Any solar experts or folks that have solar installed on here?

[kingandy2nd]

My local council has arranged a tendering process for solar panels and batteries for interested folks with a view to getting some bulk buying discounts.

I’m skeptical that such schemes actually save much, but I really don’t know.

Here’s my quote, £7.2k for 12 panels installed, and a further £6.3k if I want a 7.2kwh battery.

I just wondered if anyone had a similar installation and what they paid for it? Or if folks have a view on if this is a reasonable quote.

I have tried to get other quotes, but difficult to get hold of comparisons and some places (such as EON) won’t quote for a 17.5 degree roof.

Cheers
Andy

 

[IT Minion]

I've got panels and a battery and have spent far too long reading up on them.

That's a fairly poor price. I got 8kW of panels (20 panels) and 6KW of battery for £12,000 in September.

You've got a very shallow roof, which means you'll get very little over winter but lots in summer.

 

[kingandy2nd]

I've got panels and a battery and have spent far too long reading up on them.

That's a fairly poor price. I got 8kW of panels (20 panels) and 6KW of battery for £12,000 in September.

You've got a very shallow roof, which means you'll get very little over winter but lots in summer.

Thanks for the input. Who did you use and would you recommend them? Thanks

 

[IT Minion]

Thanks for the input. Who did you use and would you recommend them? Thanks

LR Renewables. They're worth a quote as they can do it remotely just in satellite photos. Since you're ooop north they'll tack on a bit extra compared to us southerners for travel but they do cover all of England apparently.

They aren't perfect, in particular the paperwork was very slow, but they don't do stupid quotes and they're competitive.

My tuppence: Go for as many panels on your roof as you can fit. Batteries are borderline, I like mine a lot but it may or may not ever pay for itself.

 

[JohnD]

I have panels.

If you have access to gas for heating, and do not have an electric car, they are not a profitable investment.

I also calculated the return on a storage battery, and although I could (in summer) cover overnight usage, it was not enough to repay the cost.

Some of the payback calculations you see assume that every kWh of solar saves you 1kWh of grid.

But unless you live in a house without gas, and are forced to use expensive electricity for HW and heating, this is not true.

In summer, when generation is significant, you don't use much energy.

In winter, when energy demand is high, you don't get much solar.

 

[IT Minion]

Mine have saved me around £250 since September. Winter will be lower as they won't generate as much, summer will similar or greater as I'll also be getting paid for export.

Solar is useless for heating your house, but if you're a moderate to high electricity user that doesn't matter.

Unless you get a really bad deal on panels they are likely to pay for themselves fairly quickly at current electricity rates. The risk is buying an overpriced system expecting those prices to last forever.

 

[JohnD]

Mine have saved me around £250 since September.

I wouldn't save that even if I had it cut off. For the best part of a year.

That's much more than I've spent on electricity since September. Why do you use so much?

 

[motorbiking]

not a great quote but not all panels are the same and battery storage brands differ hugely in price.

In my old place I was an early adopter payback was around 10 years and still got another 8 or so of the FIT grant left. I’m definitely adding panels to my current place once I’ve decided what extension work to do. Will add a power wall too

 

[IT Minion]

I wouldn't save that even if I had it cut off. For the best part of a year.

That's much more than I've spent on electricity since September. Why do you use so much?

Working from home and a Granny annex. We use something like 6000 kWh a year.

 

[kingandy2nd]

We have an electric car and I work from home 2 days a week. Also have a marine fish tank which eats electric all day so I think I may benefit from it more than others.

I’m thinking batteries might offer a bit of resilience in light of potential outages.

 

[JohnD]

We have an electric car and I work from home 2 days a week. Also have a marine fish tank which eats electric all day so I think I may benefit from it more than others.

I’m thinking batteries might offer a bit of resilience in light of potential outages.

The batteries will help you even out peaks and troughs, if you can justify the cost. Our only power-hungry electrical appliance is the tumble drier

Ordinary inverters automatically shut down in a power cut. There are standalone types used at off-grid sites.

 

[IT Minion]

We have an electric car and I work from home 2 days a week. Also have a marine fish tank which eats electric all day so I think I may benefit from it more than others.

I’m thinking batteries might offer a bit of resilience in light of potential outages.

Most don't.

You would need to ask for 'islanding' if you want your house to operate as normal.

Most batteries these days offer a special power circuit that runs from the battery to protect important things like fridges. Mine isn't even wired up.

 

[JohnD]

Working from home and a Granny annex. We use something like 6000 kWh a year.

£250 in two months?

 

[IT Minion]

£250 in two months?

Yep, ~750kWh at 34p. Plus extra that I exported that I would be paid for now I've finally got all my paperwork sorted.

 

[JohnD]

You have no gas?