4kwp system supplied and fitted 5,995 incl. VAT and scaffolding

[sambotc]

Been out delivering leaflets today trying to drum up some enthusiasm regarding solar P.V. Spoke to a few customers who were out mowing the lawn etc. The general thought on the street seems to be they don't trust it, or don't want it. Age group ranged from 40-80.

Anyway whilst out in one of the estates I pass another crowd doing the same thing, although not stopping to speak to the customers. They ask what i'm selling and I explain amongst other things solar P.V. only to be told that they are doing it for the above price.

Anyway I dropped a leaflet into a porch and one of their leaflets it sat there, so i had it away!

6 panel kit £3495
8 panel kit £4258
10 panel kit £4667
12 panel kit £5140
14 panel kit £5578
16 panel kit £5995

No mention of EPC but even if that was on top it would still be ridiculously low. I said to them they are the reason the FiTs will be being lowered, I really can't understand how they can make it worth while? They said they buy in bulk blah blah.

It's a local company as well, they've been around for year but only just noticed they are involved in solar P.V

This is the lowest price I have heard off to date, but needless to say I made a quick retreat as I felt like I was just wasting my time. They blatantly didn't have a clue about solar installs from a technical point of view either.

PVkitsdirect are currently offering 16 panel/eversolar kits for £3500 + vat though so I guess it is doable if you shoehorn the system in to what ever roof is there?

 

[SolarCity]

Depressing, isn't it? The job I have just lost out on was so ridiculously priced that I am staggered that some firms can make it pay.

 

[dansk]

I dont understand the race to the bottom, the only reason i can think off there desperate - ATEOTD some folk will always want the cheapest, regardless of the standard, i could most likley do a system at that cost if they "just wanted pv on the roof" with no regard to quality of panels etc. there is some cheap gear around - and you never know it could be just carrot dangling, then once the foot is in the door they stitch em up with something more expensive.

 

[Somecamel]

Been out delivering leaflets today trying to drum up some enthusiasm regarding solar P.V. Spoke to a few customers who were out mowing the lawn etc. The general thought on the street seems to be they don't trust it, or don't want it. Age group ranged from 40-80.

Anyway whilst out in one of the estates I pass another crowd doing the same thing, although not stopping to speak to the customers. They ask what i'm selling and I explain amongst other things solar P.V. only to be told that they are doing it for the above price.

Anyway I dropped a leaflet into a porch and one of their leaflets it sat there, so i had it away!

6 panel kit £3495
8 panel kit £4258
10 panel kit £4667
12 panel kit £5140
14 panel kit £5578
16 panel kit £5995

No mention of EPC but even if that was on top it would still be ridiculously low. I said to them they are the reason the FiTs will be being lowered, I really can't understand how they can make it worth while? They said they buy in bulk blah blah.

It's a local company as well, they've been around for year but only just noticed they are involved in solar P.V

This is the lowest price I have heard off to date, but needless to say I made a quick retreat as I felt like I was just wasting my time. They blatantly didn't have a clue about solar installs from a technical point of view either.

PVkitsdirect are currently offering 16 panel/eversolar kits for £3500 + vat though so I guess it is doable if you shoehorn the system in to what ever roof is there?

Probably 180W panels

 

[sambotc]

Short sightedness I think. They've put all their card on the table and left nothing in reserve for when August comes if you ask me. It's the sudden price drop's that are putting off customers as well, why invest now when in 6 months time it could be half the price again with a similar return? If you leave a little bit to play with at least you can have lots of little price drops (like every other industry seem to work by)

The problem is it won't be, there's only so far the materials can drop and labour and scaffolding won't. From here on it, the FiT's are going to affect the bottom line return figures, i'm almost sure of it.

In a way i'm kind of glad i'm only dipping my toes at this stage, and I really feel for the companies who have invested so much in it on a long term basis. I can back out with little to lose as it stands, and I think it may have to be an option worth considering. I'm not in it to earn a quick fortune, i'd rather have a long term interest in the industry.

 

[sambotc]

Probably 180W panels

The leaflet says '4KW system supplied and fitted with scaffold 5,995 16 panels inc VAT'

 

[Somecamel]

The leaflet says '4KW system supplied and fitted with scaffold 5,995 16 panels inc VAT'

Ouch, What area are you in?

 

[sambotc]

Devon, up until today the advertised prices have been hovering around the £6999-£7499 until these muppets rolled up. There was 1 installer about 60 miles from me offering £6400 but not very well advertised.

 

[SRE]

I know it sounds odd but but people are often suspicious of really cheap prices. You'll always get idiots who want the cheapest price regardless but more often than not people will go for mid range prices and most I speak to prefer local and you'll almost always win over sales people. If the more usual price is £699 - £7499 I wouldn't be charging any less, just make sure that you have very clear justification for what you're installing and your service. Think about what makes you stand out above these guys.

For us the fact that I pick up and respond to emails virtually 24/7 and make a point of doing exactly what I say and don't rush installations seems to go down well. We get most of what we got to (if you take out the D failures) and we charge quite a bit more than you. Phone's quiet at the minute but I'm not seeing any installations at all where we are at the minute.

 

[sambotc]

Yeah your right SRE and that is exactly how I intend to play it. Unfortunately at the moment I have no one to tell it too! My website is still working its way up through the 1000's of other more established sites, and no one I speak too on the streets seems to be interested in solar.

