Fully installed prices

Worcester · Apr 27, 2011

Getting registered for VAT as a Solar PV installer will trigger their risk assesment / fraud team and lead you through a shed load of paperwork and proof (because you want money back from them - buy at 20% sell at 5%) , it can easily takes 12 -16 weeks to get VAT registered in that instance.

(10 days is their target for a normal business that pays them VAT!)

Graeme Harrold · Apr 28, 2011

That might be the case in the US, but in the UK its a regulated market. Nothing to stop you fitting panels (at retail prices)to your own roof (providing you satisfy Part P and LABC), you simply wont be able to access the FIT financial incentives ot hook back up to the grid.

SRE · Apr 28, 2011

Worcester said:
Getting registered for VAT as a Solar PV installer will trigger their risk assesment / fraud team and lead you through a shed load of paperwork and proof (because you want money back from them - buy at 20% sell at 5%) , it can easily takes 12 -16 weeks to get VAT registered in that instance.

(10 days is their target for a normal business that pays them VAT!)

Took us just over 6 months and nearly 4 weeks to get payment back for the first one.

SRE · Apr 28, 2011

Johny said:
These prices are high only for those who decide, to install panels on their house or on their own company, without the aid of some sponsors. However, in our case the costs were quite small. So do not be scared by the prices cause there must be a way to install them without too much budget.

If you are in the USA - I've seen USA prices and they're much the same as ours

pm79 · May 6, 2011

Hi I'm sorry to hijack this thread. I was wondering if any of you knowledgeable people can help me.

I have recently placed order for Schuco 3.995kwp system (235 x 17panels) with sma 4000TL inverter. The installer has offered me Sanyo HIP 235 HDE4 (17panels) with same inverter for £1000 more.

Now do you guys think that is it worth spending £1000 more on sanyo over schuco. I have been reading this website- people speak highly of sanyo but then I calculated output on sma software but the difference was only 43 units more in a year. I might be doing something wrong in calculations though.

what do you think in your experience?

Graeme Harrold · May 6, 2011

If your calcs are right this is about £750 over 25 years with 4% inflation.....

BruceB · May 7, 2011

An advantage of the Sanyo HIT is that you have less area for the same output. But if you have the space on your roof for the Schuco ones then why pay the extra for the Sanyo? I doubt there is the evidence they are more reliable to the extent of £1000. Schuco is a respectable brand.
Regards
Bruce

pm79 · May 7, 2011

BruceB said:
An advantage of the Sanyo HIT is that you have less area for the same output. But if you have the space on your roof for the Schuco ones then why pay the extra for the Sanyo? I doubt there is the evidence they are more reliable to the extent of £1000. Schuco is a respectable brand.
Regards
Bruce

I agree with you. Actually initially he offered me sanyo for £2000 more but when I said that it would be too much he gradually reduced it down to £1000 more on schuco quote. My roof is quite big so space is not really a problem. He said since Sanyo is a hybrid panel so will work better in both low and bright light conditions. But according to sma software the difference is not that much. As I mentioned earlier I may be doing something wrong in calculations.... confused.com

SolarCity · May 7, 2011

I've run the Sanyo HIT250w panels through my software with a Sunny Boy TL4000 inverter and compared these results with the Schuco 210w panels with the same inverter. My results are as follows:

4kWp Sanyo system - 3,547kWh annually

3.99kWp Schuco system - 3,230.3kWh annually

That's a difference of 317kWh. I'd say that is pretty substanital.

Other comparisons:

3.84kWp Suntech system - 3,350.7kWh annually

3.96kWp Sharp system - 3,198.8kWh annually

4kWp Romag system - 3,408.8kWh annually

All based on the Sunny Boy 4000TL inverter and climate data in Solihull.

317kWh equates to £137 a year in FITs and perhaps around £28 in leccy benefit/export.

Worcester · May 7, 2011

'Save on electricity bill costs' is dramatically being oversold.

People should really only consider the FIT's payments and 50% export, and, until studies have been done, treat the rest as 'bonus'.

To get the best 'electricity bill savings' requires people to match their usage with their generation. Ok for businesses when the majorioty of the usage is during the day, for domestic, people will be lucky if they use 50% of what they generate, so just because you are generating mores, you can't say that they will save more. Daytime generation curve is near enough a sine wave (see the SMA video on OptiTrac) Daytime domestic consumption has a peak early am, drops dramatically during the day, and peaks in the evening, long into the dark.

