An now Chineese made pannels! Like florecents, probably none manufactured in the US. BTW, we do not get weeks, or even many days in a row of rain.
SOLAR POWER
- Thread starter Snook
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An now Chineese made pannels! Like florecents, probably none manufactured in the US. BTW, we do not get weeks, or even many days in a row of rain.
The whole pannel life and batteries are issues of concern. I'm OK with just cutting my bill by 50%-75% but then, again, the ROI go out past life expectancy of the installation. WOULD I REALLY SAVE ANY MONEY?
Apparently fork lift truck batteries work OK , not sure how cost effective it is to buy garanteed new deep cycle or replace twice as many much cheaper but less efficient alternatives more often , have experience with wind chargers for agricultural water pumps and the lead acid batteries are the weak point and few survive a cold winter.
Many years ago it was easy to source ex navy battery pacs from dismantled subs and suchlike , airfield starter sets were another source , dont know if much is available nowadays or if such salvage makes it to the public anymore.
Seriously , if you can cast fishing weights/bullets and work lead to an easily aquired standard , rebuilding a battery is no big deal and far cheaper than replacement.
A twenty year warranty might not count for much longterm , few installers will be in business in five years and most of the warranty value dies with their closure , the UK cavity wall insulation business is notorious for this deliberate practice to avoid warranty work caused by clueless contractors.
Many years ago it was easy to source ex navy battery pacs from dismantled subs and suchlike , airfield starter sets were another source , dont know if much is available nowadays or if such salvage makes it to the public anymore.
Seriously , if you can cast fishing weights/bullets and work lead to an easily aquired standard , rebuilding a battery is no big deal and far cheaper than replacement.
A twenty year warranty might not count for much longterm , few installers will be in business in five years and most of the warranty value dies with their closure , the UK cavity wall insulation business is notorious for this deliberate practice to avoid warranty work caused by clueless contractors.
greenpinky
Member
That guy is a gal, and yes, our well-made German panels came with a guarantee, they'll be outlasting the loan period and if not, they'll be replaced at no cost to us. That was part of the guarantee and a requirement for participation in the program. It wouldn't make much sense to have us paying for equipment that isn't working, would it?
so there is an 15yr guarantee on electronics? i have never heard of that.ever, care to prove the paper work? and the panel glass gets worn and scrached threw time thus maken it less efficent. ya it might work but how good? and sorry gal
so there is an 15yr guarantee on electronics? i have never heard of that.ever, care to prove the paper work? and the panel glass gets worn and scrached threw time thus maken it less efficent. ya it might work but how good? and sorry gal
I use that in a month and a half during the summer. In the winter I use that in two months.
Well I guess you're not average then?
Don't get me wrong, getting more makes alot of sense if you can manage it. I mean if your state has an energy buy back progam then you could potentially have a system that gives you all you need for free with room to spare and that quite literally pays for itself aside from what it saves you. Which is what it sounds like your situation is.
Ideally I'd love to set up for multiple sources of renewable energy by having a combination of solar, wind and geothermal.
Well I hear you but say don't give up yet. SeaMaiden's experience of zero down should give you hope. Even if selling electricity back to the power company isn't an option if you can get it installed at no immediate cost to you and your monthly payments for it are lower then what it saves you then it's worth it. Even if you pass away before it's paid for. Now if it turns out the cost is greater then the savings then I could understand.
Another possible consideration because of your age (I'm not sure of the answer) would be are there any routine maintenance requirements you may not be capable of performing?
S
SeaMaiden
HK, that's exactly what makes this program so appealing and, IMO, a far better use of federal funds than something like, say, TARP. Few people can actually come up with the initial capital outlay. That means you've got to take out a loan. Going the 'usual' route means that first you've got to qualify for that loan, not to mention it's a hit on your credit report. We avoided all of that. AND! Because of where we live, not only are we in a qualifying county, but we qualified for the 0% APR loan. The other counties that qualify get the 3% APR lending, but still, are not required to make any down payment or initial capital outlay.
I don't know how the panels will be getting terribly scratched and worn if no one touches them. We were told that the most care they'll need to be given is to be hosed off occasionally, especially if it hasn't rained in a while, so as to maintain efficiency. The panels themselves are manufactured in Germany, as I mentioned, the brand is Schuco (the 'u' has the two dots over it).
Any way, I'll go with something much simpler than scanning and redacting a shit-ton of documents. I can give you a phone number you can call yourself, speak with some folks who might share with you the information I'm trying to share. Call Advanced Energy & Comfort Systems: 916.641.3232 and go from there.
