solar panels and their direction

[kitchenman]

Hi, this is mainly for Rick, Solarman.
I keep getting calls from companies after my roof to install their solar panels which I quote 'will earn you money'
I say 'but my roof faces the wrong way' the standard reply is 'it does not matter new panels work the same does not matter which way they face'
I have seen some locally, in Prittlewell that face east, my roof faces east and west
What is your opinion on this folks

dave:confused::confused:

[bobhope]

we had ours installed last aug 2012 by a company called a shade green , i was skeptical at first with all the marketing at the time but 12 months on and our electric bill has gone down by 35% over the year , they didn't cost us anything and they are maintained over the 20 year period not that anything goes wrong with them.

we had a survey before having them install and yes the roof has to south facing or very near to, also the pitch of the roof also a certain angle .

so far really please with the saving .

[makeitfit]

Well if you're buy9ing then defo south facing for optimum pay back time.
That said we did one for a friend of mine 2 years back on a north facing roof. Very low pitch, but it had to be done in time for the Nov FIT dead line. They'll be moved soon when the new roof is built . However it has returned almost 60% of an equivalent south facer we did :thumb2
Did one last year on a flat roof and made alu frames for optimum angle and that looks like a 5 year pay back on last years FIT
If you have the space just stick 'em in the garden. You can even put a telescop tracking motor on the rack for ultimate sun following pay back goodness :naughty
But Rick's your man :cool:

[exosteve]

is there anything you don't make fit makitfit?:lol

[makeitfit]

is there anything you don't make fit makitfit?:lol

Yes , my bank account :confused:

[solarman216]

Hi, this is mainly for Rick, Solarman.
I keep getting calls from companies after my roof to install their solar panels which I quote 'will earn you money'
I say 'but my roof faces the wrong way' the standard reply is 'it does not matter new panels work the same does not matter which way they face'
I have seen some locally, in Prittlewell that face east, my roof faces east and west
What is your opinion on this folks
dave:confused::confused:

do not be confused,most people are, it is simply a question of fact, the question is are solar PV panels going to pay for them selves, the simple answer is without any kind of enhanced pay back grant from the government (you) then no they will not ever within there life time, there are circumstances that make them worth while, but if you are on grid and without the high fit that has long gone then total waste of space, Rick

[makeitfit]

Rick I disagree. There is still govt subsidie :thumb2
Did one last summer it was a 3.6 kw job on a gentle pitched roof. I made up some alu frames to get better angle and also dead south.
Installation cost was just over £5k all in with MCS cert etc. To the client.
Client reported 660 quid last year and so far this year she's ahead.
Pay back time just over 7 years at the mo.
So she'll have another 14 years at least at say 650 a year. That's a very high return I think.:clap
Although the FIT is down again, so is the hardware cost. I'll be doing mine next spring . Just about £2000 for 4.0kw in components. About 400 quid for MCS cert then FIT for me please :naughty

[Lazy-Ferret]

For those of us (me:lol) that have no idea what FIT is?

Also, is this the panels that pre-heat the hot water, or electric ones?

[AD Ent]

FIT = feed in tariff

[makeitfit]

For those of us (me:lol) that have no idea what FIT is?

Also, is this the panels that pre-heat the hot water, or electric ones?

Feed In Tarriff = what you get paid for each unit produced.
In this case by photo voltaic panels or Solar PV
Until the end of Sept that's 15p a unit :clap but will go down after that by a small amount.:o but it's index linked :clapfor 20 years :clap

[solarman216]

What I meant to imply Pete, was that without the FIT they will not pay for themselves, although the panels are very reliable and long lasting the inverters are not, average that I can tell is around 4 to 5 years, so once you take into account maintenance, it does not look so good, Rick

[makeitfit]

Ah, got ya :thumbs
I was advised a few years back when I started buying panels to get the best possible inverter one could afford.
Not been doing it long enough to know about their longevity.
The latest one was apparently very good at starting it's inverting job at very low panel output. Over a long period it will return even more bucks . At least that what I was told :clap

[solarman216]

forgot to mention also your installation costs are very low compared to the big companies, by the way re the job starting 23rd/24th had several prices for the steel work, highest was £4700 inc vat lowest was £2170 inc vat spec for spec (same drawings) how the hell? but you know where I will be going, sorry did not mean to corrupt the thread, Rick

[makeitfit]

I don't have to do all that bloody health n safety poo :lol

[bobhope]

forgot to mention also your installation costs are very low compared to the big companies, by the way re the job starting 23rd/24th had several prices for the steel work, highest was £4700 inc vat lowest was £2170 inc vat spec for spec (same drawings) how the hell? but you know where I will be going, sorry did not mean to corrupt the thread, Rick

didn't mention in my post ours cost us nothing , we use the the power they provide and the remaining goes to the company to get the fit payment .
in fact we got paid £50 to have them installed. this is the company http://ashadegreener.co.uk/

