Solar Panels

[suavegav]

I thinking of getting Solar Panels. Does anybody have any good stories, or bad for that matter, on the pros and cons of solar panels. Looking for a bit of advice.

[Woody1985]

There's stuff online about government subsidy and they give you money towards the cost and you can make money by selling excess to the national grid.

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There's stuff online about government subsidy and they give you money towards the cost and you can make money by selling excess to the national grid.

I was down in cornwall last week and this was on the radio all the time. Sounded fair enough to me given the amount of Sun they get but surely it wouldn't stack up here or would it?

[bighairyfaeleith]

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I was down in cornwall last week and this was on the radio all the time. Sounded fair enough to me given the amount of Sun they get but surely it wouldn't stack up here or would it?

if it stacked up we would all be doing it, I wouldn't hesitate if I thought it was viable but I just don't think the technology and the sun up here is good enough

[Woody1985]

Solar doesn't need sun. It just needs light.

We'd all be doin it if it wasn't 20k plus. Last time I read anyway.

[lapsedhibee]

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Solar doesn't need sun. It just needs light.

[Woody1985]

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Ken what I mean eh!

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Solar doesn't need sun. It just needs light.

Is that why my heid always get burnt when it isny even sunny

[GlesgaeHibby]

If you have a south facing roof it's a no brainer IMO. Tesco currently have 20% off the cost of panels meaning you can get a system for under £10,000. Until April of next year the government pay around 43p/kWh generated giving a payback period of 6-8 years, and the money coming in from the government guaranteed for 25 years.

[Wilson]

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Is that why my heid always get burnt when it isny even sunny

You could stop using your stetson as an ashtray...

[Speedy]

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If you have a south facing roof it's a no brainer IMO. Tesco currently have 20% off the cost of panels meaning you can get a system for under £10,000. Until April of next year the government pay around 43p/kWh generated giving a payback period of 6-8 years, and the money coming in from the government guaranteed for 25 years.

This obviously assumes you are not going to move house(but is a good argument none the less).

Does anyone have any experience of whether having solar panels installed increases the sale value of your property?

[WindyMiller]

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If you have a south facing roof it's a no brainer IMO. Tesco currently have 20% off the cost of panels meaning you can get a system for under £10,000. Until April of next year the government pay around 43p/kWh generated giving a payback period of 6-8 years, and the money coming in from the government guaranteed for 25 years.

Better than a f***ing ISA!

[(((Fergus)))]

Here's a cool idea: solar panels that double as windows...

http://www.pythagoras-solar.com/overlays/productvideo.php

[jonty]

There are also companies who will install the kit and let you use the energy for free. They're essentially renting your roof space.
They get the money from the govt which covered their costs (and then some).
Eon do this too, but charge you an initial 100 to 'arrange' it.

I like the idea of it but with some you can only use it when it's being generated -ie there's no storage for using when it gets dark.
Even still, they reckon it's about a third off your electricity bill for letting them use your roof.

[WindyMiller]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13389384

[Gatecrasher]

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13389384

I have noticed more and more houses with Solar Panels on them, I like the idea, They should move to have all new houses with them on as standard IMO. It would be better for us all in the long run

[Woody1985]

I expected the price of the technology to come down by now. I looked at this a couple of years ago just out of interest and it's about the same price.

Is the government incentive keeping the prices artificially high?

[alfie]

I'd heard that up here it takes closer to 20 years to pay off the outlay, and your average PV panel only has a 25 year life expectancy, so you wont actually save much money. If you are down in Cornwall, then yes, quids in!

[easty]

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I'd heard that up here it takes closer to 20 years to pay off the outlay, and your average PV panel only has a 25 year life expectancy, so you wont actually save much money. If you are down in Cornwall, then yes, quids in!

And how reliable are they? I imagine that if you do get a problem with them then it's not cheap to fix.