Either way, everyone has to balance what's most important to them. I've been wanting to be more energy independent for a long time, ever since we started paying PG&E their outrageous rates. Some folks may have missed my posted average electricity bills. The lowest bill we ever experienced didn't occur until there were only two people living in the house and we'd taken two extended vacations when no one was in the house, during spring when the days were long but not cold or hot. That one bill was just under $200. But when we had only two out of our four bedrooms filled, a $500 bill had to be accounted for and planned on. No growing going on, just people. That made the ROI for our system excellent, especially because it's seriously reduced our propane bills, which, during winter, could easily hit $500/mo as well, keeping the house at a balmy 62F. At that time I could be found wearing several layers of clothing and socks. Now? No more need for that.
Did you get the math on that? During winter, an average bill for the two utilities could easily exceed $1,000/month. And we gained nothing but the barest heat and light in exchange, no value added to the home, and definitely nothing resembling independence.
We are also homeowners, we plan on retiring in this home. Because of the timing of our purchase, we have a real need to increase our home's value, and this solar array and increasing the energy efficiency of the home has increased its value well, both for now and well into the future.
What it finally added up to for me, for us, was this--would we rather be paying out on PG&E bills with absolutely nothing in return, no value added to our home, no energy efficiency gained, let alone independence? Or, would we rather be paying off a loan, after which we own the system outright and would maintain energy efficiency well through and beyond the life of the loan? Even IF the panels and system only lasted the 15 years, the cost never goes up, as it would with PG&E (remember, their rates are going up an AVERAGE of 15% per annum, compounded). Not to mention that at this point, when we use our electricity, we're not contributing to the tons upon tons of carbon that are continually being added back to the atmosphere (yes, Virginia, I do believe in anthropogenic climate change).
You want me to post everything that I've received up here as proof? Do you have any idea how thick my file folder in this installation is? Not to mention that I'd have to spend an inordinate amount of time redacting certain things from my documents, and that's before scanning them to post them. But, in writing, our system life is calculated at 25 years (10 years better than the loan) and inverter life is 15 years, the life of the loan. The inverter itself won't be that expensive at all to replace, when and if it becomes necessary. The panels? Very expensive to replace, all 52 of them.
I don't know how the panels will be getting terribly scratched and worn if no one touches them. We were told that the most care they'll need to be given is to be hosed off occasionally, especially if it hasn't rained in a while, so as to maintain efficiency. The panels themselves are manufactured in Germany, as I mentioned, the brand is Schuco (the 'u' has the two dots over it).
Any way, I'll go with something much simpler than scanning and redacting a shit-ton of documents. I can give you a phone number you can call yourself, speak with some folks who might share with you the information I'm trying to share. Call Advanced Energy & Comfort Systems: 916.641.3232 and go from there.
Either way, everyone has to balance what's most important to them. I've been wanting to be more energy independent for a long time, ever since we started paying PG&E their outrageous rates. Some folks may have missed my posted average electricity bills. The lowest bill we ever experienced didn't occur until there were only two people living in the house and we'd taken two extended vacations when no one was in the house, during spring when the days were long but not cold or hot. That one bill was just under $200. But when we had only two out of our four bedrooms filled, a $500 bill had to be accounted for and planned on. No growing going on, just people. That made the ROI for our system excellent, especially because it's seriously reduced our propane bills, which, during winter, could easily hit $500/mo as well, keeping the house at a balmy 62F. At that time I could be found wearing several layers of clothing and socks. Now? No more need for that.
Did you get the math on that? During winter, an average bill for the two utilities could easily exceed $1,000/month. And we gained nothing but the barest heat and light in exchange, no value added to the home, and definitely nothing resembling independence.
We are also homeowners, we plan on retiring in this home. Because of the timing of our purchase, we have a real need to increase our home's value, and this solar array and increasing the energy efficiency of the home has increased its value well, both for now and well into the future.
