Common Pitfalls and advice on buying a Solar Photovoltaic system

[Somecamel]

In absence of REAL actually doing their job, thought it would be good to start a thread with advice for people who are looking to buy a Solar PV system and let them know what to look out for.


I'll Start....



1. Beware when someone tells you they can fit 16 Panels (4kW) on your roof and they haven't even measured it.
2. Beware when someone tells you they are going to fit an 4kw inverter to your 3kW array because you have a really sunny roof.
3. A 4kW system does not cost £16k
4. A 4kW system does not cost £13k (anymore)

Please feel free to add

 

[babba]

The funny thing is *most* people judge a system on price they dont know what kit they are getting if the company is mcs how long they have been around..

 

[SRE]

Don't buy from men (or women) in shiny suits. The amount you pay them, they should have better taste ...

A 4kwp doesn't cost £7k if you expect the company to be around for longer than the next few weeks.

There's no such inverters as SMA/Mastervolt/PowerOne/Fronius

16 tiles from ridge to gutter doesn't mean there's enough room for 2 rows in portrait.

Hanger bolts on slate = leaks in the future

 

[Eco Deal]

5. Beware When the sales rep has you in a headlock demanding to sign the contract
6. Beware When a sales rep says the panels run for 1 hour after system shuts down
7. Beware When a solar pv company claims that there panels have 25 year warranty on hardware & performance

 

[babba]

I dont know how many times people tell me they are getting a 25 year warranty ????

 

[alarm man]

I dont know how many times people tell me they are getting a 25 year warranty ????

what does happen if a panel fails say 5/10 yrs down the line,does the customer have to pay for a new one,what is the standard life of a panel

 

[Earthstore]

Don,t buy from the company that I posted the pics on here..

 

[Somecamel]

what does happen if a panel fails say 5/10 yrs down the line,does the customer have to pay for a new one,what is the standard life of a panel

The Guarantee on the Installations should have been insured- I imagine a lot of the companies won't be around to honour any Guarantees but the insurance company should end up paying as long as you have all the documentation.

 

[babba]

what does happen if a panel fails say 5/10 yrs down the line,does the customer have to pay for a new one,what is the standard life of a panel

Say the panel comes with a 10 year warranty and breaks down in 11 years the customer pays.. if its running at 20% efficiency under the 25 year performance warranty the manufacturer will replace it..

 

[Somecamel]

Say the panel comes with a 10 year warranty and breaks down in 11 years the customer pays.. if its running at 20% efficiency under the 25 year performance warranty the manufacturer will replace it..

If the Manufacturer is still around

Edit:- The cheapest panels isn't always the best panel

 

[alarm man]

so if a roof has say 6 panels and 3 fail,your going to get half the returns,is it the customers responsibility to replace the faulty panels or the installer/insurance co,are the insurance co's as they are famous for going to back out of paying because the fixing was 1mm out..the returrns quoted on pv is all good and well when first installed,but what about failures,also the older the panel gets the less effective it will be,i cant see happy customers 10/15 yrs down the line

 

[babba]

so if a roof has say 6 panels and 3 fail,your going to get half the returns,is it the customers responsibility to replace the faulty panels or the installer/insurance co,are the insurance co's as they are famous for going to back out of paying because the fixing was 1mm out..the returrns quoted on pv is all good and well when first installed,but what about failures,also the older the panel gets the less effective it will be,i cant see happy customers 10/15 yrs down the line

Buy crap get crap people choose what they buy it's not for the want of telling do you want quality no I will have the cheap crap

 

[Somecamel]

Most Panels have a guaranteed performance warranty not to be confused with a parts warranty.

Typically they Guarantee that the degradation in power will be not be less that 90% in 10 years time and 80% in 25 years time.

The Installer normally sorts out the parts/workmanship warranty.

I agree though that when it comes to it, some of the insurance companies will try and wriggle out of their obligations.

I used to use a company called IWA for my insurance- got rid- based in Gibralter

 

[babba]

If the Manufacturer is still around

Edit:- The cheapest panels isn't always the best panel

Could not agree more how many chinese panels have proved their worth..none

 

[Earthstore]

Tbh the panels are the least important part, there are no moving parts, and due to the nature of how they are made there is nothing to really go wrong with them, of course some may fail, but very unlikely.

They are likely to fail if they have been fitted badly and end up smashed on the drive, which IMO is far more probable.

 

[babba]

Tbh the panels are the least important part, there are no moving parts, and due to the nature of how they are made there is nothing to really go wrong with them, of course some may fail, but very unlikely.

They are likely to fail if they have been fitted badly and end up smashed on the drive, which IMO is far more probable.

Time will tell but if I was spending 10k I would not buy chinese

 

[Gary K]

Do not take any notice of the person in nice shiny suit if he states that youy 3.5kw install will produce 5000+KWh. (in this country).

Likewise if he says it will save you 70% of your electricity costs.

Ask same salesperson nicely(or not) to leave if they mention the words special /one off /managers / quick sign discount.

 

[alarm man]

thats quite a boast from the manufacturers,i can see alot of new/very similar names springing up in panel manufacturers in 10/20 yrs time

 

[loskie]

A farmer I worked for in the 80's in Bedfordshire (old skool but a damned good bloke) told me never trust a man with slip on shoes. He even went as far as to tell me that if a sales rep came up the drive and asked for him I was to look at his shoes and tell him to **** aaf if they had no laces.
Funny how bits of irrelevant stuff stick in your mind.

 

[moggy1968]

If a company shows you figures that are significantly better than another company's for the same size system, ignore it. SAP calculations make no allowance for a company selling 'the best panels on the market'(and lots will tell you theirs are!). It's all down to the way they massage things like fuel costs and inflation.

Use the guy who sounds honest, is going to install the system himself (because then he can truly monitor it is installed correctly) and who you feel best about. Not necessarilly the cheapest.

This is one of the biggest investments you might make along with your house and your car. You don't buy the cheapest house or the cheapest car on the market. Buy the one that feels right.