its  impossible for it to save  you 90% on your bills its just not viable unless you have 20/30 panels on your roof and your output is minimal which isnt realistic for three bedroom and for the profits its not massive especially if your using more electricity

the £70 per year is probably what the national grid is ad say an average of what you would get when selling the leccy back currently its sold at 3p per unit but as a whole if your renting and its already installed id say it's added bonus !

it will defo save you money but its impossible for me to say yes you save x amount but is it worth the extra (70*12 = £840 ) a year in rent i wouldn't think so  being conservative id say it save you £25 per month 

[damian]

nope he would get any £ made as he paid for the installs and its all tax free, its  impossible for it to save  you 90% on your bills its just not viable unless you have 20/30 panels on your roof and your output is minimal which isnt realistic for three bedroom and for the profits its not massive especially if your using more electricity

the £70 per year is probably what the national grid is ad say an average of what you would get when selling the leccy back currently its sold at 3p per unit but as a whole if your renting and its already installed id say it's added bonus !

it will defo save you money but its impossible for me to say yes you save x amount but is it worth the extra (70*12 = £840 ) a year in rent i wouldn't think so  being conservative id say it save you £25 per month 

Ok, thanks. Thats what I thought to be honest, couldn't see us saving too much.

I don't think I want to risk moving in and finding I'm paying loads more, meaning we have to move again, so might give that one a miss.

We're battling against it at the moment. First house we went to see on Monday turned out to not allow cats (we have 2), and also there were about 8 others viewing at the same time making things a little difficult. Phoned about 3 others that didn't allow pets. Went to see one this morning, but only had a photo of the outside on the advert, got there and it was tiny inside (no room to swing 1 cat, nevermind 2). And as mentioned above, got another viewing arranged for tomorrow but turns out its further away than we thought from the school, so probably also out of the question. Leaving us back where we started. Though I have seen another a couple of streets away that looks ok so might try and arrange a viewing tomorrow.

I hate house hunting!!

[campioni]

I'm currently looking for a new house due to our landlord selling up (I believe thats the reason anyway), less than 6 months after we moved in. Bit of a pain as its going to mean us trying to find almost £2000 for the second time this year for all the fees/deposits/etc. involved.

At present  I'm paying £580 per month for a 3-bedroom house. Just seen one around the corner from here, perfect location for our daughters school which is our main concern at the moment with moving (don't want to move her out of her school a second time in a year) - in fact if we stepped out of our (sorry, the, we haven't taken it yet, getting ahead of myself ) front door we could see her classroom at the end of the street   It's 3 bedroom again, but also has a conservatory which we would love and don't have now, so the perfect house really.

However, it is £650 per month, so £70 per month than we are paying now which we simply cannot afford. But, it does have solar panels, the desription of the house says "free energy during sunny hours with the aid of solar panels". In addition to this there is "passive solar heating of the ktichen and dining room from the conservatory" (not quite sure what they mean by that).

So, what I'm wondering is, how much are the solar panels likely to save us on average per month in energy bills (considering we pay about £120 combined at the moment)? Even if it could save us £40 per month it wouldn't be too bad as the house would only be costing us £30 per month more than now, which we can probably stretch to. I suppose the main issue here is the country we live in, we only get about 3 hours sunshine per year.

So, are there any solar experts here that can advise? Would be much appreciated.

We have got a viewing of another house tomorrow - really nice looking house, quite spacious, driveway with garage etc, however it would be a 35 minute walk to the school each morning, which in the winter when there is ice on the ground will be lethal (particularly trying to push our other daughter up a hill in her pushchair). Unfortunately the wife doesn't drive, so walking is the only method (unless she got the bus, which would be even more expense). So the one mentioned above would be the much better options.

are you talking about solar photovoltaic panels that generate electricity or solar thermal panels that are used to heat your domestic hot water cylinder?

if its solar PV, do you know the kW capacity of the system or how many panels there are altogether?

[damian]

are you talking about solar photovoltaic panels that generate electricity or solar thermal panels that are used to heat your domestic hot water cylinder?

if its solar PV, do you know the kW capacity of the system or how many panels there are altogether?