What it finally added up to for me, for us, was this--would we rather be paying out on PG&E bills with absolutely nothing in return, no value added to our home, no energy efficiency gained, let alone independence? Or, would we rather be paying off a loan, after which we own the system outright and would maintain energy efficiency well through and beyond the life of the loan? Even IF the panels and system only lasted the 15 years, the cost never goes up, as it would with PG&E (remember, their rates are going up an AVERAGE of 15% per annum, compounded). Not to mention that at this point, when we use our electricity, we're not contributing to the tons upon tons of carbon that are continually being added back to the atmosphere (yes, Virginia, I do believe in anthropogenic climate change).
in terms of the greenhouse effect,, co2 is only responsible for <2% of the trapped heat,, 80% of it is by water vapour or clouds,,
i love co2,, its great stuff,,, just a shame that humans always want to believe that they are the cause,, anthropomorphism in my eyes,,
not attacking anyone's beliefs,,
also on the subject of renewable energy like wind turbines or solar panels they help produce tons and tons of co2 anyway,,
wind turbines use neodymium in the electromagnets, which is a rare earth metal that is very costly to aquire and very destructive to vast areas of land since it only occurs in such small amounts anywhere,, just check out all the purple lakes in mongolia,,
your solar panels had to be made, creating co2,, then shipped all the way from germany,, more co2,, then driven to you by a man in a diesel van,,
i know people love the earth but not looking at things objectively is more dangerous,,
its not the people on the ground polluting the planet with co2 its the disgusting industries and the real pollutants they kick out into ecosystems globally,,
i love co2,, its great stuff,,, just a shame that humans always want to believe that they are the cause,, anthropomorphism in my eyes,,
not attacking anyone's beliefs,,
also on the subject of renewable energy like wind turbines or solar panels they help produce tons and tons of co2 anyway,,
wind turbines use neodymium in the electromagnets, which is a rare earth metal that is very costly to aquire and very destructive to vast areas of land since it only occurs in such small amounts anywhere,, just check out all the purple lakes in mongolia,,
your solar panels had to be made, creating co2,, then shipped all the way from germany,, more co2,, then driven to you by a man in a diesel van,,
i know people love the earth but not looking at things objectively is more dangerous,,
its not the people on the ground polluting the planet with co2 its the disgusting industries and the real pollutants they kick out into ecosystems globally,,
i want one of these,i seen a documentary where it featured this house,they said its gonna last thousands of years,compared to a modern house that would last mabey a few hundred.
of course i would be completley off the grid also.
http://www.necn.com/08/26/10/Hemp-h...olina/landing.html?blockID=298014&feedID=4213
http://hempcrete.ca/Home.html
of course i would be completley off the grid also.
http://www.necn.com/08/26/10/Hemp-h...olina/landing.html?blockID=298014&feedID=4213
http://hempcrete.ca/Home.html
No great gains in solar have been made. The electronics have improved some, but except for the subsidy the $/watt ratio is about the same. Most of the installations require the panels to be wired together, under the roof deck which means lots of holes in the roof. At least the thin film panels do. All the salvage panels that I bought in Maine were originally installed during the Carter admin when there were subsidies also. They were installed on roofs which then rotted. And of course the systems were total failures because they never really worked. I remember one woman had 32 4x8 panels in her back yard under leaves and shit. I bought them for 50 bucks a piece and took them home and fired my system up. Her roof cost 45 K to redo, framing and all. I would NEVER, EVER put panels on the roof. You can't get to them and they need to be cleaned, and your roof will deteriorate under the panels. I built my array in the yard using pressure treated lumber and aluminum. I know everyone wants solar to work, and good luck to everyone who does this, but the big subsidies are over, and the industry will go back to its little niche serving roadside signs and remote installations.
Hello all,
Due to my work I am very familiar with solar panels, so if you have any question please let me know I can probably help find the answer... I am always interested in learning more about them.
I have reviewed this thread it's just full of many ideas and opinions. I would like to add some points from my experience or findings.
-First, solar panels will work more then 15 years, a strong majority of them. True, panels from 20 years ago were not so reliable but now they are. In the industry it is considered to be around 30 years. I have seen 35 years old panels that were still working (well barely, due to the lost of efficiency which was very bad in the first place- and the ancient technology). Solar industry is recent and progress will be great.
There will be, unfortunately, some series of panels to go bad before these fifteen years. Be aware of some cheap chinese copycat manufacturers, but there are a lot of good chinese panels as well.
-the model of grid-connected solar will always have you sell back your electricity; and get it back from the normal grid. so not lower your consumption on the meter.
everything is based on the fact that energy you are selling is paid more than the energy your are buying; so financially you should sell it back always.
Technically, you have to sell it back always, except if you have a battery system. You cannot use directly the energy you are producing. So general power cut, no battery, no electricity, even during a full sun.
