Question Electricity from solar panels

[RobM]

Hello all, I've seen a few ad's for electricity from solar panels. Seems you pay for installation and the electricity you use is free for 25 years (long enough for me!) and any extra gets sold to the National Grid. Has anyone invested and if so, any good? Cheers!

 

[Firestorm]

Have you got a South facing roof ?

 

[DTS]

My wife does a few days a week for a company that puts the panels on.

You basically have two options to buy them or to have them put on your roof. Some companys charge for this but my wives dont.

Basically if you buy them a typical roof the panels willl cost approx £12-£14K - They will generate up to £1200-£1400 pcm in electrity which is then sold back to the grim. The money for you is tax free. Downside is if anything goes wrong then you are liable.

Other option is free panels. Garden as Firestorm says must be south of just of South facing - well the roof pitch must. The idea here is the company put the panels on and pay for all the upkeep for 25 years. At the end of 25 years the panels are yours.

You will generate more electricty when the sun is up than you can use. The spare elec is sold back to the grid by the solar company and they make the profit that way. You get the first lot of elec and therefore alll your use when its light is free so you should save money that way.

If your too close to the sea then they may not install them as the salty air erodes the panels.

If anyone wants to know if they can have panels PM me your address and my wife can tell you straight away. Also be aware of companys trying to sell you panels if your not south facing as you will generate very little elec and yet you will still pay the full price for the panels.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Didn't realise the missus was a roofer, Dave.

The £1400 pcm is presumably in the peak of summer. What's that amount more typically like in say, December?

 

[DTS]

The Mrs is a hod carrier by trade but doubles up as a Roofer when times are hard.

Sorry my typo is £1400 p.a not pcm.

C

 

[Rudi Luftwaffe]

Can you still fit panels if you have a helipad on your roof?

 

[RobM]

£140 a month sounds more realistic! As previously mentioned, how much would a cloudy December pay? I imagine not a lot! The back garden is virtually due south - about 195 degrees i.e. SSW. The roof is a standard slope as far as I know, the house is a 1960's semi. I am not by the sea but by the refinery on the Thames which is about a mile from me. Now - let's assume I go for the free panels option - would it be worth changing my cooker, oven and heating from gas to electric (The cooker, oven and gas fire are years old)? I'd retain the gas boiler - it's fairly new - and go for an electric fire for lounge heat.

 

[Tinks]

We are seriously thinking of having these installed so I might come back to you on this Dave

 

[DTS]

We are seriously thinking of having these installed so I might come back to you on this Dave

We are having then installed soon. My wife only started working there after we met the owner when he came over to pitch to us. I can't see any downside of the free panels except for the fact if you move in the next 25 years the buyer has to keep the panels or pay £8000 to have then removed.

That said why would anyone not want a free device that will save then money. They are a bit sore on the eye but only because they are new. Most new housing developments have them now so it will soon be the norm.

Hardest thing is most people think they are south facing but not many are.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Interesting, I may have to look into this myself. Trouble is I live in a heritage area (yes in MK, shock horror) and they don't like PVC double glazing, so I can imagine the council being adamant about not allowing these.

 

[osymandus]

You want a Solar Tree ;)
http://inhabitat.com/13-year-old-ma...through-by-harnessing-the-fibonacci-sequence/

 

[Pubey]

my parents had solar heating installed, which for a large house was cost-effective. you'll need a good space for the tank that is installed, and not sure if it'll work if you have a combi boiler. it heats up your water tank as much as it can, so in the winter it's warm and your boiler heats up the rest, in the summer it heats it completely so you don't need your boiler. the limitation is that in the summer when it's most effective it's just heating your showers, because you aren't using your central heating. it definitely benefited their bills though. not sure about solar for electricity though.

 

[Rudi Luftwaffe]

I've got disruptive pattern camouflage netting on my roof.Why make yourself a target?

 

[londonblue]

My wife does a few days a week for a company that puts the panels on.

You basically have two options to buy them or to have them put on your roof. Some companys charge for this but my wives dont.

Basically if you buy them a typical roof the panels willl cost approx £12-£14K - They will generate up to £1200-£1400 pcm in electrity which is then sold back to the grim. The money for you is tax free. Downside is if anything goes wrong then you are liable.

Other option is free panels. Garden as Firestorm says must be south of just of South facing - well the roof pitch must. The idea here is the company put the panels on and pay for all the upkeep for 25 years. At the end of 25 years the panels are yours.

You will generate more electricty when the sun is up than you can use. The spare elec is sold back to the grid by the solar company and they make the profit that way. You get the first lot of elec and therefore alll your use when its light is free so you should save money that way.

If your too close to the sea then they may not install them as the salty air erodes the panels.

If anyone wants to know if they can have panels PM me your address and my wife can tell you straight away. Also be aware of companys trying to sell you panels if your not south facing as you will generate very little elec and yet you will still pay the full price for the panels.

Blimey, how many have you got?

 

[DTS]

my parents had solar heating installed, which for a large house was cost-effective. you'll need a good space for the tank that is installed, and not sure if it'll work if you have a combi boiler. it heats up your water tank as much as it can, so in the winter it's warm and your boiler heats up the rest, in the summer it heats it completely so you don't need your boiler. the limitation is that in the summer when it's most effective it's just heating your showers, because you aren't using your central heating. it definitely benefited their bills though. not sure about solar for electricity though.

We had one if these on our roof when we moved in. They generate enough water for a couple but not really a family.

 

[Pubey]

We had one if these on our roof when we moved in. They generate enough water for a couple but not really a family.

My parents had either 2 or 3 panels I think, so it may be you need more for more people.

 

[Flinty]

We are just getting involved in this at work. Suprisingly the sun doesn't need to be out for the panels to collect energy you can still gain this on a cloudy overcast day. Also any orientation of roof is acceptable with the exception of a north facing roof, but if its dual pitch one side will be south facing in anycase. I also belive the Government are substantially reducing the feed in tariffs ( the amount they pay you to put electricity back into the grid) come April so get in quick for a better deal !!!!

 

[thewhelk]

is there ways of charging these panels without the sun being out?? I have a really strong engineering back ground, and was thinking say 10?? 15 ?? powerful battery operated tourches on a line above the panels coming on every evening to create that natural light?? hey presto 24 our charging?? or even better glow worms

 

[ianmichael]

I have just been approached by a company called My Planet Ltd , offering to install solar panels for my 3 bedroom detached house. Their representative told me that installation was linked to a Government sustainability scheme where funding was available for home owners. Does any member of the group know what the present position is about funding and the advantages or pit falls of Solar Panels.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Each to their own but I just don't get it.

You spend huge sums of money on your house (the house generally being the most expensive thing any of us own), and you choose the house presumably because you like the look of it, then you sell the roof for a paltry amount of return and make it the ugliest property in the street - all other things being equal.

It's like buying an Aston Martin and throwing some Tesco Value tyres on it to save a few quid.

Roof Solar Panels are the Fiat Multipla* of housing innovations. You did actually SEE one before you bought it, right!???

All IMvHO of course...