Why Folks Decide Not To Install A PV System

[Berneray]

I know I'm talking to the converted. We are all pv enthusiasts here. So I thought I'd share my thoughts.

We have all been to see prospective customers, explained how it all works, completed our survey, sent out the quote, thought we had a good chance of getting a deal......then nothing.....it goes dead.

I try and analyse the deals we don't get to see what happened. I send out a simple email asking for feedback on their experience. And quite a lot take the time and trouble to reply.

So I thought I'd share my experiences. We are a small operation. There are only the three of us. But I would not be surprised if our experiences scale up to match the bigger companies.

Of the quotes we sent out over the last three months here is what happened:

1. They bought a system from us.
2. They bought a system from another company.
3. They decided not to buy from anyone.

The ones that decided not to buy from anyone did so for the following reasons:

1. One or both of the couple did not like the look of the panels on their roof. In the main this happened when the panels were going onto the front or a very visible part of the roof.
2. They were not sure they would be staying in the property long term and did not want to do something for the benefit of the next owners. This was the case when an older couple were thinking about maybe downsizing or a younger couple maybe moving away.
3. Some folks were worried about how panels would impact the value of their house.
4. A couple were worried about the affect the mounting system would have on their roof. They had rosemary tiles.
5. A few although they understood the benefits preferred to keep the money in their bank account.

However the most interesting reason is:

They had received so much conflicting information from the various companies they were put off installing panels.

They simply did not know who to believe or trust.

As one prospective customer said in their email to me...."Our brains were fried. One company would say X. The next would say X is wrong and Y is right. Every company we have seen have said their panels were the best"

It would be interesting to read other companies experiences.....

 

[Gavin A]

to add to that list

lost their job / someone in their family had lost their job, or had an unexpected cost to pay.
Didn't actually have the money, and didin't want to borrow
turned down for a loan
just got sick of being hassled by solar sales people after using a lead generation company
got put off by negative press articles

 

[onions1066]

And needless to say the feed in tariff price dropping .

 

[Wortle]

I'll go with confused option

How complicated can you make it? Getting your head around what is happening is one thing...then add in extras like the paperwork at the end and the epc might not allow you the full feed in anyway. I also think you guys are suffering from the fear of the double glazing hard sell that lingers long in the saga louts psyche.

 

[Earthstore]

I'll go with confused option

How complicated can you make it? Getting your head around what is happening is one thing...then add in extras like the paperwork at the end and the epc might not allow you the full feed in anyway. I also think you guys are suffering from the fear of the double glazing hard sell that lingers long in the saga louts psyche.

The problem is that most of this has come from Government, it is they that have made it sooo complicated, on top of that then you have the technical side of things as mentioned in your other post, but hidden within all the replies from some very knowledgeable installers, the answer is there.
Just take on board that your investment is over 20 years, so to invest a little more at the beginning could well be money well spent.

 

[UNG]

Never got a response to a question I asked on here a while ago so the conclusion I came to was that no one could give an answer or just didn't want to post one. From a customers perspective what confidence would that give decided to put PV on the back burner as a may be sometime as and when more info becomes available but now possibly the right time to buy has passed with the reducing FIT

 

[Earthstore]

Yes the FIT has reduced, however energy prices have/are going up, also system costs have come down so your capital investment is less therefore still giving you the same returns on your investment as it was when the FIT was at it's highest.

It is a real shame that the industry does not get more help from the media and government, instead of the way things have gone.
Still, as I have learnt to my detriment, that is politics....

 

[UNG]

Yes the FIT has reduced, however energy prices have/are going up, also system costs have come down so your capital investment is less therefore still giving you the same returns on your investment as it was when the FIT was at it's highest.

It is a real shame that the industry does not get more help from the media and government, instead of the way things have gone.
Still, as I have learnt to my detriment, that is politics....

What help do you want for the industry when the FIT give or take halved prices tumbled did the industry really help itself with that one as the customer begins wondering is the price tailored to the FIT, couple this with the usual promise the earth salesmen and your in the downward spiral

 

[Earthstore]

For clarification, I left the industry and moved on, all the time spent training and learning, all the experience gained is now almost wasted.
On a personal note, I refuse to work in an industry that gets made so complex that it affects your income to unsustainable..
Unless you have been involved in this industry and have seen how it has developed also looked at the whole picture too, it is almost impossible to explain.
Just look where we are now, power stations closed, a power reserve of what 5%, what to you think will happen to the cost of electricity if there is a shortage??

Of course, PV could have helped bridge some of that gap, but why would the power companies want consumers producing their own "free" electricity??

Maybe the industry could have done more to help itself, but maybe the governing bodies should have been on there toes to have made the industry totally creditable, as an electrician, you are aware it is just how good you are at paperwork, not how good you are with tools and wires..

Hell, sounds like I am having a right winge here...

 

[SolarCity]

It's an interesting point that the OP makes.

I know that a lot of customers are put off by the conflicting information. Sometimes it is something simple like one company being aware of a product that another company is not aware of. But frequently it is down to flat out BS.

The industry is deliberately geared up to encourage salespeople. And salespeople are not technically minded. They're job IS to sell. Therefore they will say whatever they can to get a sale; and they tend to be good at it.

We are in an industry now where we are forced to dumb down our surveys so that salespeople can compete. Thus, it becomes harder to show the customer why we may be a better option than others. I am convinced that this pandering to the sales approach is primary factor in the OP's point.

 

[SolarRoofSols]

Conflicting information has been one that has caused a few potential customers to drop out recently, and the hassle from sales men via lead generation companies. 2 potential customers had been quoted for 4kW on a hipped roof, with panels on 3 sides using 1 Power One inverter - at a rock bottom price. I doubt that scaffold would have been used and the inverter was in no way right for the install.

After many discussions with the guys and after advising them to post a question on here to get independent advice, both decided that it was too much hassle to find information themselves and shelved the plans.