It is bullshit and totally reflective of capitalism in its best. But you can make money. Total waste of energy; but I guess if it does make people more aware about the environment, good.
if you consider that you could easily become self sufficient if needed in ten years; just change the inverter and get some batteries (40% of the system costs now...) then it could be the way to go.
- Warranty : 10 years on the product nowadays, 25 years on production. During ten years, you will get a new solar panel (if the company did not go bankrupt) if any problem, after that period, if your efficiency is loosing more than 1% less per year you will get a new one (for example if you loose 21% after 20 years). If your panel fails after the 10 years, no warranty.
- Inverters have an expected lifespan of 8 years. of course they dont include that in the calculation. you will have to pay for the new one in ten years, but it s not the majority of the system price. I think they sell 15 years warranty which are infact more costly than buying a new product when the inverter breaks.
-Batteries, deep cycle, so solar adapted, will last 8 to 13 years if well dimensionned - Ensure a max discharge of 35%. Normal batteries like cars will last 3 to 4 if very well taken care of; typically 2.
Hope it helps...
++
Due to my work I am very familiar with solar panels, so if you have any question please let me know I can probably help find the answer... I am always interested in learning more about them.
I have reviewed this thread it's just full of many ideas and opinions. I would like to add some points from my experience or findings.
-First, solar panels will work more then 15 years, a strong majority of them. True, panels from 20 years ago were not so reliable but now they are. In the industry it is considered to be around 30 years. I have seen 35 years old panels that were still working (well barely, due to the lost of efficiency which was very bad in the first place- and the ancient technology). Solar industry is recent and progress will be great.
There will be, unfortunately, some series of panels to go bad before these fifteen years. Be aware of some cheap chinese copycat manufacturers, but there are a lot of good chinese panels as well.
-the model of grid-connected solar will always have you sell back your electricity; and get it back from the normal grid. so not lower your consumption on the meter.
everything is based on the fact that energy you are selling is paid more than the energy your are buying; so financially you should sell it back always.
Technically, you have to sell it back always, except if you have a battery system. You cannot use directly the energy you are producing. So general power cut, no battery, no electricity, even during a full sun.
It is bullshit and totally reflective of capitalism in its best. But you can make money. Total waste of energy; but I guess if it does make people more aware about the environment, good.
if you consider that you could easily become self sufficient if needed in ten years; just change the inverter and get some batteries (40% of the system costs now...) then it could be the way to go.
- Warranty : 10 years on the product nowadays, 25 years on production. During ten years, you will get a new solar panel (if the company did not go bankrupt) if any problem, after that period, if your efficiency is loosing more than 1% less per year you will get a new one (for example if you loose 21% after 20 years). If your panel fails after the 10 years, no warranty.
- Inverters have an expected lifespan of 8 years. of course they dont include that in the calculation. you will have to pay for the new one in ten years, but it s not the majority of the system price. I think they sell 15 years warranty which are infact more costly than buying a new product when the inverter breaks.
-Batteries, deep cycle, so solar adapted, will last 8 to 13 years if well dimensionned - Ensure a max discharge of 35%. Normal batteries like cars will last 3 to 4 if very well taken care of; typically 2.
Hope it helps...
++
S
SeaMaiden
You left out methane. Again, anthropogenic in origin because the earth wouldn't have all these cows and pigs were it not for us humans. However, it's as much an issue of trapped carbon stores being released as anything else, and, again, that's only happening because of us humans.
Yes, it is the people on the ground. We're the ones these industries are in business for in the first place, because nothing occurs in a vacuum. Of course my panels came at a carbonaceous cost, but that cost is fixed, as opposed to our continually utilizing public utility power being a constant output. And it's not just CO2 we must be concerned with.
So then it becomes a question of damage control, does it not? I'm not about to go live in a cave, and I like to use things like the internet. I can mitigate and minimize my impact, or I can throw the baby out with the bathwater. I choose to mitigate my impact, control what I can instead of just saying, Fuck it.
