Had a call from power house, they say I could be eligible for self funding solar panels

Basically it sounds like the Feed in Tariff and the surpluss pays for them, they are mine on my roof not leased to them, so I have any repairs or warranty work that's required, they say they could save up 75% and the saving is basically used to pay off a loan which the FIT pays off, as long as they are working and days get lighter they will generate electricity

Anyone looked into this type of scheme?

Sounds like it will pay off over x years, then I reap the benefit for Y years after it's paid off Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Im never sure of these fancy schemes just go to few reputable solar installers get a few estimates and some predictions on solar energy levels you can expect.
The savings will be minimal if there is nobody in your house all day to actually use the leccy produced anything not used is fed back to the grid at no benefit to you. you can get a little box that switches your immersion heater on/off to use the solar energy , but at a cost
solar thermal might be more useful to most people as it can be heating the water all day whilst your all out.

you wont get a full fit level unless your house already passes a high energy efficiency standard, so not worth considering if there are any insulation needs / out of date boilers etc.

even my chicken shed had to have a EPC test before I qualified for full fit rate At work
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There coming out to see me and most likely put the hard sell on

I'll see what they say, could do the washing drying pool heating through the day and use 'leccy produced Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

but if you get no sun and your leccy devices come on its costing you. a smart box only turns things on whilst the solar is kicking out power. ideally an immersion heater so the waters already hot before the gas boiler starts up, not applicable to combi boilers

ideally youd charge a battery bank and use the power in the evening , but as with electric cars the technology just isn't ready yet At work
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winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I know they don't produce as much leccy, but how much less on a cloudy day

Not sure what this chart means apart from the red line is the last 12-24 month usage the green bars are this years months

Does that mean I used about 10kwh of leccy on average a month?



If panels pointing south make 4kwh a day that can't be right  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

it will be 10 kwh per day average or similar at say 17p/kwh does £1.70 a day sound right?

4 kwh panels means maximum output of 4 kwh so on a superb day will maybe give out 25kwh so 25* fit of 14p plus energy saving of max 10 kw * 17p.


you can expect around 7 -11 kw average per day over a year so approaching £3 a day if your using plenty of the energy yourself, £1000 a year savings+fits . install cost £5000+????

my 10kw system south facing gives off 8700 kw/year. I use pretty much 100% of the energy so not a bad investment. only a requirement for a mega bucks new transformer prevents me from expanding the system At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

If a deal sounds too good to be true then it is too good to be true.

Friend of mine has solar panels fitted on his roof and it will take at least 15 years before he starts seeing a return on his capital outlay. Yes He does get small cheques from the electricity from time to time but no where near enough to make it Viable to recover the thousands of pounds on the capital outlay Ex 2010 Freelander2 GS-e Diesel manual Silver owner

I have a 4kw system installed two and a half years ago at a cost of £8250 should pay for itself in four years latest cheque from British gas £642 plus fee electricity works for me!

Also have a 4kw system on the original tariff, so much better return. Expect to have paid the system off in 6-7 years.

Bills are cheaper in the summer, and I know we use less lighting, but we have a lot of LEDs anyway, but use air con on warm days and fridges and freezers work harder, so definitely seem to see some benefit from self generation.

With the current tariff I'd think twice.

the tarrif has dropped but the capital outlay has dropped hugely too, payback for me is around 5 years but the £/kw cost drops considerably as the size of the set up increases and domestic set ups often cost extra due to scaffolding costs etc. a neighbour has recently installed 4 ground mounted sites totalling 700kw he payed way less than £1000/kw. At work
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winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Have a look through Martin Lewis's "Money Saving" site. Can't stand the smug barsteward myself but sometimes well worth a read.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-solar-panels MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

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I have a 3Kw system fitted over 2 1/2 years ago on the original tarrif. So far production has been over 2,650 Kw average per annum paying about £1250 per annum in FIT payments. Capital payback will be within 7 years at this rate. Put another way, the FIT payments exceed my total electric AND gas payments per annum. FIT payments are guaranteed for 25 years (now just over 22 to go) and adjusted for inflation. It's a no brainer!

Not sure if I would go for the OPs proposal though - especially as FIT payments have now been reduced considerably. 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Even though the FiT is reduced it still generates enough to pay off the cost to have them install, but how long does it take, if it's near on the life expectancy of the panels it's a big waste of time

My epc also says I might be able to have floor insulation, not sure how that could be done to a solid concrete floors though Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I had to have a commercial epc £500 but my sheds got a b grade, to receive full Fit you need a grade D or better

sensible policy if your not a grade D then money is better spent on rectifiying the problem rather than solar.


the box of tricks I mentioned earlier. I don't have one as my panels are on chicken shed not my home, so Im using all the power anyway
http://www.immersun.co.uk/ At work
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winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I am grade D  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis