Morning all, thinking about getting solar panels, can anyone give me any tips? I have zero experience with the tech.

12 comments

1. If you’re serious then go all in, maximise what you put on the roof at the outset (DNO approval probably necessary). Don’t expect for them to pay for themselves for quite a few years. Get more than one quote, ideally someone recommended. Learn how to make the most from their generation.

2. Tesla (I think?) do ones that look like roof tiles.

3. Good luck. I’ve been trying to get a quote since new year. I guess all the suppliers/fitters are rammed. I want Powerball as well so contacted every local distributor. Still haven’t had anyone out.

   There’s a guy on YouTube called EVguy who does a good job of weighing up the options

4. Initial outlay is a lot. You could cut costs and even make a bit but it’s highly related to where in the country you live and our glorious weather.

5. Make sure you get a battery as well. Fuck feeding into the grid with the crappy prices they pay, keep and use everything you generate. It makes a big difference in our experience.

6. Where are you and which way does your roof face?

   I live in South Yorkshire and have 6 large panels facing south and 10 facing west. On a sunny day it generates up to 3kw. Because the panels were installed in 2012 we get a good feed-in tariff (about 20p per kwh). We use a lot of the electricity ourselves because we’re in a lot of the day, so washing etc can happen when it’s sunny.

   We get paid about £400 per year plus the solar electricity we use, but feed-in tariffs and less generous now, I believe.

7. Aim them at the sun.

8. I’ve recently looked into solar. If you just want to just reduce your use of fossil fuels then go for it. If you think you’ll save money it’s unlikely.

9. On a slightly sideways note – if you do get them get some mesh fitted around the edges. They attract pigeons and if you don’t want to be woken by them or have them use your surroundings as a toilet then don’t allow them to make home there. It can also cause some friction with neighbours as they’ll likely want to colonise surrounding gardens also. Nothing against pigeons in the main but they can make an awful lot of mess.

10. Had mine for 10 years on E-W facing roof (8 panels each side) &, based on FIT payments to date, it’s likely to be another 2 years before the initial outlay has been paid back – that’s on one of the better FIT rates.

    However I’ve also taken advantage of using a lot of the generated leccy – it helps that I WFH so will do my washing, drying, cooking, etc during peak generating times.

11. If you think you’re going to be saving money the break even point is well over a decade.

12. I’ve written a lot about them on my blog.

    https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/03/eight-megawatt-hours-baby/

    My advice, get the Octopus Outgoing Agile tariff. It pays the most for export. Batteries are useful – but expensive.

    Get a few quotes. And ask your neighbours who they used.

    Pabels have long guarantees, the inverter less so. You can hook the inverter up to the web if you want to grab data, or just monitor their performance.

    Hapoy to answer any specific questions.