Future for installers

[solarsavings]

Having spoken to a number of installers today I'm staggered that some think the glass is half full, they're are the ones that have ignored the energy efficency requirements.

A cynic might think that the insulation/pv installation companies have had a hand in this somewhere, they have proved to good at lobbying in their best interest in the past :-(

 

[Dillons]

I passed my MCS today with only one non conformity (that I corrected before he left).........I carn`t stop laughing at the irony......either that or its my nerves again, the kind I get at funerals.

 

[Graeme Harrold]

Think thats congrats and comisserations........

 

[SRE]

I can't see Green Deal working. I don't know if I'm missing something but why would you replace a boiler using a green deal loan cos you're skint and repay it and interest out of the savings you make each year? Year one is great because you feel the financial benefit of the better boiler but by the time you've had 2 price rises from the utilities that benefit has been wiped out. Yes your bill might be slightly less than next door who hasn't done the same as you but you're still going to be paying more for your fuel bills.

What happens when you come to sell your house? By the way there's an outstanding loan of 5k on it because I had double glazing and a new boiler installed - I didn't pay for them but you will through your energy bills.

I just don't get it and I can't possibly see how it's going to help the pv industry. We have a 60's bungalow, cavity wall, 250mm of loft insulation trv's boiler less than 5 years old and we're still only a D rated house - no amount of Green Deal loans are going to help me.

 

[SolarCity]

This is one of the issues as far as I can see. Getting a C rated house isn't easy - and certainly not cheap.

 

[Dillons]

The fit (carrot) is becoming a tax (stick)..........seems this is just a step closer to them introducing a carbon tax if you ask me.

 

[JulianC]

Greg Barker is C-rated. It stands for c**t

 

[TrickyDicky101]

We live in a modern (90s) house and have cavity wall, double glazing and insulation coming out of our ears and we only rate a D. For us to rate C I suspect we would need a condensing boiler installed which would

a) cost a lot
b) break down c.10 year mark and need replacing

That means for us to get to a C rating is completely uneconomic. And that's on a modern house - any older and the costs to achieve C far, far outweigh any potential benefits from a 21p FIT and energy savings.

 

[northernsun]

Mybe I'm just feeling a bit pessimistic at the moment but I certainly cant see me renewing our MCS. I didnt get any finance and started the company new, not an add on to an existing electrical contractors. I set up on the cheap after working in PV for years and setting up one of the bigger installation companies that were previously roofers (and got shafted in the process)
Its been a slow burn since then, grafting away to get to the point where i finally thought I would have a life again and be earning money rather than just paying to get over the next hurdle.
The thought of doing it again next year... Nah, I might become more optimistic in a while but right now I'm regretting the whole thing and I think if I'd just have gone on a year long bender I'd be in a better position than I am now. Would have had more fun anyway.

Right now its like someone popped their head round the corner and said "SURPRISE! You have a month to sort your crap out and then you're done"

 

[Worcester]

When I was a child, I was always told not to put all my eggs in one basket.

So what do most people do with their income?

We run a renewable energy business, not a solar PV installation company, that is just one of the things we do.

Time to really think about who you are, and what you do.

Our company has a great future ahead of it, and we have all known since August that a massive cut was coming. If you follow my comments on various threads, you'll see that I've been saying it since June, and we've been planning for it since June, it seems that a lot of people have been in denial.

Yes it's harsh, and the get rich quick and badly managed installers will go bump, those that have managed their businesses well will continue to thrive even without PV.

We shall be renewing REAL and MCS.

 

[SRE]

I'm pleased for you Gordon but not everyone is in the same boat and not always through being short sighted. We're lucky, we had a goal of becoming mortgage free, then having a stash for survival funds and we were just about to sort out pensions. We won't go under because of solar but it will be a while before we'll have time to re-think direction.

At the moment every waking hour is concerned with making hay while the sun shines and if I haven't collapsed with exhaustion our new beginnings will be planned in the New Year. I feel for those who just haven't managed to get over that financial hurdle of set up and vat and who are small, like us - good luck, I think you may need it. It could have been us 6 months ago and I'm grateful it isn't.

 

[solarfred]

Now you all listen here... we have just not got it right we are all low life money grabbers on a gravy train..

Quote..

• 
  
  
  PloughcroftSolar 31 October 2011 6:20PM
  
  “Companies that have entered the solar industry purely to join in the solar gold rush which use unethical sales practice and are unethical and unsustainable. The current FIT makes it too good to be true for them, and the proposed lower FIT rate will mean they cease to exist. Long-term, this is good for the industry as we need companies who are committed to the renewable cause.”
  Chris Hopkins, Ploughcroft Solar MD
  
  I am quite insulted.
  
  

 

[SRE]

I'm not particularly suprised though - he hardly put up a good argument on Dragon's Den did he and even with their support he's hardly articulate is he, so how could he understand the sentiments of decent installers!!

 

[solarfred]

A good Dragon would have seen this coming so he will be fine. Particulary when his customers ask about the 70% reduction in prices.

 

[moggy1968]

wasn't he one of the proponents of free installations, of the type that caused part of the overbudget problem?