Anyone with solar panels... any good?

[vkurup]

We are thinking of putting some solar panels on. We are on top of a hill and the rear roof is South-East facing. So most of the roof gets plenty of light during the day. We have some shade during the second half of the day from the neighbour's 50 foot odd trees (all protected by TPOs), but generally i think we can get a fair bit of sun.
Have had a couple of quotes from the likes of Ikea (yup, Ikea), Evo Energy and locals.. Looks like about 6-7K for a 4KW system. Will it make a difference? Anyone with good/bad experience in this area?

 

[Crazyface]

Weren't there companies that would put them up for free if you let them have the excess elecy they generated?

A mate has some and speaks very highly of them. (He paid for his).

 

[vkurup]

Weren't there companies that would put them up for free if you let them have the excess elecy they generated?

A mate has some and speaks very highly of them. (He paid for his).

Yes there are.. it is a bit like leasing your roof to someone. Gets a bit complicated when you try to sell the house. By standard calculation, the panels should pay off by 7-8 years, so free money after that.

 

[NimbleNeil]

My house has had them for a few years, you get profit in the end and reduce fossil fuel emissions, win-win

 

[Deleted member 1740]

Yes there are.. it is a bit like leasing your roof to someone. Gets a bit complicated when you try to sell the house. By standard calculation, the panels should pay off by 7-8 years, so free money after that.

I'd be doing some research into this before you part with some cash.

I spoke to a fella who had these panels fitted after being told he'd cut his electric bills by 60%. He then got a massive electric bill and it wasn't til he called his supplier he was made aware of the actual true saving was 10%max.

 

[Hobbit]

The feed in tariffs, i.e. the money you get back for the elec to feed back into the national grid were reduced a year or so back. I did a feasibility study for my last club. Although there was a relatively small profit to be made this would be more than lost if there was a fault within the first 10yrs, after warranty had expired. And once you add in any remedial work that needs doing, post-install, decoration etc... basically, a bit of a non-starter.

The 10% figure is about right... but don't get a fault or need any decorating doing....

 

[vkurup]

I am told that the invertor WILL need to be replaced within the first 10 years, so gotta budget for it. We are planning some building work, so might be able to cover some of the redecorating.
There is a blooming difference in panel type and cost. Was looking at Sunpower- only panels with 25,yr guarantee while the others give 10 yr guarantees. But Sunpower is also double the cost!!!