I've no idea to be honest, only going off what it says in the advert, i.e. "This property also has free energy during sunny hours with the aid of solar panels on the roof" - i'm assuming it means to generate electricity.

[campioni]

I've no idea to be honest, only going off what it says in the advert, i.e. "This property also has free energy during sunny hours with the aid of solar panels on the roof" - i'm assuming it means to generate electricity.

its hard to say what the potential savings are without knowing the size of the system and whether its solar thermal or solar pv.

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

I've no idea to be honest, only going off what it says in the advert, i.e. "This property also has free energy during sunny hours with the aid of solar panels on the roof" - i'm assuming it means to generate electricity.

How many Watts are the panels rated at ? I presume the roof containing the panels is South or South West facing, with no shading, otherwise the power output will be limited.

Passive solar refers to the circulation of hot air from the conservatory into the other rooms, the air in the glass conservatory is passively heated by the sun. If the house is properly insulated then passive solar can produce considerable saving on the heating bill.

I can't really give an answer without knowing the size (Watts) of the solar panel array, and then it would only be an estimate.

[Azi]

without being a total geek any chance you can give us the address of the house your looking at and we can google earth it or can you see how many pannels are on the roof , really only going on complete guesses but most companies tend to install 4kw

[campioni]

without being a total geek any chance you can give us the address of the house your looking at and we can google earth it or can you see how many pannels are on the roof , really only going on complete guesses but most companies tend to install 4kw

don't know about you but i would not be putting the address of a house i will potentially be living in on a public internet forum.

he should be asking the landlord/seller questions about the solar panels. one of the most important questions (if its PV) is: "is the system registered for feed-in-tariff payments?". that will make a massive difference to the amount of money it will save.

[Azi]

don't know about you but i would not be putting the address of a house i will potentially be living in on a public internet forum.

he should be asking the landlord/seller questions about the solar panels. one of the most important questions (if its PV) is: "is the system registered for feed-in-tariff payments?". that will make a massive difference to the amount of money it will save.

lol true but how does it differs to any letting website showcasing the house ? alternatively he can take a snap shot of the roof from google and we can guess how many panels would be installed   

secondly as its rented accommodation i doubt the landlord is going to miss out on earning a tax free sum from his property and giving it to his tenants would have expected them to highlight this on the advertisement if he was going to allow them to keep any money made

[redbyrdz]

Check here: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy

[campioni]

lol true but how does it differs to any letting website showcasing the house ? alternatively he can take a snap shot of the roof from google and we can guess how many panels would be installed   

secondly as its rented accommodation i doubt the landlord is going to miss out on earning a tax free sum from his property and giving it to his tenants would have expected them to highlight this on the advertisement if he was going to allow them to keep any money made

good point. the landlord is unlikely to pass on the FITs payments to the tenants, which means that the amount of money they could potentially save will be pittance unless its a large capacity system.

[damian]

Sorry, not been on today and just seen the replies.

I'm not actually going to me moving into the house now anyway, was going to be far too expensive. I think the solar panels must have been at the back of the house as couldn't be seen from streetview, and I couldn't see them on the satellite images so probably fairly recent, but no way to see how many (unless I get the wife to look from the school next week as it backs onto it ).

We've just been to see another house this afternoon and will likely be putting money down tomorrow morning on it (well for the application fees anyway). Its still more than we were hoping to pay (£625 per month, £45 more than now), however the guy who showed us around said that its been on for a few weeks now and its the point where landlords are usually likely to start being willing to negotiate, so going to see if they'll knock it down to say £600 per month. Second problem - deposit is a month and a half rent, and the application fees are £250 for the 2 of us, so with all of that, plus the first months rent, looking at having to find over £1800 within a week or so.

Fortunately the bank of mum and dad are going to help us out with the remaining money they have on a credit card. Next month I should get paid for a website I've been working on tirelessly for months (including whilst away on holiday), all of that will go to paying them back, along with the deposit returned from this place. Next problem - that £1800 doesn't include the cost of van hire and fuel (which shouldn't be much as its just down the road, about 5 minute drive), but there is also no fridge at the house - the last 4 we've lived in have had fitted fridges so we've never bought one. So going to have to find a cheap fridge too.

