Energy crisis

[Koz]

 

[MaserMike]

What do you think is the roi on the install?
Eb

I would say the electric solar panels are a waste of money when it comes to heating electric offset in winter, with hardly any sunlight in winter but in summer they do cut our electric bills for everything else by at least 50% plus we get the Feed in Tarrif rebates around up to £400 per year on average. Probably estimate 8-10years to break even.

The stoves, electric hybrid heaters plus energy efficient lighting have saved us a fortune, when we first moved in 2010 the previous owners were paying circa £700 per month for electric and oil heating during Dec to March. (We thought the solicitors made a mistake until we saw statement copies for utility bills)…

Outlay and fitting of the stoves, radiators, cylinder, electric heaters cost circa £4500 total. So would say have paid for themselves in 3 to 4 years max.

I just finished cutting up some of the seasoned trees for logs at the weekend, grown on our land… so wood for the stoves is free this winter, plus doing my bit to carbon offset the V8s and Flat-12 cars

 

[Ebenezer]

I would say the electric solar panels are a waste of money when it comes to heating electric offset in winter, with hardly any sunlight in winter but in summer they do cut our electric bills for everything else by at least 50% plus we get the Feed in Tarrif rebates around up to £400 per year on average. Probably estimate 8-10years to break even.

The stoves, electric hybrid heaters plus energy efficient lighting have saved us a fortune, when we first moved in 2010 the previous owners were paying circa £700 per month for electric and oil heating during Dec to March. (We thought the solicitors made a mistake until we saw statement copies for utility bills)…

Outlay and fitting of the stoves, radiators, cylinder, electric heaters cost circa £4500 total. So would say have paid for themselves in 3 to 4 years max.

I just finished cutting up some of the seasoned trees for logs at the weekend, grown on our land… so wood for the stoves is free this winter, plus doing my bit to carbon offset the V8s and Flat-12 cars

Not sold on a 10 year roi for the solar panels!
Eb

 

[GeoffCapes]

ROI’s for solar panels have just halved with electricity prices doubling this year.

All of a sudden the ROI is purely down to whether you’ll live in your current house for longer than the next 4-5 years.
If you are, installing them is common sense is it not?

 

[Ewan]

You’d not get permission to fit solar panels on/near a listed building. Which is a good thing, as they are ghastly looking things. Even if you could, the chance of real ROI is dubious at best.
No gas where I live either, so LPG and log burners for heat. Cutting up just one (very) large ash tree (that fell from ash die back disease) has provided sufficient logs for about 5 years, at a cost of just a few hundred Pounds to chop up and stack.

 

[safrane]

You’d not get permission to fit solar panels on/near a listed building. Which is a good thing, as they are ghastly looking things. Even if you could, the chance of real ROI is dubious at best.
No gas where I live either, so LPG and log burners for heat. Cutting up just one (very) large ash tree (that fell from ash die back disease) has provided sufficient logs for about 5 years, at a cost of just a few hundred Pounds to chop up and stack.

Have to agree... would not buy a house with panels fixed on the roof, new or old.

 

[Tallman]

T

You’d not get permission to fit solar panels on/near a listed building. Which is a good thing, as they are ghastly looking things. Even if you could, the chance of real ROI is dubious at best.
No gas where I live either, so LPG and log burners for heat. Cutting up just one (very) large ash tree (that fell from ash die back disease) has provided sufficient logs for about 5 years, at a cost of just a few hundred Pounds to chop up and stack.

Tesla already has a solution for that, solar roof tiles. More and more innovative solutions will present themselves over time, but I guess some will always resist change

 

[safrane]

Not resistant to change at all, but the ugly as sin systems here in the UK would ruin our 400 year old house... is Tesla going to make one's that look like stone/clay?

 

[Ewan]

Good luck with Tesla getting solar panels passed by every Conservation Officer in every Council in the UK!
But I’m sure other power solutions will come along, such as more from wind, wave and tide.

