Hi team,

Any solar experts?

Just looking at how solar prices have fallen.
But probably due to lesser feed-in deals, the payback time is still around 10-12 years, about the same as what it was 2-3 years ago last time I looked .



https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-solar-panels/
. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

Waste of time to be honest.

Payback for our home was 18 years when the tarrifs were high. I’m sorry but I don’t do any investment with such poor returns. The likelihood is I won’t even break even. It looks ugly, and the returns aren’t there. I agree a waste of time in its current form for us.

Greg,
I have just moved into a new build bungalow in North Wales that has got 8 big solar panels fitted on the roof.
I have no idea how much the installation cost, but the whole setup looks pretty complicated .
I will see how it performs over a full 12 month period and let you know b but I must confess to being sceptical as to its worth in our climate.... more suited to Bondi beach or Alice Springs
Mike. G reg 2.5VM Vogue Portofino red 1991- 1999
V reg 2.5td P38 Rioja red 1999- 2006
53 reg td6 Vogue Oslo blue 2006- 2015
11 reg 4.4 TdV8 Vogue SE. Baltic blue 2015- date.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic56162...tty+affair

i had mine fitted in 2011 for £11k and since then i have had just over £18k in tariff returns..

this doesnt include the free electric when the panels are generating and my bills have gone down by 30%...

i cant comment on the returns for systems fitted now but i'm sure google will give you some idea.. ... - .- -.




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Just thinking about this: when people talk about payback time and then quote a number of years... presumably they are talking about 100% payback?

I have let property and the ‘payback time’ can be 20 years by the above measure, but when it’s half paid back I’m still ahead, because of the intrinsic value I’ve gained (equity) in the property.

Granted, solar/PV panel installation is different, but if you sold your house with such an installation, surely it would add to the value? Shouldn’t this be factored-in?

Just my £0.02 worth....

To me pay back or return on investment is just that. It’s not an appreciating asset, it will need replacing, it has a finite lifespan. So my calculations are based on a direct comparison between investment I would have to make to buy/install it, divided by the annual cost savings against my utility bills.

The predicted cost savings should be on a decreasing factor as the feed in tariff decreases.

But overall not a difficult calculation.

Naturally there is no blanket answer as every property is different, and also the utilisation of the property is different.

Now don’t get me wrong; if I had to replace the roof I would use solar roof tiles. But to just replace it or add solar panels to us made no financial sense.

...and, it depends on your funding:

If you have to borrow, I’d say needs thinking about.

But if you have cash laying around... and you’re not sure what to do with it, it’s a very safe investment.

Actually, looking at interest rates, have you done the calculations? Fag-packet suggests if you took out a 20 year loan (mortgage) for that amount, you’d be ahead...

It’s such a low yield investment that I’d couldn’t possibly agree it’s an investment at all. Depending on your property or system you may run a profit after break even for a few year before having to replace it all. I wouldn’t even see it as safe either. Be better off buying Bitcoin with that amount 🤣

And, remember, it’s not just about the financial side.

Rest better at night knowing you’re at least partly offsetting the fossil fuel burning behemoth on your driveway

We had a system fitted end of 2013 average generation per year is 4000kwh
We do have the perfect aspect roof and location in the SW
Since fitted we have not had a negative year we still get a bill for night use but it is easily offset by the FIT payment. System also feeds any overgen into the hot water so we have free hot water in the summer so also saves on gas.

Did look to get a battery unit fitted last year but the numbers didn't workout

We estimated payback was after 6 years just with FIT payments and saved electicity, I kick myself for not having it sooner and getting the better FIT rates

I just did an online calculator just for fun. Lifetime return -£2,768 🤣

But as also expressed, it can work but really depends on your property, and usage.

We had our panels fitted just before the initial FIT rate was halved.
We have the same experience as Stan, its paid for itself in 7-8 years.

Blackdog, the feed in tariff doesn't decrease as your expecting. Sure the rate has been decreased over time for new installations, but that was supposedly to offset the expected drop in equipment and installation costs. Panels are less than half what they used to be to buy.
When you have the system installed and registered you have an 'eligibility date' which sets your tariff band. You remain in that band for the duration, and its actually index linked so goes up not down.

Our 3.5kw system (14 panels) pays out around 1600 a year just in tarifs, without the saving on bills.
Once the system is installed most owners modify their behaviour. Rather than put the washing machine or dish washer on at night, you put it on during the day, so the energy being generated is used rather than that imported.
You get paid for every unit generated regardless, and generally get paid for 50% of that as exported too at a flat rate agreement, regardless of whether exported. There are other options but that was what was advised to us.

There are differences in systems too. We have mature oak trees that shade our panels in the afternoon / evening.
With a conventional 1 or 2 string panel array that would cause problems. If 1 or 2 panels become shaded, the entire string will not generate (for some panel technologies you only need to shade part of the panel for it to not produce).
We went with a micro-inverter setup, whereby each panel has its own inverter, and therefore each panel is optimised.

GGDR, if your really considering it get a professional installer to do you an assessment. They should take information of your proposed panel site to determine heading, elevation, and predicted exposure for the season. You can then determine the best case generation. This gets derated based on shading, non-ideal elevation, etc. They should provide all of this in their report. Getting an online assessment may not give you a realistic report.
In practice you can do this yourself if you search around for how to do it. It can be quite involved though depending on your setup.

Regarding the Asset point of view, I personally don't believe they add any value to a property, but they may make it more desirable over one that doesnt have them, if everything else were equal. They do have a lifetime, as do the inverters. Having monitoring in some form is important to ensure they are still working properly so you can reset/fix / replace as necessary. Too many toys, not enough time

2011 4.4 TDV8 AB Black

Im looking at it right now, here there is no feed in tarriff not interested in batteries but have plenty of sun, also there's a green energy grant system which skews the numbers in my favour 70% of cost recovery from government, now if thats guaranteed I will be getting it installed, if much pratting about and no guarantee of the grant, its not worth the outlay...

very informative John..  ... - .- -.




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