Which brings me to the final, and probably biggest issue. I've just been and checked my credit score, its gone up from 737 (Fair) to 889 (Good) in a week for some reason, which is great (only 29% of people have a higher rating apparently, which is surprising), however we have a 6ish-year-old CCJ we are still paying off, which is bad. With this place our application came back from the referencing agency (same one I think) as a fail due to the CCJ (I'm not sure what our credit score was at that time), however the estate agent had a chat with the landlord who said he was happy to accept us anyway. I'm now concerned the new estate agency might not be as helpful, or the landlord for that matter, which would mean we get turned down and lose our non-refundable application fees of £250. However, thats going to be a risk with any house.

They say moving home is one of the most stressful things you can do - we've been forced to do it twice now in 6 months through no fault of our own (well, the first time I did send a letter threatening legal action if he didn't carry out repairs we'd been waiting 2 years for, but I felt within my rights to do that).

[jason42]

Had a woman knock my door yesterday offering free installation of  around 10 Solar PV panels. She reiterated that it woud be completely free and would generate 2.4kw/ph an hour and that would be free for me to use during daylight hours. I live in a south facing house. My next but one neighbour has just had them installed but I don't know if he has had the free ones or paid for them.
We do have quite high electric bills (washing machine and tumble dryer on constantly it seems although we have started using our dehumidifier to dry the laundry as it is meant to be cheaper) and I am home during the day to take advantage of the free electricity but I am concerned that I could be getting scammed....she said she was with this company http://www.naturalinnovation.co.uk/solar-pv/ but didn't have any literature with here???

She also mentioned that we could have free cavity wall insulation and loft insulation due to a government grant but again I am just worried that this could be another scam...this company for the insulation http://www.exenergy.co.uk/renewables/

Anyone offer me any serious advice please?

[lachesis]

She also mentioned that we could have free cavity wall insulation and loft insulation due to a government grant but again I am just worried that this could be another scam...this company for the insulation http://www.exenergy.co.uk/renewables/

Anyone offer me any serious advice please?

The free loft insulation usually requires you to make a subsidy payment. I think mine was £40, not sure if it'#s dependent on circumstances. Can't advise on cavity walls as the brick structure in ours didn't allow it to be injected. Savings will be minimal with this stuff though I find.

Bottom line if your bird even feels a tiny bit cold, you'll hear the boiler rumbling within 5 minutes.

[redbyrdz]

Had a woman knock my door yesterday offering free installation of  around 10 Solar PV panels. She reiterated that it woud be completely free and would generate 2.4kw/ph an hour and that would be free for me to use during daylight hours. I live in a south facing house. My next but one neighbour has just had them installed but I don't know if he has had the free ones or paid for them.
We do have quite high electric bills (washing machine and tumble dryer on constantly it seems although we have started using our dehumidifier to dry the laundry as it is meant to be cheaper) and I am home during the day to take advantage of the free electricity but I am concerned that I could be getting scammed....she said she was with this company http://www.naturalinnovation.co.uk/solar-pv/ but didn't have any literature with here???

She also mentioned that we could have free cavity wall insulation and loft insulation due to a government grant but again I am just worried that this could be another scam...this company for the insulation http://www.exenergy.co.uk/renewables/

Anyone offer me any serious advice please?

There's a free cavitity wall insulation scheme running in Liverpool currently (http://liverpool.gov.uk/news/details.aspx?id=211834), so maybe there's one of your council as well? I'd check with the council.

The thing with solar panels is that they want to reduce the feed-in tariff massively (or have done it, with a pending court case - I'm not up to date on that), so I'd check if the solar panels are still free if you make less money with them. (Not that they calculate 'free' at current feed-in tariffs and then later ask you to make up the difference).

