[Technology] Solar Together Sussex

[Machiavelli]

My recommendation has arrived and although the overall cost is reasonable the break even time based on current energy prices looks excessive .

11.3 years for 8 panels or 13.8 years for the panels with battery storage added assuming the batteries last that long .

Of course the savings will increase as energy costs rise but if the roof ever needs repairs then the panels will need to be removed first wiping out any savings .

Still intrigued though and have signed up for the online presentation Q&A session .

Your quote is a lot better than ours. If you go with a battery (you should), it'd have paid for itself within 15 years or so. Best configuration on the 'estimate' for us is 23 years. We've just had our roof done, however.

 

[Machiavelli]

Note sure how many on here registered their interest in this, having received our quotation the prices seem a little on the high side, but I need to research the details of the suggested configurations provided, and do some calculations, and wondered what any others thought?

I'm not optimistic that Dishi-Rishi will be able to pull any grants or offers from the budget magic-hat next week, to help homeowners.

We haven't quite worked out whether to splash out the £150 on getting them round. The best configuration for us seems to be 8 panels with a battery, and it'll break even in 23 years. Where are you on this? Have you searched around for other providers?

 

[Machiavelli]

Same here, the battery cost was prohibitive, but they're coming down all the time, so hopefully in a few years they'll be much more affordable.

On the Solar Together quote they've given us, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer to go for the battery. They cost £2.2k-2.5k, but installing one means that you break even much earlier than not doing so.
I'm operating on the assumption that feed-in tariff is no longer an option (but might be wrong on that).

 

[Machiavelli]

With the feed in tariff and the saving, your net gain is £280.00/year so over the 25 year life of the system you will have a net gain of £7,000. Of course if you put £4,000 in the bank for 25 years you would probably make more but at the same time, energy may become more expensive (but with the dramatic reduction of the cost of wind it may become cheaper...)

From a strictly financial point of view, there is probably not an absolute case for getting solar power but if it helps to diversify your energy supply then it is certainly worth considering.

And of course you will get a warm, fuzzy feeling from saving the planet.

Is there a cost to set things up so that you can get the export tariff? Have you taken the plunge with this, or are you planning to do so before the deadline (which for us was stated as 26 Nov)?

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

We haven't quite worked out whether to splash out the £150 on getting them round. The best configuration for us seems to be 8 panels with a battery, and it'll break even in 23 years. Where are you on this? Have you searched around for other providers?

Hi, We have thinking about solar for some time but never got further than thinking about it. My interest was rekindled at the South of England show where a company was offering a “package” which I now know was overpriced.

Then Solar Together Sussex (STS) was advertised and my interest was rekindled again (further enhanced by the recent electricity and gas price increases).

Firstly, did you watch the STS webinar? If so, I would hope your thoughts align with mine that it was a bit of a shambles for a presentation to 200+ potential customers.

Not relevant but having enquired there are 2 companies who ‘won’ the STS option to be able to offer their services to customers who registered their interests, the first is in Burgess Hill, the Second is in Crawley.

This brings me to the cost of the STS solutions. If a company has several customers allocated to them (how many of the 200+ on the webinar will actually go forward and order?) then they have the option to bulk buy at trade prices and should be able to pass {some} of those savings onto customers (yes I’ve looked at the retail costs for the products offered). The ‘Recommendation’ that STS offers has different options in terms of optimisers, inverters, it’s not clear which devices will be included for your install, this is not reflected in the price.

The webinar I watched, indicated that it could be around 6 months until you get your install. Possibly not a problem at the moment as solar generation will be low over the winter, but I'd still like to generating some output if possible.

I’ve been searching for other providers, and I’m currently talking to one of them. Their solution is very similar (lots of the components are the same) to the STS offer but is slightly cheaper. They have just completed an install for one of our near neighbours, that was completed in just over a week from placing the order.