Not blowing my own trumpet, but I have the skills in various sectors and I know I am capable, i work to a high standard as does everyone on here, it's getting in the door that is the biggest hurdle for me at the moment, and these clowns ain't helping!

I need to give it chance but with the FiT cut in August I fear it will be to little to late. Sounds a bit defeatist doesn't it! I'm just a bit cheesed off, my feet are killing and i've been sweating it out all day in the sun only to realise i'm probably being well undercut.

I knew it wasn't going to be ideal setting up a company in the current climate, especially with the FiT fiasco. Believe me it wasn't entirely out of choice, the FiTs lost me my last job of 7 years, thinking about it why did I even consider getting involved in this game! lol

It just feels like 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards at the moment. More money going out than coming in, and has been for most of this year, worrying times!

But thats enough of me moaning about my personal circumstances, footies on tonight so that that will give me something else to channel failure vibes on! haha!

breathe..


and relax..

sorry all, had to vent some steam to people who understand (misses just agrees with me all the time and says things like 'don't worry, it'll be alright')

 

[dansk]

Hey we all ears, im in the same boat as you - been running my business for over 8 years now and even now i still worry about the slow patchs, its like i have memory loss of something because its like this every year, only this years does feel harder. I think all we can do is focus on 2013 and hope the economy starts to grow, all the crap with Greece aint helping either - in my eyes your a brave man starting up in these last few years.

 

[SRE]

I don't know if it's any consolation but leaflets very, very, rarely work and when they do it's because the same area has been drip fed over a number of weeks and months. I'd be amazed if you had the cash to do that so best to ignore leaflets and people will probably do the same for your competition. For a number of years I had a large ish budget for marketing (between 100-20k depending on the year) and leafleting was only cost effective in concentrated areas, drip fed over 6 weeks and followed up by door 2 door canvassers none of which you or I have at our disposal.

Last year we had loads of work and didn't need to worry about marketing but lots of our customers had found us through friends and didn't know we existed, last year it didn't matter this year it does. We're concentrating on networking with other businesses, attending local shows and generally trying to raise our local profile a bit this year and we'll be asking last year's customers to help us too by reminding them what a good job we did.

Our website is quite basic, nothing at all flashy, all done by me, it's on the first page for our area - I can't afford to work out of the area, I'd lose my profit in travelling and overnight expenses, but I use the website just to re-inforce what we're already doing and for testimonials etc. Our customers liked our website because it looked home made, they aren't interested in flashy images they want information and to be able to trust the people they are dealing with.

Everything we have on the go at the minute has come through local events, people buy from people, especially when they feel they can trust them. I reckon it's going to be next year before everything settles down.

 

[solarsavings]

We quoted for a job in cambridge last week and were told if we could beat the previous quote of £5700 for 4kwp using et's and growwatt inverter we could have it. The was inclusive of vat and scaffolding, we would have done it off our easi dec as they will probably do but can't afford to do it for that.

 

[sambotc]

Cheers for the replies.

The way I see it is, last year the industry boomed and a lot of people made a lot of money, so large companies grew from no where. Admittedly a lot of them took the full brunt of the FiT fiasco as well so it's not all flowers and roses. This year though the whole renewable market seems to have taken shape whereby a lot of companies who jumped in to the solar rush have now realised they need to be able to diversify to remain buoyant. Heat pumps, biomass, etc all seem to fit into the existing business model with the whole eco thing etc.

I've kind of stumbled into the industry backwards, or forwards depending on the way you look at it. i'm a time served heating engineer by trade, gas,oil, solid fuel, solar thermal etc trained as an electrician last year and then the solar industry started picking up pace. The company I worked for got involved and put me through the solar tickets and off we went, then it all collapsed and the company went under due to the investment and commitment, it was irreversible that late on. ( for example, £24k worth of easi dec purchased the month before the announcement amongst other things)

Tried to get a job but they are hard to come by in the heating industry at the moment, so I made the decision to go it alone and use all the qualifications and role them up into a business model, hence here I am! So believe me I didn't get into this out of choice, I took a punt based on the fact the green deal may work, I have useful contacts within one of the big 21 green deal providers and that I really didn't have any other option but to get out and try and earn a wage!
I've had a business before mind, so not a complete novice, but never in an industry so tightly squeezed by external influence's (DECC)

The point i'm trying to make is, i'm finding it hard to compete against well established companies with regards to what I can offer as a sole trader. SRE the point you make about your website and your customers liking the fact it looks home made etc, that quite interesting really. My brother is a web designer so maybe by getting a really posh looking website done (well kind of) i have missed a trick?

The thing that really confuses me is, I was expecting to be able to stay competitive with the larger companies due to their increased overheads, whilst offering a more local, personal service that people may appreciate, being involved in the whole process from survey to commission. As it turns out it's the larger companies who seem to be driving the prices down!

I've got biomass, heat pumps and gas/oil to fall back on, but I was really hoping the P.V would be a stepping stone for me as domestic heating is cut throat at the moment too, maybe not so!

From what I hear, the website seems to be my most likely avenue for gaining business?

Cheers, Sam

 

[SRE]

I take it all back - we've been hit today with the £ factor. Two firms travelling over 100 miles of A roads to install 3.5kwp for £6,200. Wish me luck, we're quite a bit more but we've been recommended by a friend and he wants to go local.