Free solar panels

[stoop]

Got these guys coming to see me next week. Looks interesting but they only do it in Yorkshire at the moment.


http://www.ashadegreener.co.uk/

[Rimms]

Stoop, This is available Nationally. In effect you are renting your roof to this company. They will cover the roof area with Photo Voltaic (PV) panels and then claim the government Feed In Tariff (FIT) of 43 pence per kilowatt hour produced by the panels (average around £1,500 per year) and they get that for the next 25 years ! The FIT is also index linked and will rise with inflation throughout that time.

You have to think about the "free electric" claims made by these companies, PV Panels only produce electric during daylight hours and obviously are most efficient when the sun shines, if you are at work most of the day, all of this power is exported back to the grid and you get nothing.

If you still fancy going ahead with this, consider investing in the installation yourself (£6.000 to £8,000 ) and you keep the FIT.  Alternatively consider Solar Thermal where you will get hot water or a Micro Combined Heat and Power boiler (MCHP) which will produce electricity while the boiler runs and you will still get a FIT benefit, all be it at a lower level than PV.

[jackstee]

Have to agree with Rimms, plus if you want to sell your house you need someone who is willing to take on the solar panels.

Unless you have "very" expensive battries then the power generated during the day is no use to you during the night.

Seriously looking at it for our boat.

[stoop]

I'm at home most days so will get lots of useage. As for selling - the buyer gets the same deal at no cost to them. As for paying - quotes of £12-14k for the same sort of system.

I'll see what comes up but can't see us buying a system and this one seems risk free and we can make sure we wash/ dishwash etc in daylight hours.

This company only cover Yorkshire but I'm sure there are others.

[Steve (redding43)]

We looked at these deals and think generally they are good as it saves the upfront costs. What put us off though is the 25yrs they have to stay on your roof as solar technology is improving rapidly so in a few years you will not be able to replace this with a more efficient system that will without doubt save you further money. If these were a 10yr deal we would have jumped at it but 25yrs is just too long

[Rimms]

quote:Originally posted by stoop

 quotes of £12-14k for the same sort of system.

It sounds like you have been quoted for a system that will give a peak output of 4Kwh. As an obvious point you should check this out with the installer, people have been caught out with installers installing a 1Kwh system, which is the equivalent of a 1 bar electric fire at peak output of the panels (house in the best orientation with no shading, peak daylight and bright sunshine) For a 1Kwh system you will have around 12 square metres of your roof covered in panels. If you go for the 4Kwh system you will end up with more than 30 square metres of your roof covered.

Make sure your roof is in perfect condition, if you have a problem with your roof leaking or needing any sort of maintenance over the next 25 years, then you have a big problem where you are responsible for removal and reinstallation of the panels to get at your roof.

Also check that the installing company are responsible for the inverter on the system (box of tricks that chnges DC to AC) this is an expensive item and may need renewing a couple of times over the 25 year period.

Hope this works out for you, keep us posted.

[stoop]

Lots to check but I do know it's a 3.3kw system and they need a south facing (or within 30deg) roof which can take 24sq mtrs. They also fit and pay for the inverter on the system As for leaking roofs/problems - part of the contract is that they will remove them free of charge - twice in the 25 year period. I tend to think that once up they will actually protect the tiles underneath so the only problems might be with those exposed - which I guess we could get at in the normal way.

Anyway - I'll see what the contract is like but as far as I can tell they are the only company that puts everything in writing that you can understand. I found this link which praises then quite highly:

http://www.lovemoney.com/news/the-economy-politics-and-your-job/the-environment/5423/free-solar-panels-the-small-print-exposed

[stoop]

Also from their own site:

But will we have to pay something at SOME point?

NO, absolutely not. Our Agreement with the homeowner spells this out very clearly in a term headed "STATEMENT OF ‘NO COSTS TO HOMEOWNER' POLICY". Under this term we re-confirm that at no time throughout the term of the Agreement will the homeowner be asked to pay anything or will be liable for anything. We pay for everything - the panels and all other equipment, the installation (including scaffolding costs) and the maintenance and we will allow the homeowner to use ALL the electricity that our panels generate - FREE OF CHARGE because we will get paid for the amount of electricity generated WHETHER THE HOME OWNER USES IT OR NOT.

[kayakebab]

I nearly did this, but decided against as wasn't at home in the daytime.
Glad I didn't as we sold our house in 4 days and the buyer said she wouldn't have bought it with panels on the roof

25 years is a huge commitment

[stoop]

Lot's to consider. The selling and 25 yrs does concern me a little but in essence we are probably in our last home as we moved down a few years back to clear the mortgage and no way am I taking on another one at 56 (next month). So that's really the selling bit sorted - and I'm sure there are people who would jump at the chance to own a house with solar panels - but I can see they are not for everyone.

Now the home in the daytime bit is a big plus for me as I only work 2 or 3 days per week so it's possible we could save quite a bit - and in 25 years I'll be almost 81 so I guess I won't give a toss by then anyway.

No way am I 100% sure but it looks like an interesting prospect if everything stacks up as they promise.