Day 2: Solar and Wind for Domestic Properties - is it worth doing either?

[Dan]

I apologise for doing my day 2 late on in the bloody day again. I'll do my day 3 tonight. My daughter had her mate stop over so they were partying till 3 so I couldn't sleep until they were lol - now my sleep has been knocked out of whack. So I'll do my day 3 after midnight I think.

Anyway my day 2 subject is...

Solar Panels and Wind Turbine in a Domestic property; is it worth the installation costs these days?​

I know when solar was being installed on roofs across the country, often on OAP bungalows and the likes, that Solarplicity and whoever has bought them out, are still sending bills to an 81year old man I look after in my spare time. (From when me and Lou were doing chemist runs for vulnerable during lock down)

He's getting a 10k bill for the solar. Although it's a council property and they're meant to cover it. And they reap the rewards when they're earning.

Maybe that's a different thread.

But that aside; if people had the room for enough panels to cover their own use, and even a small propela (don't think they're an actual Turbine when they're small are they?) can you still gain a benefit to cover installation costs, and then cover your energy so you're not drawing so much from the grid, these days - or does the installation costs and equipment costs hardly get covered by the energy harvested by the stuff?

Discuss.

 

[nicebutdim]

Need to start using more electricity in this house so I can save enough to justify the investment in solar.

 

[Steve-S]

Stored water tanks, back up IH etc, I thought we were doing away with this system, no point having a combi boiler seems a waste might as well go back to the S or Y plan systems talk about full circle.

Read again what the system was. It was well explained, and understand it.

 

[Steve-S]

youll never get a car in through the garage door with that great big tank in the way....

Do you know a garage that has a car in it? Take a photo if you see one.

 

[Steve-S]

There is not a 1 solution fits all customers thing happening here.

don't kid yourself that solar energy is free.
you invest a fair bit of money into it and this equipment has a limited life before it will need replacing or regularly repairing.

Granted that in all likelihood you would be unlucky to have to repair or replace anything in the first 10 years but you do have to factor in the fact that if you spend 10K on solar panels and equipment to run it then for the first decade the electricity that it produces costs you £1000 per year and after that it is indeed free.

For someone who has an average day usage and very little night time usage, the savings can be Big.
for working families who use most of their power at night, the payback from feeding in will not cover the evening and night time use.

Battery storage is a good idea and the payback when incorporated with a low night rate can be a big saver if the usage pattern is right. if you have a big enough battery to cover your daytime use then all your power is bought at around 7p to 8p

however be cautious with the sales people because it is not unheard of for them to sell solar to you showing how much you can save and then on top of that, sell battery storage showing how much it can save on top of that.

if your usage profile suits it then great but for many, they will fail to mention that the solar generated in the day doesn't offset buying power at say 30p per unit and the spare going into your battery but in fact just offsets the amount you will have to charge overnight and therefore is offsetting power you would have to buy at night at say 7p.

at 7p per kwh it is hard to break even with a solar system unless it lasts for 15 to 20 years with no issues.

I am not anti solar or anti battery storage, they are both great but it is so important to get the right solution for what your household power needs are. if you don't, then the only person making money out of it is the guy that sold it to you.

Good post. Maintenance costs can negate energy savings to the point installation and maintenance costs it is not worth it overall. It means getting a decent system with quality install and quality equipment that lasts.

The underpinning point is get as much from the solar as possible at all times.

 

[7029 dave]

Read again what the system was. It was well explained, and understand it.

Don't need to read again the picture tells me what I need. BTW your a bit touchy about solar, it's old hat these days and a waste of money