I still have questions as to sizing the installation, can I squeeze 10 panels on my new (2 years old) roof, I'd like a battery probably around 6.5 kWh, still not decided which way to go. Still unsure about paying the £150 survey fee.

FIT payments ceased. It's now called a SEG payment, no idea who you are with but our provider, OVO pay 4p/kWh, hence I'd want to be able to store and use as much as I can generate.

 

[McTavish]

Is there a cost to set things up so that you can get the export tariff? Have you taken the plunge with this, or are you planning to do so before the deadline (which for us was stated as 26 Nov)?

You need a smart meter to export to the grid but I don't think there is any cost as such.

I am going to pay the £150.00 for the survey if only be able to understand a bit more about the ins and outs of it all as I am struggling to find really solid advice on line about what would be the best option for me.

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

I am struggling to find really solid advice on line about what would be the best option for me.

I've been researching our best option too, but as you say its difficult to determine what will be the best option, as there are many variables, weather, daily electric usage patterns etc.

I've taken our average daily consumption for each month of 2020 and 2021 (so far), charted this against the possible daily generation from 10 x 380w panels, using the likely average monthly generation figures from - https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/#PVP

No doubt if we go for solar, our usage patterns will change, with more hungry devices being used during generation periods (washing machine, dryers, dish washer etc.) where possible.

I've requested an updated quotation from the company I'm talking to - 10 * 380w panels with optimisers, inverter and costing options for a 3.3kWh and 6.5kWh battery.

 

[Grizz]

I've taken our average daily consumption for each month of 2020 and 2021 (so far), charted this against the possible daily generation from 10 x 380w panels, using the likely average monthly generation figures from - https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/#PVP

What panels are you going for that are only 380w? We've had our 10 panel system 5 months now and they're 495w panels and relatively inexpensive.

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

What panels are you going for that are only 380w? We've had our 10 panel system 5 months now and they're 495w panels and relatively inexpensive.

Panels are JASolar JAM72S03, Could I ask who did you use?

 

[McTavish]

Panels are JASolar JAM72S03,

Did that spec come from Solar Together? I have been told that mine would be JA Solar 365W

 

[Machiavelli]

Did that spec come from Solar Together? I have been told that mine would be JA Solar 365W

The answer to your question will be no, as Daddies' post further up this page indicates ^^^^

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

No, this is from another supplier, with battery its working out around £500 cheaper.

 

[Machiavelli]

No, this is from another supplier, with battery its working out around £500 cheaper.

Can you name the supplier?

 

[Grizz]

Panels are JASolar JAM72S03, Could I ask who did you use?

Same manufacturer, but a different panel. We got the JAM66S30-495w. Trying to figure out the difference apart from wattage and efficiency, whether the JAM72s are older or newer. Really hard to find comparison info.

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

Can you name the supplier?

Just waiting for my formal quote, but I'll PM you details.

 

[McTavish]

Just had my physical survey.

Seems like a very good deal although £600 to keep the pigeons off seems a bit steep...

Anyone else going ahead?

 

[carlzeiss]

Just had my physical survey.

Seems like a very good deal although £600 to keep the pigeons off seems a bit steep...

Anyone else going ahead?

Yes , 12 panels with 6.4kw battery storage . The ability to charge the battery pack at the low rate ( 9.75p ) overnight should reduce the payback time to 6-7 years according to my calculations at current rates

 

[Miximate]

Yes , 12 panels with 6.4kw battery storage . The ability to charge the battery pack at the low rate ( 9.75p ) overnight should reduce the payback time to 6-7 years according to my calculations at current rates

Have sent you a PM

 

[drew]

We had ours installed 11 years ago by PDP in Burgess Hill. Used them as the quote was good plus they upgraded a few things including consumer unit. Also, knowing they were just around the corner was a bit reassuring rather than some national company in a far off county.

 

[portslade seagull]

Was looking to get it done but the payback for the initial break even was something stupid like 20yrs