Considering Solar Panels - Do they actually save money?
had a sales pitch from MyPlanet at weekend, and the costs for a 4Kw system comes out at around £9k.I have read the thread about MyPlanet and know they are expensive, and am in the process of getting more quotes.
My electricity usage is around 14000 Kwh annually, which equates to a monthly payment of £125.
I had all the options of buying outright ( not viable atm ) or financing, which I may consider.
We have no plans on moving in the next 10 years.
My roof is north / south facing (in kent) offset by a few degrees and can fit the required number of panels.
I have a few questions to current users ;
Do these panels generate much electricity in the winter months?
Do you really see a substantial reduction in electricity costs?
If using lots of electricity during daytime, such as weekends, (normally use around £15 sat & sunday) would i see a bigger reduction in costs than those quoted?
Thanks The main benefit of getting panels is the Feed In Tariff which is about 13p/kW at the moment. So this means every kW you produce you make 13p. You also get paid 4p per kW for half of your production on the basis that they assume you use half of what you generate and the other half goes into the grid. How much you save on your bills then depends on how much you are prepared to use during the day. If you can time things like the washing machine and dishwasher to come on during the middle of the day then you can save money there. I also had an optimersion fitted that channels excess power during the day into my immersion heater so it gives me free hot water. I have only had my panels for a month and have generated over 0.5MW already. My 4kW system cost me £6300 all in and that included the extra for the optimersion system as well.
When home batteries become more common place then the opportunity to save on electricity bills will be even better since you could then store your energy during the day to then use in the evening when you are home. Thanks PSM1
I got quoted £7250 for 4KW incl hot water too. This was from Greener Home improvements.
Can't find much about them online though.
Which company did yours and would you recommend them?
Thanks I had a local company called Watts and Sons do mine. So may be worth looking around to see if there are any smaller local companies to you. Due to my conservatory at the back I had to pay a bit more for the scaffolding otherwise the price would have been cheaper again.
They did a very professional job and works well so would recommend them to anyone in Swansea/South Wales area.
I am also about to get a Nissan Leaf so looking forward to being able to charge that up over the weekend/hols and even some evenings on solar power for free. Thanks, I have a conservatory round back, but no mention of any extra scaffolding needed.
Shame i'm too far away to use them.
Thanks
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