Free pv system

[caterhamboy]

Hi, there, my neighbour is having a pv system fitted next wk, he has told my dad and everyone else up the street that he's getting it installed for free. My dad has asked me to look into it as he's thinking about it and so are a few other neighbours apparently. From what i understand he gets the electricity off it and the company get any feed back tariff? He says he will never have to pay a penny for any electricity it generates or any costs towards it whatsoever? is there any snags to it?

Many thanks.

 

[UNG]

Having read some of the recent publicity in the press and on the net I would check the contract small print very carefully. From what I understand there may be issues if the level of the feed in tariff is reduced which is always a possiblity and there is the issue of maintenance, damage and faults and who is liable. As these deals are based on a 25 year contract what happens if the company ceases trading with maintenance etc

As it is said if it looks to good to be true it probably is

 

[Martin Dawes]

Like UNG said, I'd check the small print.

Any firm fitting solar panels to your house for free should let you keep ALL the free electricity - the electricity that is sent back on to the grid may be a different issue. They should receive FITs (the government subsidy for electricity generated) and no more. Maintenance should be their responsibility, and comfortingly, in their best interests. If the system isn't working as well as it could, it would have more of an impact on the installing company than the customer.

The awkward part comes from when you want to move house. Will it add value to your house? I'd say it probably would, but I can't be sure. Will some potential buyers pull out of a deal because they think they look ugly? All of these firms will have it written into the contract that you cannot remove the panels from your home - unless you pay them a high fee, I would imagine.

Is it too good to be true? Depends what you want from it. If you want some free electricity which will save you around £200-300 a year then there really is no snag. However, if you can, and I cannot urge this enough - you should pay for the install yourself. It IS expensive but the returns from the system are very attractive (just ask yourself why these firms are so keen to install them for nothing in the first place). If you paid, for example, 12k for a 3kW system, you could expect returns of (depending on where you live) around £1300-1400 a year. You will quickly make your money back.

So in my opinion, the only real snag is that if you have them fitted for free you just won't be earning as much money as you could be earning.

Go and speak to your bank and get them fitted yourself There are no shortage of firms ready to do the installation for you.

 

[caterhamboy]

Work has started next door, if i finish early enough i am going to pop round and have a chat with the sparks( and maybe try and blag a job!). Apparently all small print has been checked over by his solicitor and is all good. My dad has told me two others up the street have signed up, although my dad still is undecided.

 

[DurhamSparky]

name of company please!!! i want free elecy!!

bit screwed if it gets dark for long periods!! i.e winter!

 

[Martin Dawes]

Might be worth hanging on.

My brother got speaking to a guy that fits Solar Thermal systems and he reckons there is a firm that will pay you £2,000 to have solar fitted to your roof. As long as south facing, at least 3kW and unshaded, they will pay you an up front sum.

I've been trying to find whoever it is on the net but haven't found anyone doing it yet.

If this kind of thing gets too out of hand it'll push us smaller firms well out of the picture.

 

[Dpl Renewables]

Hey guys what’s the latest on this? is everyone happy and any one else in the street singed up?

We have been watching this over the last 6 months and would like any information you can give us please.

 

[Mark.W]

Problem with this is that you are actually hiring out your roof space to these companies and there was some talk about it being for 25 years....what if you wanted to move house....? It will De-value the property by quite a bit!

 

[Dpl Renewables]

While I am not a fan of these schemes, but would it de-value your home or would it be an incentive for the new owner? Its the case that it adds value to your home if your getting the FiTs, but I wonder if it is not the same when the company funding the PV are keeping the FiTs> Anyone buying the house would not get the FiTs, but would benefit from the reduced electricity bills.

 

[Mochalatte]

Hi,

Paid Installations and Free Installations have many benefits and drawbacks, and whilst a free system would be a good investment for one family, may not be the same for another.

See the link here to find out more:
Free Solar Panels – Great idea but not for everyone! | Renewable Energy News

Mochalatte

 

[mgnbuk]

I have recently had one of these systems installed by a company called "A Shade Greener". It is a 3Kw, 18 panel array using an Effekta ES3300 inverter. The contract seemed to have all the potential issues covered - they are responsible of installation, repair of the system if faulty & they insure it against accidental damage to the panels & against damage to my property. If the system needs to come off for the roof to be maintained or altered (i.e. adding an extension) they will remove & re-install twice FOC during the term of the contract, with a maximum allowed downtime of 3 months. At the end of the 25 year contract the installation becomes mine (or they will remove at no cost & make good the roof) & they guarantee that the panels will be at capable of outputting at least 80% of their rated value at that point. While I have no intention of moving again (once was more than enough !), it is suggested (by A Shade Greener though) that properties with their systems fitted sell easier than adjacent properties without.

Obviously for me to get the most out of this system I need to be using all that it puts out. During the week it will just be covering my stand-by loads. At weekends, the operation of washing machine, dryer, dishwasher etc. are now dictated to a degree by when the sun is forecast to shine - the washing was postponed until after lunch today, for example, as the panels were outputting 0.25Kw this morning & around 1Kw this afternoon. 0.25Kw seems the worst so far for a badly overcast day, 2.65Kw has been the most seen so far. It would be useful to have a way of being able to remotely sense the output from the system to be able to switch loads while I was out (eg. switch in a fan heater to pre-heat the house & thus reduce the gas bill), but only when the output from the panels exceeded 1Kw - I have not yet investigated this further.

I couldn't have afforded to have installed a system myself - this seemed like a reasonable way to cut electricty bills with no outlay, apparently no risk & I get to keep the installation when the contract expires (or they will remove it & make good if I or my successor so chooses).

Regards,

Nigel Barraclough