'free' solar panels - things to look out for?

djcla

hmm going off this idea now, maybe a start a new thread about installing a wind turbine in the back yard

BISHI

I reckon between £500 - £700 per year depending on how much sun shine there is. Don't know how much I'll save in leccy what with constantly fluctuating prices and the fact we have only had it for 7 months. Meter today is not moving at all ( free leccy) and the PV generating meter reads 830 kw ( approx £350 ).
So it all looks pretty rosey TBH.

Yes, paid for them ourselves.

BISHI

You will miss the feed in tariff if you wait too long, this is what makes it a good investment at the moment.

BISHI

The panels degrade in efficiency by 1% per year, so in 25 years they will be a quarter less efficient. You also need to research the panels you get. Many are mass produced Chinese panels that I would not touch with a barge pole. I researched for ages and found that the preferred panel in Germany is made by KYOCERA - a Japanese company, also SHARP do a very good panel. Apparently my Kyocera panels are efficiency  under rated by 10% so that in 25 years they will only lose 15% of their rated efficiency.

BISHI

Get more quotes and play the companies off against each other. It is also no good just listing the amount of panels, they come in different sizes, you need to know how many KW total the panels are rated at. As a rule of thumb you should not be paying much more than 4K per KW, they will try to charge more but they are blagging you. A 2kw system should be a little over 9K IMO.

BISHI

Mine have that self cleaning glass that means that occasional rain will do most of the cleaning, also the angle at which they lie means any debris such as leaves just rolls off them. Once every 4 or 5 years should be adequate to wipe them over with a cloth.

FZR400RRSP

Looking at the photo of the house opposite me (see post earlier today), even once every 4 or 5 years looks like a pretty major operation/hassle.

oakie

They look terrible

figoagogo

This is what puts me off, I haven't a clue if I would be staying in the same house in the next 5 years, never mind 25 years... puts me off the investment, I also expect (as always with technology), they will get cheaper and more efficient over time - for mass take up the price needs to drop significantly.

FZR400RRSP

We don't even notice them now.
And initial concerns we had about reflections have proven to be unfounded.
Be nice if he disposed of the cardboard they came in though, which can be seen as the big soggy mess in front of his garage.