Solar Panels

[George B]

The subsidy has been dramatically (and inevitably) reduced and they look awful..... Am I right in thinking the only point in them is to make money for the people supplying / fitting them .... or am I just a grumpy git who's missed the point?

 

[creationblue]

For what its worth mate I totally agree with you............

Just

 

[sparkywig]

Grumpy git.....

 

[ozziedog]

^^^ whs,,,, It`s the only planet we got ! Forget the dosh, if you can fit them then do it,,,,,,,,, PLEASE

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,, I know I`m a bit of a hugger :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Araon]

I'd fit em tomorrow if I didnt have two bays to support, the way the fuels rising its gotta make sense to reduce your costs anyway possible.

I like the idea of hot water systems too but the initial outlay is a shocker and sadly no subsidies as I'm East - west facing even though the roof gets an unobstructed sky all year round.....

as above we only have one planet to drive our lovely bays around and hand over to our kids so any little thing in the right direction.......

roll on the point they make useful infrared and ultraviolet antenna banks and capture all that wasted energy from the skies....

 

[creationblue]

I'd fit em tomorrow if I didnt have two bays to support, the way the fuels rising its gotta make sense to reduce your costs anyway possible.

I like the idea of hot water systems too but the initial outlay is a shocker and sadly no subsidies as I'm East - west facing even though the roof gets an unobstructed sky all year round.....

as above we only have one planet to drive our lovely bays around and hand over to our kids so any little thing in the right direction.......

roll on the point they make useful infrared and ultraviolet antenna banks and capture all that wasted energy from the skies....

Swap your bus for a Nissan Leaf :?: :lol: :msn4:

 

[Trikky2]

I did the calculations in some detail a couple of years ago and found the break even point to be around 15 years.

Their efficiency is significantly impaired if they are not kept nice and clean - interesting project regularly cleaning ones roof...

The problem was that I have never yet lived for 15 years in the same place.

Then a friend who works in the trade told me my calculations did not allow for any maintenance/repairs and that the life expectancy of the panels was around 15 years. Hrrumph.

Maybe things have improved in the intervening two years. I would suggest doing your sums carefully and talk to people in the know who are not involved in selling you the stuff.

 

[Micke]

A lot of brands give 25 years warranty, so that shouldn't be an issue, and of course you can remove them from your house if you move.

I'd say that you should first look at your energy usage, and try to save as much as possible on that. In a lot of cases it's cheaper to use as little as possible, and after that put up a smaller pv-system on your roof instead of a big system and still waist a lot of energy in your house.

Consindering all the invisible costs of fossil fuels it's probably cheaper to put up solar panels. So I guess you're missing the point

 

[George B]

Washing on roof.... tumble dryer on ebay

Long live the polar bears !!

 

[ozziedog]

I can`t see that cleaning them should be much of an issue as every second window cleaner has one of those extending thinga majigs that could be used in conjunction with a ladder every year or maybe six months at a time. Whatever you can save on leccy means we haven`t wasted gas or coal in the making of it, or imported it from a French nuclear / Russian roulette type plant I`d have them if my roof wasn`t ass about face :roll: Thinking about re building my garage roof to a pitch that`s acceptable for these panels and I`m not too worried about the feed in tarriff as that is the least of the issues I also think that with the European models to follow and the advances in technology, we have been in a rather unique position as to the fact that most of the donkey work was done by others and we are getting superior products now days, not as good as they will get though,,,,,,, hopefully ! I wonder if they will get them so that they can rotate and home in on the sun for maximum efficiency ??

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,GET DOWN off that box,,,, you bad doggggggg :lol: 8) :lol:

 

[sparkywig]

I wonder if they will get them so that they can rotate and home in on the sun for maximum efficiency ??

You can if you're willing to pay the associated costs and strengthen your roof to carry the motors and gear.....
Only works on direct South facing roofs with a certain pitch though.

 

[ozziedog]

I wonder if they will get them so that they can rotate and home in on the sun for maximum efficiency ??

You can if you're willing to pay the associated costs and strengthen your roof to carry the motors and gear.....
Only works on direct South facing roofs with a certain pitch though.

OHHHHH,,,,, So what you`re saying then,,,,,,,, is my little idea / invention,, call it what you will,, isn`t actually a genuine original idea then :shock: :shock: :shock: <--- See I`m shocked.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,Whatever hapened to diplomacy or subtlety ??? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[sparkywig]

Large commercial systems track the sun, but it's not economically viable for a small domestic system.

 

[Sydney1]

Also if you opt for the facility were a third party fit them to your roof they then own them which can cause complications when you come to sell and is already putting some people off. There are also increasing numbers of issues arrising with leaking or over burdened roofs due to poor installations.

 

[VW van man]

I'm led to believe the rate maybe going back up a bit and panels are becoming a lot cheaper with higher outputs.
The average payback time is between 8-10 years.
But if you take into account the amount our electricity and gas goes up each year then pay back could be quicker, also if we have a climate change and end up with more sun this will also help.
I think there are a better investment than leaving money in the bank, if anyone is in that situation with a camper to restore!!

 

[VW van man]

I'm led to believe the rate maybe going back up a bit and panels are becoming a lot cheaper with higher outputs.
The average payback time is between 8-10 years.
But if you take into account the amount our electricity and gas goes up each year then pay back could be quicker, also if we have a climate change and end up with more sun this will also help.
I think there are a better investment than leaving money in the bank, if anyone is in that situation with a camper to restore!!

 

[Tintop]

Great idea and good for the planet.

Payback over a long time scale. Would you pay for your electricity 10 years in advance with your current supplier?

Unfortunatelt the government are reducing the subsidies/grants so the payback with current main stream technology will be longer.

New PV cells in the offing, cheaper options are ground source, air source heat pumps and wind generators which all offer a reasonable ratios.

If i could afford it i would although i'm hoping new technology will be cheaper and more efficient.

I have worked for one of the UK largest utility suppliers and now work for the 2nd largest housing provider in the UK. This has been on my agendas whilst working at both. We have just pulled out of a solar project due to the impending government changes.