Think you can also check at this website if there are any grants available to you (which is why they might be able to offer it for free) http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

[my name canged back to tucker?]

so thought id bump this to see if anyone has an opinion, we've had a guy out at our house and started the process to get free solar panels a few weeks ago, he was here this morning again and left the lease for us to sign- company name 'Saliis'.

ill throw a few details down here from what he's gave me, im not too sure what they mean but some of you might

pv output:      4.49 kwp
surface area:  29.83 m2

pv array irradiation:   29238kwh
grid feed in:               3683.6 kwh
reduction due to shadinh:     0.4%

system efficiency         12.6%
performance ratio       83.5%
inverter efficiency        95.3%
pv array efficiency       13.2%
specific annual yield    818.9 kwh
co2 emmissions avoided      3254 kg/a


its free, we own are house and probably wont be moving or exteding in the forseeable future if ever at all.

We're probably spending about £70ish per month on electric, is anyone able to tell me roughly what that will be cut down to??

Ive read many things online and some people saying savings of £125 per year, which if thats all it was we probably wouldnt bother as its not worth the hassle, then other places saying average savings of 37% on electric bills which would equate to roughly £310 per year, which would probably make it worhtwhile.

Good idea or not?

Cheers guys


 

[Roady]

in my experience relying on solar panels even in sunnier climates isnt really worth it.

[MichaelA]

a KWH costs around 16p on average from UK power suppliers, and it looks like you're predicted to generate 819 KWH in optimum conditions - about £125 a year.

[my name canged back to tucker?]

cheers, ill have a chat with the missus and do some more research, thinking of cancelling the whole thing

[jason42]

so thought id bump this to see if anyone has an opinion, we've had a guy out at our house and started the process to get free solar panels a few weeks ago, he was here this morning again and left the lease for us to sign- company name 'Saliis'.

ill throw a few details down here from what he's gave me, im not too sure what they mean but some of you might

pv output:      4.49 kwp
surface area:  29.83 m2

pv array irradiation:   29238kwh
grid feed in:               3683.6 kwh
reduction due to shadinh:     0.4%

system efficiency         12.6%
performance ratio       83.5%
inverter efficiency        95.3%
pv array efficiency       13.2%
specific annual yield    818.9 kwh
co2 emmissions avoided      3254 kg/a


its free, we own are house and probably wont be moving or exteding in the forseeable future if ever at all.

We're probably spending about £70ish per month on electric, is anyone able to tell me roughly what that will be cut down to??

Ive read many things online and some people saying savings of £125 per year, which if thats all it was we probably wouldnt bother as its not worth the hassle, then other places saying average savings of 37% on electric bills which would equate to roughly £310 per year, which would probably make it worhtwhile.

Good idea or not?

Cheers guys


 

Will the panels definitely be free of charge? The firm that did ours tried to hit us with a £450 charge for an Energy Survey that I ended up getting one done locally for £60.
The firm came and they put 9 panels on my south facing roof (albeit here in rainy Wales). Since they have been installed I am paying some £30 a month less for my gas & electric than what I was paying. We used to put things like the dishwasher, washing machine & tumble dryer on at night but now we do it in the day. I think we get around 3kw an hour of free electric (could be wrong mind) so we put each appliance on one at a time.
It also appears that the firm that did mine ended up going under. I have tried ringing them and emailing them, looked them up at the Company House website and spoken to the National Energy Trust and no joy. This means that the Feed In Tariff that the panels are generating is going to waste. I did make enquires about us getting it but as we are not down as the owners - merely the leasers, we cannot get it. In some 20 the panels will revert to our ownership anyway.

If there are definitely no fees, hidden or otherwise and you have checked out the company by ringing the National Energy Trust, then you may as well go for it and get some free leccy....

[Barneylfc∗]

in my experience relying on solar panels even in sunnier climates isnt really worth it.

What is your experience? Solar panels is always something I've been keen on if I ever bought a house so I'd be interested to know why you don't think it's worth it.