Serious thread digressions, probably my fault.
good for you,, im glad you care,,
still i dont see the evidence for co2 causing the problems,,,
its a chicken or the egg thing,, if you want to say that the people are the ones crying out for products that cause pollution then that is one opinion,,
im more of the opinion that big business does what it wants regardless,,
you can slow co2 the tiniest amount but its irrelevent,,,
alot of it has already been taken out of the ground and burned already,, but even that isnt a bad thing imo,,
just to say biology is my subject and i volutarily conserve wildlife and help stocks of certain birds/animals and fish,, and wildflowers/herbs,, im not proud at all just saying this is my realm,, and i dont see how the renewable energies around at the moment are proactive at all,,
id rather see people spend the 10's of thousands on saplings,, at least that sequesters and locks up the co2 if you have a problem with it,,
it just looks to me like the industrialists have found a new way of polluting whilst having people singing their praises at the same time,,
the digression is my fault sorry,, just ignore me, best way
still i dont see the evidence for co2 causing the problems,,,
its a chicken or the egg thing,, if you want to say that the people are the ones crying out for products that cause pollution then that is one opinion,,
im more of the opinion that big business does what it wants regardless,,
you can slow co2 the tiniest amount but its irrelevent,,,
alot of it has already been taken out of the ground and burned already,, but even that isnt a bad thing imo,,
just to say biology is my subject and i volutarily conserve wildlife and help stocks of certain birds/animals and fish,, and wildflowers/herbs,, im not proud at all just saying this is my realm,, and i dont see how the renewable energies around at the moment are proactive at all,,
id rather see people spend the 10's of thousands on saplings,, at least that sequesters and locks up the co2 if you have a problem with it,,
it just looks to me like the industrialists have found a new way of polluting whilst having people singing their praises at the same time,,
the digression is my fault sorry,, just ignore me, best way
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There is a whole industry that would not agree with you.
No great gain in solar, well, hum hum... Price of system : divided by four to five in twenty years
Mean efficiency : Increased by two in twenty years (cristalline cells)
Only electronics ? Damn nope, there is a very very strong research in special glass; EVA foils for the encapsulation, connections, mounting systems...
Reliability of the process greatly improved as well...
Building integrated is also now a strong point in solar and the point is that the roof actually last as long as the panels, or if you have to change a part of the roof the panels will still be there.
Solar will be kicking the price of electricity produced by oil in a year, and will get very competitive with most in 5 years.
Solar energy is for sure ONE of the energy of the future but definetly NOT the only one.
Nor'Easter
Member
wow an interesting and great thread! I hear all kinds of opinions here from just reading through the first half or third of the first page, everything from it's well worth it to don't bother. I like the idea of going green, and generating power for extra lighting, so I hope this would work. My state pays 40-50% of the costs or so I hear, but I have no idea how to take full advantage of that. Here in the northeast, solar would not generate as much as in Colorado or Florida, but I read an article somewhere that it was still worth it for these people in coastal Maine. It would be nice to generate enough extra electricity for 2 lights of the 1K variety minimum, or up to 6 without the electric company knowing. Which brings up another question (first is how to take advantage of all the subsidies): if you sell back to the electric company, could they say 'you should be generating twice the electricity for us that you are, where is all that extra electric going?"? But then getting batteries in an area where you could easily put it back onto the grid, would that look fishy?
S
SeaMaiden
The power company had a lot of control over our job, but they don't have control of our power usage or how much we're sending back into the grid. However, neither do we expect to actually receive a check from them--this *is* PG&E we're talking about in this specific instance, after all.
We decided against battery banks because of the total sum "pain in the ass" factor. It's huge. We'd have to dedicate a significant portion of our property just to the batteries, weight, environmental issues, initial cost and replacement costs all made them not feasible for the package we went with or our real needs. I mean, I truly detest PG&E as a whole, but not so much that I had to insist we completely cut the teat.
Caring for our now-5yo roof was but one of the big questions we had for the companies handling our installation. There is a better chance that we'll need to replace the roof before the panels (which means the installation company gets work from us again in future).
Lost, perhaps our musings might be better for a thread of their own? I happen to know someone who's a paleoclimatologist and he's been working on building a data set that will add to the body of science that demonstrates that, outside natural decadal climate shifts, what we're experiencing very well may be rooted in human industrial activity. He's using coral heads around the world, began in Florida, added to the set with some Caribbean samples, and last year received funding approval for study in Vanuatu and the Oceania region.
Anyway, there are many factors that add to climate variables, and so that leads to much debate. Where I think we would find common ground is the idea that the overall, total mean sum of human impact, irrespective of whether we're discussing private citizens or large corporations (which is yet another debate for me, that could become very political), whether via causing climate shift or other activities, is significant. I mean, it can be seen from space, ya know?
We decided against battery banks because of the total sum "pain in the ass" factor. It's huge. We'd have to dedicate a significant portion of our property just to the batteries, weight, environmental issues, initial cost and replacement costs all made them not feasible for the package we went with or our real needs. I mean, I truly detest PG&E as a whole, but not so much that I had to insist we completely cut the teat.