Check out the 'Average' Domestic profile not on economy 7 (it's what the 01 means on the MPAN )

[ElectriciansForums.net] Fully installed prices

Usage of generated power will depend upon the size of their system and their consumption. Iin an 'Average' domestic situation, spread over a year, where say, they will generate 2500kWh and their bills say they consume 3500kWh, most domestic users will be lucky to use 1000kWh of what they generate, put a 3500kWh system on the roof, and they will still only use 1100kWh of what they generate.

The problem is a bigger system just generates more when it's not being used, hence the discussions about monitoring export and the work we're doing with CurrentCost.

pm79 · May 8, 2011

BiggsSolar said:
I've run the Sanyo HIT250w panels through my software with a Sunny Boy TL4000 inverter and compared these results with the Schuco 210w panels with the same inverter. My results are as follows:

4kWp Sanyo system - 3,547kWh annually

3.99kWp Schuco system - 3,230.3kWh annually

That's a difference of 317kWh. I'd say that is pretty substanital.

Other comparisons:

3.84kWp Suntech system - 3,350.7kWh annually

3.96kWp Sharp system - 3,198.8kWh annually

4kWp Romag system - 3,408.8kWh annually

All based on the Sunny Boy 4000TL inverter and climate data in Solihull.

317kWh equates to £137 a year in FITs and perhaps around £28 in leccy benefit/export.

Thanks Biggsolar for doing that. That was really helpful. Do you think if you use Schuco 235kw panel the calculations would be same as that's the one I was getting before.

njcuk · May 9, 2011

pm79 said:
Thanks Biggsolar for doing that. That was really helpful. Do you think if you use Schuco 235kw panel the calculations would be same as that's the one I was getting before.

Is there a Schuco 235w panel accredited and on the market yet?

1shortcircuit · May 9, 2011

I can fully understand someone wanting assistance with pricing because at the end of the day most threads you read on here are complaining about getting undercut.

With this in mind though, I fully understand that this should be kept OUT of the view of the public eye. They'll batter you down regardless of what you quote.

Surely matters such as these should ONLY be encouraged/discussed in the area where many of us cannot access the information

(hence red usernames etc)

Can't say that I myself would be too interested in breaking into this area, not keen on heights and would rather work indoors to be honest. Great read though:thumbsup

Graeme Harrold · May 9, 2011

Worcester said:
'Save on electricity bill costs' is dramatically being oversold.

People should really only consider the FIT's payments and 50% export, and, until studies have been done, treat the rest as 'bonus'.

To get the best 'electricity bill savings' requires people to match their usage with their generation. Ok for businesses when the majorioty of the usage is during the day, for domestic, people will be lucky if they use 50% of what they generate, so just because you are generating mores, you can't say that they will save more. Daytime generation curve is near enough a sine wave (see the SMA video on OptiTrac) Daytime domestic consumption has a peak early am, drops dramatically during the day, and peaks in the evening, long into the dark.

Check out the 'Average' Domestic profile not on economy 7 (it's what the 01 means on the MPAN )

View attachment 5526

Usage of generated power will depend upon the size of their system and their consumption. Iin an 'Average' domestic situation, spread over a year, where say, they will generate 2500kWh and their bills say they consume 3500kWh, most domestic users will be lucky to use 1000kWh of what they generate, put a 3500kWh system on the roof, and they will still only use 1100kWh of what they generate.

The problem is a bigger system just generates more when it's not being used, hence the discussions about monitoring export and the work we're doing with CurrentCost.

Its down to you educating your customer to get the best out of their new and expensive system. Additional parts of my survey include quoting for immersion heater timers, and timers for dishwashers/washing machines. Im now doing battery calcs and costings to work out if investing in this coupled with low energy lighting throught the house is viable. Also looking for other methods of maximising on utilising the electricity produced. Suppose Im luckier than most as my wife works from home and can use what is being generated.

netblindpaul · May 10, 2011

1shortcircuit said:
hence red usernames etc

What is the score with all the coloured user names by the way?

I am getting "hassled" by the NIC and one of my wholesalers as to why I have not gone down the PV route yet!
I have a lot of experience with dc, electronics and inverters along with a plumber & roofer who I work with, which the wholesaler knows.
I just can't decide what to do!
Having set up ISO9001 systems for previous employers is the PV one much easier?
How much work is the paper trail?
I have the time & the funds to do the training etc. just not sure yet about the work load?
Market research in the area also yet to be done.

Do you all mostly do domestic or commercial?

Cheers

Fully installed prices

Worcester

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Graeme Harrold

SRE

SRE

pm79

Graeme Harrold

BruceB

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pm79

SolarCity

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Worcester

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pm79

njcuk

1shortcircuit

Graeme Harrold

netblindpaul

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