[campioni]

so thought id bump this to see if anyone has an opinion, we've had a guy out at our house and started the process to get free solar panels a few weeks ago, he was here this morning again and left the lease for us to sign- company name 'Saliis'.

ill throw a few details down here from what he's gave me, im not too sure what they mean but some of you might

pv output:      4.49 kwp
surface area:  29.83 m2

pv array irradiation:   29238kwh
grid feed in:               3683.6 kwh
reduction due to shadinh:     0.4%

system efficiency         12.6%
performance ratio       83.5%
inverter efficiency        95.3%
pv array efficiency       13.2%
specific annual yield    818.9 kwh
co2 emmissions avoided      3254 kg/a


its free, we own are house and probably wont be moving or exteding in the forseeable future if ever at all.

We're probably spending about £70ish per month on electric, is anyone able to tell me roughly what that will be cut down to??

Ive read many things online and some people saying savings of £125 per year, which if thats all it was we probably wouldnt bother as its not worth the hassle, then other places saying average savings of 37% on electric bills which would equate to roughly £310 per year, which would probably make it worhtwhile.

Good idea or not?

Cheers guys

 

A 4.5kWp system on a south facing roof should generate in and around 3,800kWh a year. Factor in the shading that is estimated there, its pretty close to the 3,683.6kWh figure listed as 'grid feed in'. Although, i'm not quite sure what he means by grid feed in.

In theory, you should have the ability to use all of the 3,683.6kWh in your own home. You won't use it all, but the idea is to use as much of it as you can, otherwise it goes back to the grid and you get nothing for it. The company who installs the system will get an export tariff for anything that goes to the grid.

As Jason said above, if the PV system is installed you should be thinking of changing habits where possible. Try to use domestic appliances during daylight hours when the system is generating. Its fairly easy to tell from the inverter what the system is generating at that exact time. Obviously this is much easier to do if there is someone at home during the day.

If you manage to use 50% of the total generation ie 1,841kWh you would be saving approx. £295 a year based on an electricity purchase tariff of 16p per kWh.

But before you sign up to it you should be asking questions to make sure you fully understand the ins and outs of the whole thing. I would be asking what do they mean by the 'grid feed in' and 'specific annual yield'.

[Trada]

I'm on UC and someone told me on Twitter to get in contact with City Energy and ask them if they can help me with saving energy.

They sent a retro surveyor who did a full survey of the house and said to me they would more than likely be able to replace the loft installation, fit new storage heaters and fit solar panels.

That was just over a week ago yesterday I got a email from city energy saying that I have been given a grant to fit the solat panels and they will arrange a fitting date.

Not heard anything about the other 2 things.

So if you are on Universal credit its worth it trying out these companies in you area I know City energy do work in the Somerset area never heard of them until I was told to get in contact with them.

Looking forward to getting the panel even if it saves me a little it will be worth it

[Elmo!]

I'm on UC and someone told me on Twitter to get in contact with City Energy and ask them if they can help me with saving energy.

They sent a retro surveyor who did a full survey of the house and said to me they would more than likely be able to replace the loft installation, fit new storage heaters and fit solar panels.

That was just over a week ago yesterday I got a email from city energy saying that I have been given a grant to fit the solat panels and they will arrange a fitting date.

Not heard anything about the other 2 things.

So if you are on Universal credit its worth it trying out these companies in you area I know City energy do work in the Somerset area never heard of them until I was told to get in contact with them.

Looking forward to getting the panel even if it saves me a little it will be worth it

Probably worth chekcing the fine print on that. Are you sure they will not in fact own the panels and you effectively lend them your roof space in return for some of the electricity it generates? I've heard those deals can cause a bit of a nightmare if ever try to sell the house.

[Trada]

Probably worth chekcing the fine print on that. Are you sure they will not in fact own the panels and you effectively lend them your roof space in return for some of the electricity it generates? I've heard those deals can cause a bit of a nightmare if ever try to sell the house.

They are OK they do the work for Somerset Council and the panels are being fitted with funding from the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme Customer Offerr.

I double checked the terms was mostly about they with fit to a high standard without delay etc.

And it does say once fitted the sonar panels and all benifets and savings belongs to me.

 

[67CherryRed]

Due to get some free solar panels myself soon.

