Thinking about solar panels

[doit4u]

Anybody got any experiences/knowledge they would like to share?

 

[kilty55]

hiya,i was doing a job for a customer last month and they were about to get these installed

14 k i beleive was the cost they were paying all in....the customer said that the deal was they would never have to pay another fuel bill,on top of that there is a government scheme to give you incentive,supposedly the government pay you some sort of fuel saving percentage back every month on top of the fact you dont ever pay bills again


i later discussed this story with another customer,who works for a local power station,he claimed there was a hitch....he said if you ever leave the property and sell up then the deal with the government who pay you back x amount per month stays with you regardless of if you still own the property or not

doesnt sound like a good scheme if you are going to sell your house,best look further into it as there seems to be a grey areas

does seem like on a long term investment you could save money......but hey were also being told that in ten years that fuel bilsl will drop due to all the turbines going up


would i spend 14k on it....no! lol

 

[doit4u]

I have been reading up on it and the deal lasts 25 years and should break even after 10 years, but I couldn't find anything about what happens if you have to sell. Haven't got any plans to move but as we are both in our later 60's you never know. The way I have abused my body it would be an achievement if I made the payback period let alone the full 25 years.

 

[Dan]

Would you believe that we have a Solar sponsor?!?!

Checkout Electricians Forum | Electrical Advice Forum | An electrical forum for electricians in the UK | Electricians Forum - specifically the Solar forum category.

The lads there will be able to tell you how many (or the square meterage) of solar panels would take to get your money back for the installation costs.

Though there are customers of solar guys on there reporting that they have underfloor heating running, the washer machine running, and the electric meter isn't spinning at all. When they turn the UFH off, it spins backwards (so they're selling to the grid).

It perhaps is the future, but there are dodgy firms overcharging out there. And if you're not in your property for 10 - 25 years (depending on many panels you get) then from what I can tell reading the few threads I have, it's not worth it.

Food for thought though.

 

[chrisroe]

its a bright idea so i dont want to cast any shadows over your thinking on this one maybe leave it overnight before deciding

 

[Gazzer]

its a bright idea so i dont want to cast any shadows over your thinking on this one maybe leave it overnight before deciding

Very droll of you Chris ! :lol:

 

[Alan.P]

Very :lol:

A great idea though, we rented a house for a week ( abroad ) that was solar powered, not sure what size and how many panels but it ran the hot water, fridge / freezer and lights etc.

 

[doit4u]

Thanks Dan will look in the electrical forum.

Had a bit of a windfall recently and have the readies to pay for a system so if the adverts are true that you get about 10% return on your investment thats better than any financial product around.

 

[chrisroe]

buy a house to rent out thats a better investment at the moment

 

[davemul]

Minefield.. plus..

they are UGLY UGLY UGLY

total eyesore!

 

[kilty55]

agreed with davemul they aint pretty

i have seen some on new builds and also some on bungalows......i wouldnt be for installing them in a property that had conversion possibilities as your limiting what you can do with the property

 

[doit4u]

Thanks for the comments. My windfall is a long way short of buying a property to rent out and having looked after/managed a property for a guy working abroad not sure I would want the hassle.

I agree they are not pretty bat they would be on the back roof facing open fields so no one is goint to see them. Also they wouldn't restrict any extension as this would be going on the side.

 

[kilty55]

might be a good move for your investment then mate

 

[doit4u]

Finally found time to ring some registered local suppliers. Turned out I rang only the day before the government announced the dropping of the feed in tariff for anything fitted after mid December. The review date was originally next April.

This would now mean an 18 year payback instead of 10, which means we wouldn't make our money back until we were in our mid to late 80's {boss lady is older than me} so have abandoned the idea. Just as well as none of the 3 local companies I contacted have even bothered to ring back in a week.