[solarman216]

didn't mention in my post ours cost us nothing , we use the the power they provide and the remaining goes to the company to get the fit payment .
in fact we got paid £50 to have them installed. this is the company http://ashadegreener.co.uk/

yes that works well as long as you do not want to sell your house, and how many years before they become yours? think it is 25 but memory dims, Rick

[makeitfit]

As far as I know they never become yours :o Also there is quite an issue at the mo regarding selling your house with them on. My brother in law is a 'agent :lol
He's had many contracts fall through with solar PV freebe roof jobs.
No idea why :nenau

[RobN]

On the local (SW) news there was a house fire, firemen would not go in, and did not want to use water as there was no way to turn of the power from the panels - house was totally destroyed. :(

Some insurance companies do not like the roof loading and require structural calculations before they will insure. :(

High winds have removed panels where the supports have rotted - no one checks them, again bad for insurance. :(

Also discussions as to who owns the panels and who is responsible if they fall off and damage something makes for interesting debate when you sell your house and land someone with a 7 year old system. FIT was only just kept on it may go soon. :(

[makeitfit]

On the local (SW) news there was a house fire, firemen would not go in, and did not want to use water as there was no way to turn of the power from the panels - house was totally destroyed. :(

Some insurance companies do not like the roof loading and require structural calculations before they will insure. :(

High winds have removed panels where the supports have rotted - no one checks them, again bad for insurance. :(

Also discussions as to who owns the panels and who is responsible if they fall off and damage something makes for interesting debate when you sell your house and land someone with a 7 year old system. FIT was only just kept on it may go soon. :(

Tosh, all panels have to have isolator switches and clearly marked , FACT.
The installation has to have roof / calcs to get the MCS cert in the first place.
Checks are done by law by the MCS issuer. That said there were a hell of a lot of mickey mouse fittings going on at the end of the 43p FIT . Properly installed frames should be fine.
Insurers are the problem I think, same as on cars :/
If they're the house owner's panels then they are responsible .
If they're a 3rd party install then THAT COMPANY is the responsible concern.

[solarman216]

Tosh, all panels have to have isolator switches and clearly marked , FACT.
The installation has to have roof / calcs to get the MCS cert in the first place.
Checks are done by law by the MCS issuer. That said there were a hell of a lot of mickey mouse fittings going on at the end of the 43p FIT . Properly installed frames should be fine.
Insurers are the problem I think, same as on cars :/
If they're the house owner's panels then they are responsible .
If they're a 3rd party install then THAT COMPANY is the responsible concern.

nice idea, but isolator is usually close to the panels in the loft, house on fire who is going into the loft to turn them off, and in fact, you cannot turn them off at all if the sun is out, bearing in mind that they could well be working at 350 v DC add water I see an electrocuted fireman, Rick

[makeitfit]

I've been told by the sparky that does my MCS that there's isolator from panels (as close as practical) then another at the inverter.
I have to do his bidding or no cert :o
Bloody labels everywhere too.
Mind you I wouldn't fancy the water works on them though :eek:

[solarman216]

this is an issue I had not previously considered, it is true if the sun is out you CANNOT TURN THE POWER OFF, you can stop it going to the inverter but house on fire and water used to quench fire = not good news for fire fighters, short of covering the panels during a fire (not very practical) I can see no easy answer, other than let the property burn, bad news for solar PV owners, insurance increases on the cards I think, Rick

[solarman216]

and this is just a 4 x 4 forum, no it is a knowledge base, Rick

[makeitfit]

I can see no easy answer, other than let the property burn, bad news for solar PV owners, insurance increases on the cards I think, Rick
Indeed, and it could also be why some estate agents aren't in favour :o

[bobhope]

With our panels there is an isolator in the loft next to the inverter also next to out meter another isolator and 2 way consumer unit for them. the company take full pl insurance for the panels if anything goes wrong , true we don't actually own the panels the company just rent the space on our house for 25 years, we had to sign an agreement as stupid as it sounds for a peppercorn .

when we changed our mortgage they just asked for a copy or the contract agreement for the panels with no problems .

The panel company state that if any problems arise because of the panels if we decide to sell our house they will but it off us at market value .

I was really skeptical at first but 12 months on we have seen a massive reduction in our electricity bill , and don't see any negatives and if we did sell would be a good selling point i would have thought.

[solarman216]

I've been told by the sparky that does my MCS that there's isolator from panels (as close as practical) then another at the inverter.
I have to do his bidding or no cert :o
Bloody labels everywhere too.
Mind you I wouldn't fancy the water works on them though :eek:

especially as they are usually running at around 380 volts DC and if the sun is out probably 30 plus amps, with water on melted cables does not bare thinking about, Rick