Solar Energy - Feed In Tariffs

[enfable]

Has anyone taken advantage of the free solar energy scheme?
Should I buy / finance (is this likely to last for 25 years), take the free panels or leave well alone?

[enfable]

That's not an answer but a link to my question!

[SlackAlice]

No it's a different question

[bednobs]

personally i wouldn't be considering buying/financing something i could get free (which i think is what you are asking?)

[Hymie]

Leave well alone.

A number of building societies have already announced that they will not give a mortgage for property where there is a long standing contract for such fitted solar panels. So once you have them fitted, you might find it difficult to sell your house.

To pay for the panels you are considering having fitted, everyone is paying a massively inflated price for their first few units of electricity used (circa 45p/unit – vs around 10p/unit low rate). Once you have such panels fitted, the company that supplied them will benefit from the sale of this power (back to the grid at 45p/unit). They will have promised you that you will gain from any extra power generated that you use. However if you think about it (because you will be paying 45p for the first units you use from the national grid), your generated electricity could have been purchased for around 10p per unit.

If things go wrong – who pays for the repairs?

I very much doubt that such a system will be in good service order in 25 years time.

[maclarencat]

No its not slackalice

[enfable]

Thanks Hymie,

If I was to buy the system outright would I be paid around 45p for each unit I harvest and only pay around 13p per unit I use from the grid?
I've been told that if I purchase a system it should pay for itself within 6 1/2 years, giving a yield of around 12%.

[enfable]

If I were to buy buy outright there would not be a long standing contract with anyone. So this should not have an effect when selling the property.

[Hymie]

If you purchase such a system, then there is no 25 year contract to worry about in terms of selling your home – you could argue that it will add value (but I wouldn’t).

I would want a guarantee from the supplier before such an investment – personally a payback within 6 ½ years seems very optimistic to me. Post some of their projected numbers for comment.

My understanding of this scam (on the rest of us electricity users) – is that should you have such a system installed, you will be paid around 45p per unit generated (indexed linked with inflation – to protect your investment). But I believe that there is a maximum figure per month you can claim – otherwise you could rig up a connection to your neighbours supply and sell electricity purchased at 10p per unit to the supply company for 45p per unit – thereby becoming a millionaire within a short time.

Perhaps you could post further details of the contract on offer in terms of how many units per month you can sell at 45p each.

One very important thing you have to bear in mind is that once the company sells you such an installation – you are on your own. If the projected payback is not what was promised, I doubt they will compensate you for the shortfall – which could be due to long cloudy days.

My understanding is that you will still have to pay 45p per unit (of your first few units) like the rest of us – meaning that the electricity you use from your system would otherwise have been purchased at around 10p per unit. By having such a system installed does not exclude you from paying this extortionate rate for the first electricity units you consume from the grid (unless I am mistaken).

[enfable]

I have met with a salesman from a solar company who has told me the following. If I have 16 x 245w panels it would generate 3.92kw/h. Based on circa 3 hours of daylight a day (sunlight not necessary as will harvest in daylight, even if overcast) circa 1100 harvest hours per annum. Would equal 4312kwh/annum. With 96% orientation, this is determined by how far the panels would be to due south, equals 4139kwh/annum.
The goverment would then pay 43.3p for every unit harvest (£1792) and an additional 3.1p for each unit fed in to the grid (if 25% is fed in to the grib £32). The electricity used from the panels would then give a saving of 13p, as it has not been drawn from the grid (if 75% would give a saving of £403). Giving a payment of £1822 pa plus a saving of £403pa. Totalling £2227. If outlay is £14.5K it should pay for itself in circa 6.5 years. Sounds to good to be true! Is it?

[Hymie]

Thanks for posting some figures.

I don’t know where you live – but with only 3 hours of daylight/per day, I suggest you move.
I suspect the 3 hours figure relates to the maximum amount of generated electricity you can supply back to the grid at around 45p each.

As with having any major work undertaken on your house – if I were considering having such a system installed, I would ask to see systems already installed (by the company) and be able to ask the owners whether they are achieving the claimed returns.

This whole scheme is part of the UK government’s commitment to renewable energy. To make such systems viable, they had to mandate that the generating companies buy your electricity at around 10 times what it costs them to generate it. And to cover the cost of paying you this money – everyone else is paying around 45p per unit for their initial units.

The Photovoltaic panels should last well past the proposed payback period, with no or minimum maintenance – but the inverter unit (being an electronic piece of equipment) could fail – resulting in an expensive repair bill. A 4kW unit would cost around £3,000, so I would try to negotiate an extended warrantee (free of charge) so that you are not stuck with an expensive white elephant in your house. Check out the inverter audible noise figures, otherwise you might have a continuous 50Hz buzz in your house.

A 10 year payback on such an investment would be quite reasonable – and therefore there is some leeway on the claimed figures.
Despite my scepticism – given that the government wants joe public to install such systems, if they were a complete scam (to you), the whole scheme would collapse, with no one taking up the offer.