Solar panels worth it?



Today's MSE e-mail has a section on it. Worth a look.

I think if we're planning on moving, even in the next 5 if that years it's not going to be worth us spending £6,500 on it when we won't see the long term benefit of it. I suppose it could add more value to the house, but if I then need to solar another one that seems a bit like throwing money away.
not sure where they're getting the £6500 cost?

i know installation costs will vary wildly but 10*400W panels should'nt be costing anymore than £1800 at the absolute max

figure £1000 for an inverter, £500 for cabling/racking and you're still only at half their costs

is it really £3000+ for 1 or 2 days work?
 
not sure where they're getting the £6500 cost?

i know installation costs will vary wildly but 10*400W panels should'nt be costing anymore than £1800 at the absolute max

figure £1000 for an inverter, £500 for cabling/racking and you're still only at half their costs

is it really £3000+ for 1 or 2 days work?

I think that includes the battery too.
 
Is it possible to add batteries to already installed solar system (10 years old ) and if it what sort of cost would you be looking at. Thanks
Is this to save money, or as a backup for power cuts?

For me, it's not economic to add batteries to my existing solar panels
I can't save any significant money, even with the current high cost of electricity (27p/unit).
Batteries are consumables. They don't last forever. You need to factor in the wear and tear cost on the batteries.
The cost per unit when stored in lead acid batteries is about 83p so they are a non-starter for saving money when you can buy a unit from the grid for 27p.
The cost per unit with lithium batteries is around 17p/unit, so there is a possible 10p per unit saving.
That's a potential 10p saving every day, or £36.50 per year, with a 1kWh battery.

But that assumes I always use 1 unit overnight and have 1 unit of surplus solar during the previous day.
For 3 months in In winter I have a shortage of solar so I can't generate enough to charge the battery.
For 3 months in Summer the night is too short so I won't use the full unit in the few hours where there is no sun so the savings are less.
Realistically, I'd maybe save £20/year with my first unit of battery storage. And the first unit of storage gives the best return on investment.

Then take into account the cost of the inverter, wiring, installation, etc. and a £20 saving per year just isn't worth it for me.

I do have some battery storage, but it's 2 units of lead acid battery kept on float charge with a solar panel and used as an emergency backup in case of power cuts. It'll save me no money, unless there 's a 2 day power cut and I can use it to save the contents of my freezer.
 
Anyone on a decent tariff that they can recommend please ?
I'm a heavy user and need to refill my battery storage overnight, also a half decent seg rate would be nice (but not a deal breaker)
I've been on Octopus Go but they've switched me to flexible and I don't even know what time you get cheap rate at to refill my storage, I've been doing it between half 12 and 4am and might have been charged full rate for all I know.
It's a bloody minefield !
 

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