bought or had installed PV solar panels on a domestic or business property? Spending 6 months a year abroad I can see an opportunity to be a net contributor to the grid and maybe make a couple of ££££ at the same time BUT is it really cost effective and is the payback time really less than the lifetime of the panels? I'm looking at enough PV cells to cover 30-40sq mt of roof that is southwest facing and shadow free. Installation would be on an existing roof not a new build. Is there anybody on here who sells or instals these systems? 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Was thinking of doing the same .......

Thanks Mick, those are Solar water heating panels - I want to generate electricity using Photo-Voltaic cells rather than heat water. Problem with those is that I have to shut down my electricity for insurance purposes when I go away and those panels need to have water circulating through them so they don't either boil dry on a sunny day or freeze up in winter when the pump is shut down.
These are what I was thinking about - http://www.segen.co.uk/eng/solar/photovolt...2Aod-n890Q 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on 23rd Oct 2010 6:11pm. Edited 1 time in total

oops you've ediited the link out your post! 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Good idea but pay back is a bout 10 years, due to installation costs at the mo

I've been thinking about this (photovoltaics) for some time. I was looking at it seriously a few years ago and the idea was to re-tile the roof with PV tiles rather than fixing fugly panels onto it. The company which made the roof tiles - which were the C21e tiles - was Solar Century (www.solarcentury.co.uk). I've not moved on this in the last few years but I believe that it's now more of a worthwhile investment........ The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

i've been successful in getting a company to install solar panels free ..got a contract as well but not signed yet as the returns for me will be only about £100 of my annual cost but great financial gains for the solar panel company, and being tied into a 25 year 'roof' lease is putting us of..... ... - .- -.




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Last edited by stan on 24th Oct 2010 1:27pm. Edited 1 time in total

John, in this month's National Geographic there is a little add for this company http://www.srsenergy.com/index.php and this product http://www.srsenergy.com/products.php
Like you I don't want a big shiny panel on the roof but unfortunately these are only available Stateside, and only in California at that, for the time being but they look more natural than a large area of "glass" tiles and wouldn't stick out too much on my dark grey Marley tiles. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

I'm in the process of planning an extension to the rear of the house encompassing a large conservatory and (full-size) snooker room. This will allow me to remove/re-use the Marley tiles which are currently on the (sunny) front of the house and therefore nothing would be wasted if I went for PV tiles to replace them. The benefits of the government backed feed-in tariff are significant, whether you use the generated power yourself or if it's fed-in to the grid. In fact, it almost reads like you are being paid to use the electric you produce. I'm currently paying about 13p per unit for daytime electric, but if I produce my own, they will pay me to use it at a rate of about 42p unit. It seems crazy to be paid to use your own electric but I've read it a couple of times and can't see the catch!!!

A system will pay for itself within about 10 years and you have a guarantee of 25 years of the feed-in tariff and a 25yr guarantee on the tiles....... A profit of £30k+ over 25 years on an single initial outlay of £10k seems incredible. More important, you become much more self-sufficient and still have power when the lights go off as China invades in years to come........  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Got two companies out to give me a quote ,

Scottish Gas £15k … 15 year guarantee

Advanced Windows £7k …… 25 year guarantee ….

Same amount of panels ….

Left SWMBO'd to deal with it as i have not had the time yet to look into it ...

I can't believe there are no laws about siting these horrendous looking panels on domestic properties. I remember stories of satellite dishes being removed because the were not right for certain areas. I took this photo recently as I thought it looked terrible, but it's a good example of what I feel should be banned....

Click image to enlarge

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated

Don't think anyone would notice them on my roof ….

Farmer where I keep the horses has 2x 4kW solar arrays* sitting outside the horse stable. The 2 inverters sit inside our tackroom, so I always have a wee look to see what they are producing.

To get the full 4kw out of each of them, you need blazing sunshine directly onto them. The slightest covering of the sun quickly drops the output and an overcast day would drop them down to about a couple of hundred watts. At full whack, the inverters can whine quite loudly too ... so be mindful of where they go.

They'll make the farmer money in the long run ... I think at his rate, he's looking at covering his outlay cost within 10 years.

Personally, if I had my own place out in the sticks, I'd be putting up a wind turbine to power other thing personally like heated stables.garage and like. Where I stay, there is wind most days even in the darkness, and using that to power ancillary electrics would be more useful to me I reckon. V8 or else ...

My brother in law has a small place outside Fenwick and is looking at options for solar. He's been quoted between £5k and £10k for a 4Kw system.
One of the companies who came and saw him said a wind solution would be around £45k? Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

did mine in december and i am reaping the rewards already with my monthly electric bills down by a third so far.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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