How do you put water and food in the omlet cube overnight?

[Grandmashazzie]

With the recent hike in electricity we have been considering solar panels.Has anyone any recent experience with solar panels.We have a south facing back garden so feel they would not be too unsightly.Am also trying to find out if grants are still available here in N Ireland.Any words of wisdom would be most welcome.

[Lavenders_Blue]

My parents had solar panels put on their roof in spring this year. They also have a south facing roof.

They decided to purchase the panels rather than go for one of the rent a roof schemes. They have been really pleased with how much energy the panels have generated. They have had a couple of nice payments from the energy company for the energy generated (I think you get paid for half of what you generate) but they have also saved quite a bit of money by using the dishwasher, washing machine, oven, iron etc etc while it's nice and sunny. They have also been able to switch off their boiler and use the immersion heater to generate hot water over the summer which has been great. Obviously as the days get shorter and more overcast, the amount of electricity generated goes down, but even in the winter they are hoping to generate a useful amount.

[The Dogmother]

That's interesting L_B; how long do they think it will be before they recoup the initial outlay?

 

I understand that the rent-a-roof schemes are to be avoided as they can cause problems when you want to sell house.

 

We live in a conservation area, so wouldn't be able to have them

[Lavenders_Blue]

It's difficult to say as it's hard to know exactly how much they are saving on their leccy costs, but maybe 7-10 years? It's a longish term investment, but for anyone not planning to move then it's worth considering. You also don't have such a problem selling a house with solar panels that are bought as you do selling a house where the roof is rented out - I understand this can be problematic.

[bluekarin]

My hubby has been looking at doing this for several years and is even more keen now as the prices of the panels have gone done considerably. We are in rented so the panels we get need to be movable. He wants to put in a shed and cover the roof with them plus put some on the roof of the chickens run. He is looking at a battery system which holds the power. I too would be interested in hearing views on this too, but sorry I don't have any help for you.

[Grandmashazzie]

Update,just spoken to a lady at N I power,our main electric supplier.Unfortunately there are no grants available here but they do site visit and discuss costs, benefits etc.We have no thoughts on moving so can only think it a good plan especially if costs are going to continue to rise.Is this a daft question?would appliances work in power cut if you where producing own energy?

[Saronne]

I know people who have SPs and I asked the same question. The answer is no - you'd need some sort of back up generator still.

[Grandmashazzie]

Oh thanks for that Saronne.

[WitchHazel]

We have them, and they are fantastic.

 

It's not just about the Feed in Tarriff (although that's very welcome of course), one of the big benefits is the cost saving. We try to be organised and set the dishwasher and washing machine to go on during the day, when we're generating and so it's free. I've used my tumble dryer to fluff up my towels, something I wouldn't consider if I wasn't generating the electricity to cover it.

 

We had ours fitted in April, and we're waaay ahead of where our installer estimated that we'd be. Just as well, as we're now in the time of year where relatively little is being generated.

 

One of the best things we did was to have micro inverters installed. This means each panel has it's own inverter. Tihs is more expensive initially, but it has paid dividends. if you have only one inverter for your entire array of panels, the panels only perform at the rate of the lowest generating panel. This can make a huge difference - if you have 10 panels, and one of them is peforming 10w lower than the rest, that's 100w an hour you are losing.

 

We can see exactly how each panel is working and how much each is generating. For the first couple of months we were looking at it all the time.

 

It's best to get a few quotes - they will tell you what it will cost and what the projected return is, and you can then see how long it will take you to get payback.

 

It was a good investment for us, and we're effectively getting a much better return on our money than if we'd left the installation money in the building society.

[Snowy]

We have gone with the rent a roof scheme as we also have no plans to move. They were installed free of charge and we have had no structural problems at all. Also last winter we finally got the last dodgy windows double glazed and had a new boiler fitted.

Our gas and electric consumption this year was 30% less than last year.

And a letter today saying that fuel prices were going up has indicated that our monthly payment will be £25 a month less

[Space Chick]

We've had ours for two years, we purchased them when we had an endowment mature.

 

They have been fabulous we will cover the cost of installation with our feed in tarrif payments in around 6 years. However, we will get the FIT payment for 25 years (we got in before they dropped the amount)

 

Our fuel bills have gone down dramatically too.

 

I'd really recommend them as a long term investment if you aren't planning on moving.... Although saying the you could probably take them with you.

[Patricia W]

We were considering them, but an elderly neighbour's experience has really put me off. She was one of the first round here to have one for hot water and got the name of the company they used from the local District Council.

 

It worked for 5 years, then they had a leak inside the house when the fluid in it started leaking. It cost £500 for it to be fixed, and it then only worked for a week. They had them back but by then her husband was in the last stages of dementia so when it again stopped working, she really couldn't cope with chasing them, and switched it off.

 

The day before Christmas Eve (after the first big storm) she came round in tears because she had a bulge in a bedroom ceiling with water pouring in. I got a builder out for her, and he discovered that the solar panel had been installed by taking off the roof tiles so it only sat on the roofing felt. Needless to say, it was now allowing water to pour through the roof and into the ceiling! Her husband has recently died so she is feeling very vulnerable and not up to taking on the company who originally installed it. They now no longer work in the area. If anyone has had any similar experiences and solved them, I'll try to help her complain and get some redress.

[redbug]

Have you been to citizens advice

 

Sounds like something that should be on those TV consumer programme's.

Terrible way to do a job - take of tiles.......idiots. Poor women.

[Patricia W]

She's not feeling strong enough at the moment to deal with it, I'm afraid. But I'll help her when she is. I too, am amazed they took the roof tiles off to install the panel.

[Grandmashazzie]

Just read this what a shoddy job.They are supposed to be on tiles.We are still considering it.OH was really sick with chest inf.before Christmas and looked dreadful.We have big garden which I couldn't and wouldn't want to tend if I was here on my own so in spite of him making full recovery we are now vaguely thinking of downsizing,so much for my no plans to move statement.