sparkysmum Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Our electricity bills have gone stratospheric since we came off a discounted rate & even shopping arounf for better rates wouldn't save us much. There are five of us in the house so I suppose our usage will be fairly high but tbh our bills are/are forecasted to be shocking. £60 per week I can hardly bring myself to type it. Whilst I know central Scotland isn't the sunniest place in the world I was thinking that solar panels might reduce our costs a bit. I'd be really interested to know if anyone has/had solar panels & what they thought of them. Thank you. Alli xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I work for a company that supplies and installs solar pv, (we're a domestic and commercial electrical contractors), and whilst I wouldn't recommend solar pv as an option to power your home (you can't retain the energy you generate to power things at night time etc) the guaranteed feed in tariff makes it worth your while - you're guaranteed pay back for 25 years at a competitive rate and you'll get a cheque every few months in exchange for the energy you put back into the grid. Depending on the kW of the system it can be a better investment than many bank savings accounts if I had money I'd definitely do it - If you can afford it it's silly not to get even a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks for this info, squiffs. I have arranged a meeting with the Energy Saving Trust (they are independent & funded by the Scottish Exec) to get some further info. Alli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks for this info, squiffs. I have arranged a meeting with the Energy Saving Trust (they are independent & funded by the Scottish Exec) to get some further info. Alli this is a very wise idea, as there is an untapped goldmine of funding for projects like this and further funding is going to become available in years to come - so if they have a rough idea of the timeline for projects being retired and introduced, you can gauge the best time to take the plunge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Lots of threads on MSE about solar in the green section they have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Thanks Anne, I'll go and check this out. Cheers Alli x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 We have had solar panels for hot water only for about 5 years. Our roof faces south south west and the solar always comes on when it is sunny even in the winter, for the last few days we've had a full tank of hot water and not had to use any additional water heating but even a partially warmed tank saves money as the emersion has to be on for a shorter period. I've got no idea how much money we save and there is some element of electricity use in the pump that is part of the solar water system. We got a small grant when it was installed but I think if we did it again we would go for the full whack with pv and the feed-in benefits. The initial outlay can seem quite high I think but I imagine will probably be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 .We got a small grant when it was installed but I think if we did it again we would go for the full whack with pv and the feed-in benefits. The initial outlay can seem quite high I think but I imagine will probably be worth it. I think that when they change the tariffs in March next year they'll be creating more grant/interest free loan opportunities for people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it. (aka me!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 This is all very interesting but there is so much conflicting information I have read somewhere that on overcast days (as I would say most of our days are) the panels don't generate enough electricity to power a lightbulb All a bit confusing. Alli xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 We received quotes for solar panels yesterday, it is confusing isn't it We were quoted £3049 for water heating panels which should produce 70% of our needs to heat water. The quote for electricity producing panels was £10500 and according to the calculations would give us 50% of our electricity needs. OH and myself will be sitting down at the weekend to decide which to go for, I expect it will be the cheaper option. We are all electric here with rubbish storage heaters and panel heaters which cost a fortune and do not keep the Cottage warm at all in Winter, and an immersion heater for the hot water which gives enough hot water in the tank for 2 very quick showers a day, and there are four of us here which means we have to use the expensive boost switch to heat extra water. We have frequent power cuts too, mostly in winter when the weather is bad but also at other times for no apparent reason We had a power cut on Wednesday when the weather had been lovely The man who did the survey said we were in the perfect spot for a turbine, I wonder how much one of those would cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 This is all very interesting but there is so much conflicting information I have read somewhere that on overcast days (as I would say most of our days are) the panels don't generate enough electricity to power a lightbulb All a bit confusing. Alli xx The panels still generate energy, just not at the rate that they would in full sun. Also, when someone tells you the amount of energy your panels generate the rule of thumb is to underestimate so that when they come back to check after the installation they're overperforming rather than underperforming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 Alison, Thats a lot of money Have you spoken to someone who is independant who could confirm these types of savings Simon has just pointed out something really basic. Our biggest water heating cost I think is in five showers one after the other in the morning: Even though over a day solar panels might be able to produce that much hot water, it isn't obvious that they can cope with that usage pattern (yesterday's water will have cooled down somewhat, and can the panels keep the tank topped up for five consecutive showers???) Perhaps it could work with a large enough hot tank, and superb insulation. During the winter when everyone needs a morning shower it's still dark & therefore the panels won't be generating any elec. at all Perhaps the savings referred to come from the feed in tarrif So many questions Glad to know you're thinking about it too, do let us know what you decide. We probably have similar weather conditions. Alli x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We have just ordered our solar panels, we are going for a just under 4KW system (ie. the biggest you can get to benefit from the best feed in tarif). You get 43p per KWH of electricity you generate - which you can use. They assume you will sell 50% of the electricity you produce back to the National Grid and you get an extra 3p back for each KWH you sell back. they estimated with us in south wales that we would produce 3364 KWH annually, so an annual return of about £1700 all things considered. However, this is based on conservative government figures, so could be more. It would be less in Scotland as less hours of sunlight annually. The system is costing us £12,000 (we have a 10 year endowment coming out and couldn't decide how to re-invest it!), so we should get our money back in about 7 years. The feed in tarif is payable for 25 years, so pure profit after 7 years then... happy days Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We have just ordered our solar panels, we are going for a just under 4KW system (ie. the biggest you can get to benefit from the best feed in tarif). You get 43p per KWH of electricity you generate - which you can use. They assume you will sell 50% of the electricity you produce back to the National Grid and you get an extra 3p back for each KWH you sell back. they estimated with us in south wales that we would produce 3364 KWH annually, so an annual return of about £1700 all things considered. However, this is based on conservative government figures, so could be more. It would be less in Scotland as less hours of sunlight annually. The system is costing us £12,000 (we have a 10 year endowment coming out and couldn't decide how to re-invest it!), so we should get our money back in about 7 years. The feed in tarif is payable for 25 years, so pure profit after 7 years then... happy days Hope this helps Solar PV and Solarthermal technology are not the same thing space chick, so these figures don't apply to heating and hot water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsquid Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 The OP was asking about reducing electricity bills, so solar PV is the way to go for this. Like Space Chick, we have recently had a solar PV system fitted under the feed-in tariff scheme. We had 16 Sanyo panels fitted making 4kw maximum (actually had over 4 kw on occasions from it). The investment was £14k, as we had the more expensive panels to avoid plastering our roof all over with panels, and the Sanyo ones are more efficient. You are paid a set amount each year, that rises with energy price inflation, depending on the wattage of your system. To this you add a smaller amount from your electricity supplier based upon what you have actually generated. You get paid whether or not you use the electricity, so if you are home all the time, and use the electricity, you will make significant savings, particularly if you schedule things like washing machines and dishwashers to run during the day, rather than overnight. You also keep the tariff if you move - it belongs to you, not the property. Payback would be in 7-8 years and thereafter you are paid a good return for 25 years. We do not have hot water panels as we hardly use any hot water (electric showers, cold water plumbing only for dishwasher and washing machine), so they are not worth the investment. In exactly one month after installation we clocked up our first 1/2 megawatt hour (500kwh) and our average is about 16kwh per day. Even on a dark, thundery, wet day we managed 5kwh, more than we use. The rate of return on investment is much better than any bank account - currently around 10% p.a. The only downside is your money is bolted to your roof. It is also tax-free which is handy if you pay 40% tax. We are delighted with our system, and have had loads of people come along and ask about it as a result of walking past the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
