comments on free solar

[telectrix]

not fully clued up on pv. seen this, i assume they will make their money off the FIT, but 50% saving??? sounds too good to be true, must be a catch.

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[SRE]

EST reckons 25% is more accurate.

 

[telectrix]

just had a cold call from some firm called solar savings. they are in our area 2nite, surprise, surprise, and i have booked them to call at 7.30pm. now, i know the basics. solar generation at 12v? into an inverter and then into the installation. from this forum, i understand that a pv install costs in the region of £12,000, and will pay for itself through savings and FIT in 25 years. our roof is E/W though and so i am going to be very wary of their figures. anything i should be looking out for? obviously we're not going to sign on the dotted without a lot more research. knowing salesmen are on huge commissions, i'd rather get all the facts and then contact a forum member who installs PV systems.

 

[SolarCity]

Just so you know, a west facing roof should operate around about 80% the efficiency of a directly south facing roof. A good option is an east/west split with 2kWp on one side and 2kWp on the other.

 

[telectrix]

we also have shading problem when the sun is low, below 45deg. i.e. 50ft. trees approx. 50ft from the house.

 

[SolarCity]

A good test: leave it to them to notice the shading and explain it to you. If they don't consider it then show them the door.

 

[telectrix]

i'll let you know if they come out with any bullsh*t. it's my understanding that you get the cost back in 25 years. christ, i'll be 90!

 

[SolarCity]

25 years?! More like 8-12 years!

 

[telectrix]

is that so? thought it was a lot longer. also, what % would be generated when it's wall to wall grey clouds like usual in this country?

 

[SolarCity]

Difficult to quantify. I've seen 4kWp systems struggling to get around 10% efficient on very dull days.

 

[telectrix]

OK he's been and gone. first of all, he used a compass and determined that our front roof is SE facing so would install panelels only on that front elevation. using sharp mono panels, which he said worked well on dull days. he also informed me that the government give me 43p/unit generated whether we use it or not. then, because he couldn't talk to both of us and design a system there and then, he walked. think it was a " sign up on the night job".