Solar panels

[JiggyMarley]

Thanks, that's the bird protection (just a gauze really). Think I'd have asked if they had that in black had I known. The use a Clenergy system where they take the relevant tiles off and then secure the fixings to the rafters, replace the tiles and then fasten the panels on.

[Alf Tupper]

Can I ask a question. What happens in winter ? Presumably you are still connected to the electrical grid (or whatever it's called ) so at that time when you really need heat you are paying the electric company to supply it .Is that correct ?. Also if you haven't got water tanks in your house such as if you have a combination gas boiler now. You would need to get them installed . I am assuming you heat your water with an immersion heater. I can understand in summer you would be able to sell back power to the provider but the winter period has got me confused.

[JiggyMarley]

Yes that's correct. Because the days are shorter now, we're purchasing more than we're generating. All being well, we'll have a surplus in the summer months (generate more than consume, therefore don't need to purchase from the grid and can indeed sell back to them).

[Alf Tupper]

Right, so do they give the same price for buying it and then selling it back to you ?

[baggiebloke]

If only the opposition had just pledged to do this...

My daughter pledged to tidy her bedroom this morning. Guess what?

Pledges are cheap ... the mantra of the tories.

What have Opels got to do with this?

[JiggyMarley]

Right, so do they give the same price for buying it and then selling it back to you ?

Sometimes you can export for more per kWh than you buy it for on Octopus' Agile tariff which matches the half-hourly prices with day-ahead wholesale rates.

People are able to buy cheap leccy overnight to store in their batteries and then sell in back to the grid at a profit.

[Alf Tupper]

Mate these batteries. You wouldn't be able to run the heating for long on one battery would you. Presumably you can add further one's ,is this right ? Is there a limit on the number if you can do this .Or are the batteries just to sell back to the provider ? Thanks for answering these questions nice to speak to someone who actually has it. I've read lots of web sites but it all a mystery to me.

[SausEggBaton]

I concur with Alf Tupper. Thanks JiggyMarley as I too am seriously considering having the panels with battery method and selling back to grid. My main concern is whether they are going to fuck up the roof putting the panels on and of course water leaks. I've ample space in the attic for some batteries, but again noticed the lifespan to be 5 to 15 years which seems a little short considering the panels are meant to last over 20.

Potentially need to move quickly as I notice the system I was looking at 5kw and 4.8kw battery jumped about £3K!!

[JiggyMarley]

Mate these batteries. You wouldn't be able to run the heating for long on one battery would you. Presumably you can add further one's ,is this right ?  Is there a limit on the number if you can do this .Or are the batteries just to sell back to the provider ? Thanks for answering these questions nice to speak to someone who actually has it. I've read lots of web sites but it all a mystery to me.

As far as I'm aware, as long as you have the space - you can have as many batteries as you want but they can be fairly sizeable units. The future will be EVs and their batteries that take up your solar generation directly and dispense that back to your property when needed.

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I concur with Alf Tupper. Thanks JiggyMarley as I too am seriously considering having the panels with battery method and selling back to grid. My main concern is whether they are going to fuck up the roof putting the panels on and of course water leaks. I've ample space in the attic for some batteries, but again noticed the lifespan to be 5 to 15 years which seems a little short considering the panels are meant to last over 20.

Potentially need to move quickly as I notice the system I was looking at 5kw and 4.8kw battery jumped about £3K!!

That was definitely a worry for us also. We had ours installed last Friday, the only day of the week when it didn't piss it down thankfully. Will keep an eye out for leaks etc obviously but no signs as of yet.

In terms of guarantee, the panels and the inverter are guaranteed for 25 years, as I think are the optimisers (there is one per panel and these help the panels work as a team as it were).

Battery technology is improving rapidly which is one of the reasons we didn't get one just yet (that and the outgoing prices being relatively good). I was put off by the not so long life span of batteries.

Prices - they're rocketing as demand is massively outstripping supply. Been looking into this all summer and just getting people to quote was a ball ache, they're all so busy.