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Solar panels
Johneturbo - 24/3/15 at 12:53 PM

I've had a call about solar panles from solar funding.org blah blah i don't know much about them, are they really free! and are they worth having..

this is what the website says "Full Ownership and profit from renewable Solar Energy
You Could Earn £35,000 or more over 20 years
Exclusively for Home Owners in Full Time Employment or those in receipt of a Private Pension
Get Paid to Generate Your Own Electricity
Start Saving Immediately
No Upfront Costs"

anyone here have a free installation, whats the catch!


tegwin - 24/3/15 at 01:01 PM

A lot of the "no upfront costs" companies actually get you to sign over the rights to your roof for the term of the agreement.... they then give you a percentage of the reveue from generation and pocket the rest themselves....


INDY BIRD - 24/3/15 at 01:01 PM

i would go into one of your local IKEA stores that supplies Hanergy solar panels.

Prob one of the best around and repeatable as well if you want to go that route,

And i was informed they work as explained,

Thanks and no i dont work for ikea now,

sean


coozer - 24/3/15 at 01:03 PM

The catch is they keep the feed in tariff!

You get free electric when its sunny and that's that.

They knocked on my door a while back offering just that. Your roofs pointing in exactly the right way... Well it isn't it faces north east!

Free install with free live time electric was the claim. I asked her about the feed in tarrif which knocked her back a bit. Then she came out with £14,000 for the full install, all free electric and a 20 year feed in payment.

They fund the free installs with the feed in tarrif is what I worked out. A good while ago mind so may have changed but you don't get free money off anyone these days!


Johneturbo - 24/3/15 at 01:10 PM

Great stuff guys, i knew i'd get a good answer here.

if they call back i will ask them about the "feed in tariff" see what they come back with.

solar power is the future i'm sure just don't want to end up with the wrong set up.


JoelP - 24/3/15 at 03:45 PM

Coozer has it spot on there. If it's free then they keep the feed in payments, and you get free electricity in sunny days. That's not much use though because you're often out through the day.

Pay yourself upfront, keep the payments, and still have the free power.


Slimy38 - 24/3/15 at 04:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
A lot of the "no upfront costs" companies actually get you to sign over the rights to your roof for the term of the agreement....


Which I believe also makes it entertaining when it comes to selling your house...


coozer - 24/3/15 at 04:49 PM

It was explained to me that the owner of the feed in tarrif keeps it.

Basically if you move house the panels up the value a bit but you have the contract and take it with ya! Or you can sell it for a good percentage of whats left of the contract.


JeffHs - 24/3/15 at 05:06 PM

I've had panels on my roof for just over a year. They're not optimally positioned because of the shape of my roof - 7 panels face south on gables that get shaded in late afternoon and 9 panels face west on the front of house. They cost me £6500 and I have earned £600 in Feed in Tariff, so not a bad return but if they were all fully south facing I reckon I could have got 10 to 15% more. We're not very diligent about using juice when the sun shines (saving up washing and dishwasher, etc,) but even so I reckon I've probably saved 10% of my electricity bill.
I'm sure the same setup would be cheaper now but of course the FIT rate would be lower.


19sac65 - 24/3/15 at 06:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
A lot of the "no upfront costs" companies actually get you to sign over the rights to your roof for the term of the agreement....


Which I believe also makes it entertaining when it comes to selling your house...



funnily enough i was talking to a surveyer last week about this
loads of people getting stung trying to sell their homes with solar panels
the company hold a xxxx year lease on your roof - buyers then back out when made aware


talkingcars - 24/3/15 at 09:59 PM

My understanding is that the panels generate in daylight but the brighter it is, the more they generate.

I also thought that one got a payment for the electricity generated, not how much is feed into the grid.

How hard would be to make an accumulator to save power generated.


tegwin - 24/3/15 at 11:28 PM

Feed in tarif is split into two payments..... A payment for simply generating energy using solar and then another payment for "selling" surplus energy.... I don't have the current fit data to hand but it's a political thing and has just changed for large schemes... No guarantees for small schemes!


If you want to store energy the cheapest and simpler method is to get some vacuum solar tubes and heat a thermal store.... Then draw off the free heat for heating and hot water..... Heat the store during the day and then use the heat from the store when you need it.... Much more cost effective than pv although you wouldn't get fit payments.... There used to be grants available though!