Solar Panels

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Thank You

I think your husband is correct. How long you are likely to live and how long you are likely to stay in your current home has to be considered.

Why should you consider solar energy to be the future? Because the future is approaching at a steady rate – and not everyone is prepared for it yet. Countries all over the world are realizing that they need to find alternatives to traditional fossil fuels since it’s becoming more and more expensive – and less and less available. Solar energy is the future because it’s a renewable energy source: Unless you believe The Matrix is gospel truth, we still haven’t blacked out the sun yet – so solar power remains one of the safer alternatives to finding electricity out of our environment. It’s also a great option for people who would rather opt for solar energy over nuclear energy, considering the large-scale nuclear disasters we’ve had in the past.

Solar panels are a good option for the saving on the electric bills. Recently, I have installed solar panels from the experts at NYC HVAC service [http://www.airdexinc.com]. Periodic servicing is also essential for the proper working of panels. It is quite beneficial and it has great use in winters.

We moved last year and had to have the roof strengthened and retiled so while we were at it we had pv panels inset into the roof because it looked better and also saved us the cost of those tiles. We are an all electric household (apart from a wood burner we had installed in September) and have a feed in tariff of 14.61 pence per kilowatt generated plus 4.85 pence for half of what we generate as they assume our usage is half. We don't use anywhere like half in the summer months but we are not complaining as during the summer we cooked, washed, vacuumed etc etc while the sun was shining and the dial stood still meaning it was sun power. Cheques received exceeded cost of usage. This quarter with the rain, cloud etc we have still generated some but not very much although better than a kick in the teeth. We have not had a full year yet but DH keeps a close eye on it and puts it on his computer so will certainly know every detail! And I have regular updates!

We put in a thermodynamic panel for our hot water which is combined with a pressurised tank so we have permanent hot water for very little cost. It works in the same way as air source heat pumps ie like a refrigerator but the other way round and only uses a miniscule amount of electricity to work the pump. It even works better in wind and rain so is ideal! It never gets switched off and we always have oodles of hot water with really good pressure.

The total running costs of our home are less than we have ever paid before so we are really pleased.

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I am a happy bunny as my solar water system is working again. My local council paid for it I think mainly to shut me up because they were fed up with me writing to them and trying to make an appointment to discuss the problem. It has been working for 6 months now and I have only had to switch on the immersion x3 for around 15 minutes when we had a series of very dull days. It pays to complain.

I love my solar panels we had them fitted last year with an optimiser than channels spare electricity to the hot water. We have only used the boiler to heat water two or three times since March mygas/electric bills are down to £40 pcm plus FIT love love love them

This is how we spent the little money my parents left us (OAP homes for a couple of years saw their savings melt away fast- that's ok- not complaining)... we bought thermal solar panels, which are installed in the field next to our house (our field) as they would have looked awful on this old house. They are for water only, 4m square, and do not produce electricity- but heat all our water. The system allows oil central heating to take over (no other choice but oil here in our rural area) in the case there is no sun at all for days (they do NOT need full sun- just bright light really, to work). Works brilliantly and bills much cheaper- but it will take quite a few years to get our money back. This wasn't about money anyhow.

With the rest we bought a big wood burner, clad with alpine stone- which heats our living space so well- so our oil consumption has dropped massively. We get cheap wood here (ash and beech- perfect) from our local forests, so it's great.

A recent small housing development near here has built in solar panels on all the roofs. However, they are upmarket properties, not run of the mill 'affordable' properties, so I think we are a long way away from that yet. My son has had solar panels for some years, having bought them when the feed in tariffs were at their highest. He has been very pleased with them. However, this year he has had a problem with the bit of kit that converts the current from DC to AC, and is still waiting for a new one to be supplied and fitted. He has lost the advantage of practically all the summer weather - effectively several hundred pounds worth. So, they are not without their potential problems.

I wish, like the Algarve, new houses had to be built with solar panel. To me it makes sense. Any way we can use renewables for even part of our energy consumption is a no brainer. I would install if there wasn't a huge list of things needed first.....

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Electricity bills 2014 = £887 Feed in Tarrif payments received 2014 = £888. No brainer as far as we are concerned!

That is true rockgran there is a long payback time - but the way to think about it is "if these savings were invested elsewhere, would iI get a better return? (bearing in mind this income is tax free.) (and there'll be a reduction in your electricity bill if you play your cards right.

I too think they tend to look ugly when tacked on to an existing house. Perhaps in future when they are an integral part of the design of a house they will be more acceptable. I certainly don't think you would recoup the outlay unless you are willing to wait quite a few years.

Yes you should check mrsmopp.
If everyone had solar panels Soutra
You would still need some kind of big "Baseload" generation - one in which the electricity flow into the grid could be turned on when the sun was not shining.
We're a long way off having to worry about that - but I believe Germany have made a great deal more progress with renewable generation.

We are in a conservation area- would we need planning permission? Must check.

You still "sell" energy back to the government here dusty that is the Feed-In Tariff, only it is not as generous as when it was introduced.
I still think they can be an excellent solution providing
1) your roof alignment is good( South facing is best)
2) you work out the sums and think the investment worthwhile-remembering the money back is tax free
3) you are not ruining the look of the property e.g.a listed building and
4) you have the funds upfront to pay for them

What would happen if everybody had them I cannot imagine!

I don't know what the law about new builds is in England but in the Algarve all new builds must have solar panels for water heating. There was a scheme whereby with a larger installation you could sell excess electricity back to the government but, like UK, the government have changed the rules as it cost them too much.

Thank you for clearing that up GillT57.
I have as yet had no complaints from the rooks, pigeons and owls living opposite our solar panels! It sounds as if I have a vested interest, and I assure you I do not, but our panels look exactly the same as the ones I am seeing on the plethora of new builds around Milton Keynes which is very energy conscious BTW.

The difficulty with mortgage lenders and solar panels is with the people who have effectively sold their roof to a company. the home owner gets the panels fitted for free and benefits from the lower priced/free electricity but they do not get the feed back tariff; that goes to the power company who own the solar panels. So, if you go to sell your house, technically you do not own all of it, your roof has been leased by another party. New build with solar panels are a totally different legal situation. Also, on new builds, the panels are often the less obvious ones, whereas there are many houses around here with the really ugly whole roof set up and although the owner may not be bothered by what they look like, it is not a pretty sight for those living opposite.

I would be surprised as the vast majority of new builds around this area have solar panels and I would assume their owners have mortgages.

I recall reading in one of the financial papers that some building societies would not give a mortgage on properties with solar panels - this was some time ago and is possibly no longer applicable.