 

[philw696]

 

[Gazcw]

View attachment 91058

You could probably just stick with MP to be fair.

 

[Tallman]

Not resistant to change at all, but the ugly as sin systems here in the UK would ruin our 400 year old house... is Tesla going to make one's that look like stone/clay?

For an American company the tile choice is actually not bad at all, one looks quite like slate. Looks like the way to go, not sure about pricing vs ugly panels (I’ll give you that) though.

they have some images here: https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

 

[Tallman]

View attachment 91058

Is it back to gallons already?? I bet the engineers are going to be really happy about the reintroduction of ancient measures

 

[zagatoes30]

 

[safrane]

For an American company the tile choice is actually not bad at all, one looks quite like slate. Looks like the way to go, not sure about pricing vs ugly panels (I’ll give you that) though.

they have some images here: https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

They do look good and when fitted as a complete foofing system blend in perfectly.

This however is how the vast majority of systems look like in the UK when retro fitted.

 

[midlifecrisis]

Let me give you my experience of living with solar PV for the past 6 months.

I've downloaded the lifetime statistics from the inverter via Bluetooth and I can see that my 4 kW array has produced an average of 9 kWh per day since May 2012. It faces South East so the majority of the electricity is produced in the morning.

This year, I will receive 25.9p per kWh generated and just over 3p per kWh for exporting it, of which I only receive 1.5p per kWh because it's argued that I use 50% of it.

The upshot is that £900 a year is paid up.
I believe that the previous owners installed them for around £8k. So a 9 year ROI is about right.

However, people installing a solar PV array now, will not get the same rates as me. The Conservative government have been reducing the rates for new installations since 2011. I have an excel spreadsheet detailing all the various rates and it's quite confusing but today's installers will get less than 10p per kWh.(pitiful when you buy electricity at 20-35p per kWh)

You really do need a South facing roof, to maximize the chance of capturing sun. A cloudy morning for me and a lovely summer's evening is lost sunshine. Likewise a SW facing roof misses the morning sun.

Another fact from experience is that Sunny days do produce more electricity than cloudy days. A good June day can produce 24 kWh, gloomy December day around 3 kWh.

Below is a graph showing the energy curve of a typically sunny day. Ignore that break at 9:30, Dan!'s electrician was hooking up the ASHP. The peak is around 3.5 kW during summer and I've yet to see what winter bring but I reckon 3-5 kWh days will be the norm. If only I could compliment it with a small wind generator without affecting my FiT.

 

[Spartacus]

Massively fooked. I know someone with 4 bed, 3 storey with 2 electric boilers and hot water cylinder. Electric bill is mahoosive even of economy10. Granted it is an old house but is terraced. We had Rointe electric radiators when we moved in and spent £800 in 3 months Jan to Mar and we minimised use as the meter was spinning out of control.

This is the system that is fitted . It feeds water radiators and is a new build house. I think the place was supposed to have solar but the planning got turned down . How massively fooked are we ?

 

[Vampyrebat]

Luckily our cottages are't listed! When our neighbour built their garage connected onto our existing garage, not only did they not apply for PP or Party Wall Consent but then erected these awful PV panels onto the roof which are an eyesore to the area! I was so close to 'dobbing' them in!..............Their weather vane gives you an idea of what I think of him!!

 

[2b1ask1]

Someone had fun spec’n that lot!

 

[Gazcw]

This is the system that is fitted . It feeds water radiators and is a new build house. I think the place was supposed to have solar but the planning got turned down . How massively fooked are we ?

View attachment 91064View attachment 91065View attachment 91066View attachment 91067

In basic terms as others will know more, but each of those tanks is 3kwh. So to heat water to 60 from 20 degrees you are looking at each of these running about 1.5hrs. So 3kw x 1.5 x cost of energy x 2 tanks. Then it depends on how much water you use and how often you have them on.
Your boiler would be much more difficult to calculate.
If it is set up for pv I would try and get them fitted. It should be permitted development unless you are in a conservation area or listed.