Better Homes Yorkshire were offering them to people with a household income below £30k (I live alone and earn just under that) and with an EPC rating of D or below, and I just about scraped that. I'll own them outright so in the current climate applying for them was a no-brainer.

[TepidT2O]

Anyone got a heat pump?

They sound pretty neat… but do cost about £10k!

[Elmo!]

Anyone got a heat pump?

They sound pretty neat… but do cost about £10k!

My mum and her partner have one and it works well.

I would like to get one installed but I live in a flat and literally nowhere I can put it. You need to have top notch insulation for it to work, and may need to get bigger radiators installed depending on your house (or underfloor heating).

[stewil007]

Anyone got a heat pump?

They sound pretty neat… but do cost about £10k!

I'd get a heat pump as they look like the way forward, but due to an emergency with our gas boiler we got a new replacement 3 months ago......so probably not going to change for at least 10 years or unless gas prices get too high that it becomes too expensive to run.

I have Solar Panels too, got a 3.575kWp system just over 3 years ago and so far so good in terms of pay back - system cost £5.5k, so far received just over £800 from the supplier and have saved about £900 of electricity generated - going off the assumption we use 50%.

Which would mean we are likely to get the break even point around the 10 year mark - maybe sooner if the electricity prices continue to rise, which i think is pretty decent.

Now just need to find a way of using all the generated electricity to charge my car etc to get all the benefit - my PodPoint isn't smart enough to do this and i loathe to pay for another charge point provider at the moment!!

[AndyInVA]

Sounds like UK has some great programs for putting panels on roofs for home owners.

We have companies here offer 'no money down' for full house installations of solar panels.

It turns out to be a massive loan that is expected to be paid back from selling electricity back to the grid. If the panels don't generate enough electricity or get damaged then you are totally on the hook for the entire amount.

[TepidT2O]

It’s not very sunny in the uk.. that’s the problem

[redbyrdz]

It’s not very sunny in the uk.. that’s the problem

Also the amount of really tiny houses with very little space on the roof.


I live in an old 1900s mid-terrace, no garden, nearly no yard (mostly covered by an extension), obviously not well insulated either. There is absolutely no outside space to put a heatpump, and even though I could put about 4 sqm of solar panels on the roof, they'd face NW.

Honestly I think for large parts of the urban population, there will have to be a communal solution to change the heating systems - maybe some sort of locally generated distributed heating.

[stewil007]

It’s not very sunny in the uk.. that’s the problem

they still produce electricity without the sun shining.

you can still produce enough during the day to cover usage quite comfortably and dependant on set up, top up storage/heat water etc.

[BarryCrocker]

Just a heads up on a common occurrence in Australia with regards to warranties. Most companies offer a 10-25 year warranty depending greatly on price and quality. There have been a number of business going into liquidation so they no longer cover the product only to phoenix themselves with a new company and do the same over again. I don't know if that's a trend in the UK but do check out the history of the owners/directors of the businesses you are buying from.

[Red Raw]

Just a heads up on a common occurrence in Australia with regards to warranties. Most companies offer a 10-25 year warranty depending greatly on price and quality. There have been a number of business going into liquidation so they no longer cover the product only to phoenix themselves with a new company and do the same over again. I don't know if that's a trend in the UK but do check out the history of the owners/directors of the businesses you are buying from.

Yes, the UK had this too. Mostly with companies offering PV-for-free/rent-a-roof schemes which proliferated for a while when gov was offering Feed-In Tariffs for PV. Basically they let you keep the electricity while as owners of the panels they took the gov subsidy which was more valuable than the electricity at the time.

FITs for PV stopped a while ago and the LAD scheme that Trada has applied for is a legit government scheme which is the local authority element of the (otherwise disasterous) Green Deal.

[Red-Soldier]

It’s not very sunny in the uk.. that’s the problem

All you need is daylight, so it's not an issue.

Helps if your roof is South facing mind.

[rob1966]

All you need is daylight, so it's not an issue.

Helps if your roof is South facing mind.

Ours is, but its tiny, its like the roof in this pic but even smaller, there are only 3 ridge tiles on the top