Bolded, both bear repeating. We investigated wind, but that would have required an initial capital outlay we couldn't bear, and we're in a bit of a valley that doesn't normally have sufficient wind speeds for good power generation. Not to mention that there are rather significant set-backs required that would have severely limited the sizing possibilities for wind power generation. AND, we would have had to cut down a lot more trees, didn't have to cut any for the solar but if we do take down two pines, one directly east of the house and the other directly west, we would increase efficiency. I'm not ready to cut down more old trees just yet.
Caring for our now-5yo roof was but one of the big questions we had for the companies handling our installation. There is a better chance that we'll need to replace the roof before the panels (which means the installation company gets work from us again in future).
Lost, perhaps our musings might be better for a thread of their own? I happen to know someone who's a paleoclimatologist and he's been working on building a data set that will add to the body of science that demonstrates that, outside natural decadal climate shifts, what we're experiencing very well may be rooted in human industrial activity. He's using coral heads around the world, began in Florida, added to the set with some Caribbean samples, and last year received funding approval for study in Vanuatu and the Oceania region.
Anyway, there are many factors that add to climate variables, and so that leads to much debate. Where I think we would find common ground is the idea that the overall, total mean sum of human impact, irrespective of whether we're discussing private citizens or large corporations (which is yet another debate for me, that could become very political), whether via causing climate shift or other activities, is significant. I mean, it can be seen from space, ya know?
it is a very big topic that gets professional researchers very heated,,
personally id say other much more powerful variables are changing climate patterns rather than human industrial activities,, but its not a subject worth going into here or really any open forum,,
too much i could say that would confuse and potentially offend peoples beliefs,, and it would steal my own productivity trying to explain something that you need to be trained to understand anyway,, and of course i know it can be seen from space, really doesnt mean it has anything to do with people producing co2, or methane from cows or termites or whatever just because you can observe changes from space,,
climate change i would argue does have more to do with shifting undersea currents and the effect that has on jet streams and other weather phenomena which id also argue is mostly because of fluctuations in energy received from the sun and how it is removed from the various systems it impacts upon, or isn't as the case maybe,,
energy which may not be being removed like it should be because of mans actions,,
i cant wait to see some decent proof that it is man caused because everything i have seen so far has been very poor science,,
anyway end off digression,, back on to solar power,,
personally id say other much more powerful variables are changing climate patterns rather than human industrial activities,, but its not a subject worth going into here or really any open forum,,
too much i could say that would confuse and potentially offend peoples beliefs,, and it would steal my own productivity trying to explain something that you need to be trained to understand anyway,, and of course i know it can be seen from space, really doesnt mean it has anything to do with people producing co2, or methane from cows or termites or whatever just because you can observe changes from space,,
climate change i would argue does have more to do with shifting undersea currents and the effect that has on jet streams and other weather phenomena which id also argue is mostly because of fluctuations in energy received from the sun and how it is removed from the various systems it impacts upon, or isn't as the case maybe,,
energy which may not be being removed like it should be because of mans actions,,
i cant wait to see some decent proof that it is man caused because everything i have seen so far has been very poor science,,
anyway end off digression,, back on to solar power,,
If you are paying for the installation you should ask exactly how the work is covered in the event that the company goes bankrupt or otherwise ceases to trade.
If the work is not seperately insured i would think twice , my double glazeing was not , and cost serious money to fix well within the nominal 25 year warranty.
If the roof leaks after fitting would existing building insurance cover it ?
An enquiry last year suggested the premium would increase 50% and probably require an engineers report , failure to notify them of a new installation would nullify the policy in the event of any claim.
If the work is not seperately insured i would think twice , my double glazeing was not , and cost serious money to fix well within the nominal 25 year warranty.
If the roof leaks after fitting would existing building insurance cover it ?
An enquiry last year suggested the premium would increase 50% and probably require an engineers report , failure to notify them of a new installation would nullify the policy in the event of any claim.
From what I gathered from the person who didn't post until the last page or two and who works in the industry is that if there is a buy back program then in reality your solar power goes straight to the power company and then back to you. So if that were the case the usage at the meter for your home would be the same as if you had no solar panels but the difference would be that what you made but didn't use would offset the cost. If you're hoping to run things that nobody can detect then you need to be off the grid but something like solar with a buy back program requires you to be part of the grid.
