[Coe123]

I got a quote through SolarTogether and sort of assumed it is a good quote. It is part of a group buying scheme by the council, I thought it is probably as good a value I am going to get - plus a vetted supplier. But I have had some great responses to my other question and somebody pointed me to a Youtube channel "The EV Puzzle", where Nigel talks about a 14 panels system costing only £4K in the video from earlier this month. The quote now doesn't seem good at all, so I thought what people think.

The installer has quoted nearly £3.7k for 8 panels (includes everything incl. installation over slate tiles) and jumps to £4.3k for 10 panels. There is a quote for battery too but I am not keen on getting that just now.

 

[Coe123]

What are the specs for the panels and inverter?

LR4-60 360w Modules
Inverter - Fox ESS & Solar Edge optimised

There is a 10 year extended warranty and an insurance backed guarantee if they go broke.

 

[Coe123]

My quote for 12 panels exactly the same panels as yours was £4600 without optimisers as I dont have any shade but my inverter was probably bigger at 4.2kW. Very impressed with the panels. virtually every panel being caked in pigeon droppings after the long dry spell didn't affect output anywhere near as much as I feared...very minimal. I had quotes for solar edge and ja solar panels but other installers seemed unable or unwilling to apply for dno permisson for a bigger than 3.6kw export so I went with the Longis and eventually a bigger system @ 95p per watt.

When was this fitted please?

I don't have any shade either but an optimiser has been included, I will ask if that is really necessary. Thank you

 

[Coe123]

From what I remember, just the scaffolding costs 1500 or so. Add additional grand for labour.

Like mentioned about get as many as you can install.

Ah ok, I do need to do repointing on the back wall where the scaffolding would go in for this work, it makes sense to kill two birds in one stone then.

 

[Coe123]

Why no upload a photo just showing your roof+orientation and get some more feedback from here...

Here is the photo of the roof. It is 30 degrees west to south facing. The length 5.5m is purely an approximation on my part, the entire length of the house is just over 8m and width is 6m (5.8m is allowing for Chimney etc). This is in N.E. London

I need to get repointing done for the entire back section so looking to set-up scaffolding anyway, looking to do this together.

 

[Coe123]

Thank you all, lot of useful inputs.

@Johnny Read & @James Watson - Yes, the chimney can be removed, but I would rather not turn this into a big project, considering I am unlikely to be living here in 6 years time. I'll ask the builder when I get the repointing quotes but I suspect it is going to need a survey and neighbour to be onboard. I would rather not remove it unless it makes a huge difference

@SuperLeaf Longevity is not a biggest concern for me. Doesn't mean I'll go with the cheapest I can find, but good video above for things to ask the installers about. We do have Chinese to thank about scaling the solar and bringing down the costs for everyone (even without the labour issues)

@Trevor Larkum Thank you, I've sent a request yesterday, I liked some of the pictures you have shared on some of the other related post which came up at the bottom - your projects look good. Any thoughts on the number of panels, chimney (keep/remove),

@Hermit Dave We are at home all the time (work from for past 10 years) and can use most of what we produce during the day as our needs are limited. I'll have to weigh in the battery spend to see if that will make much difference - one thing for sure, it would mean we live off grid for most part of the year.

@cah197 Yes, will go for as many panels as possible, thanks for your inputs - I am now considering couple of panels on the east facing (smaller) roof too - I reckon I could do 14 altogether but only the survey can tell if I am correct.

 

[Coe123]

If you plan to only be at the house for 6 years or less, is it worth doing? Not sure there will be a payback in that time, and debatable whether they will add enough to the house price to cover the costs of installing them.

Yes story of my life. Lived a nomadic life, looked at doing these few years ago but been just bought a home there were other priorities.

Cost of adding these is insignificant compared to house price so as long as it doesn't reduce the price we should be ok. I think in 2025 a solar + EV ready home would be lot more appealing to buyers (if not I'll consider this as an altruistic project). If we were to add batteries I know our electric bill would be standing charge only but that increases the cost even further - decisions 😐.

I want to switch to EV but I can't justify the cost of owning a car either - given the low milage.

 

[Coe123]

I second the opinion that if the OP only plans to own the house for 6 more years, it may not be worth going solar, even less so for 8 panels, but it largely depends on the subsidy situation.
If subsidies pay for a big chunk of the install, why not.

8 panel is what they recommended based on Google map check, I reckon I could do 12-14.

My other rationale is that I need to set-up the scaffolding for other work anyway so do this together which would mean an effective cost of under £3K.