Solar PV is still a good investment.

jupestar · May 10, 2012

there is no doubt PV is. good investment, the costs have come down which makes it more affordable and has opened it up to a new market. Now the returns are more based on savings and not on government subsidies, in my eyes it is an even more cleaner solution for domestic installations.

Further evidence that it is a good investment, investment vehicles/funds (whatever they are called) are knocking down our door asking us to install on commercial buildings and are offering sensible terms. we do the whole process for them includng precurement. We are currently busy booking in 30kwp and above free solar jobs. and i see no reason this won't go on post july.

My advice for any customers is make sure your getting a good value for money equipment and a decent installation. there are some shockers around where corners are cut, know how it is going to look on the roof and how it will be wired. if your not sure about equipment do a bit of research or if you find a decent installer take their advice.

methley · May 10, 2012

Somecamel said:
Don't think they do the 230W panel any more. Happy to give you a 'guide price' on a 4kW system of anywhere between £11-12k but you have specced up this system quite high. Panels on this- Sanyo (now Panasonic) are a premium panel as well as the solar edge system which is also a premium item.

You can buy a decent 4kW system for anywhere between 8-10k, even at 9k the return is around 12% (south facing roof), so you really are crazy not to do this.

Prices 'WILL' vary depending on where you are in the country but don't be taken in by someone offering stupid prices, a 4kW does not cost £16k any more.

\

Thanks, I already have a system specified as above, I was interested to see how much pri ces had dropped since the December deadline. It seems not that much according to your figures. Remember for some roofs it's not possible to use cheap and cheerful panels because of limited space. Also, not everyone has sufficient south facing roof space. For example my system is made up of south, east and west facing panels.

Eco Deal · May 10, 2012

I only use SAP calculations when quoting !!!!

Not software so I was stating my sap for these customers where are 3400 ish kwh per year and now they are due 4000 so they where
happy at 3400 kwh but got 4000 kwh

Lets keep to the post topic

21p good investment ...

prices are right so is tariff go for it I say ...

FB. · May 10, 2012

MEP ELEC LTD said:
21p good investment ...

prices are right so is tariff go for it I say ...

Yes. I think that 43p FiT and current prices would be ridiculously generous; more than twice the returns available from anything else and with less risk if the installer was reputable.
So 21p FiT was probably necessary, except that leaving the rate far too high for far too long, then moving the FiT rate by so much in one go has made a mess of the industry; causing a boom-bust bubble. The number of solar installations looks just like the share price charts of dotcom shares of 1999-2000's high-tech bubble mania.

The very announcement of a drop in FiT last autumn CAUSED the bubble. Fear of "missing out" caused many customers to bring forward purchases which would otherwise have happened during 2012 or even later. Therefore much of what would have been installed during 2012 was installed in a panic in late 2011.

So the 43p FiT should have been notched down gradually at the first sign of a bubble, in early 2011 (just as in the early 2000's interest rates should have been gradually notched-up to prevent the UK's debt bubble built on housing).

21p is a good rate of return and is probably fair. It just doesn't feel very fair because of what has been in the recent past.

13-16p from 1st July is probably a little harsh, but is still a respectable rate of return, with the very-valuable inflation-linking (with low-ish risk and quite diverse from other investments).