Solar energy and the Feed-In Tariff - your opinions
- Thread starter Thomas L
- Start date
Why are they against it?
It is 4kWp and after that the tariff gets progressively lower. 4kWp is the optimal for a residential installation.
No you get less per kWh if you go over 4Kwh
36.1p for up to 10kw
31.4p for up to 100Kw
So if the costs of the panels are pro rata then putting in an 8kw system will cost you £24,000 but your only getting say £3000 per year back as opposed to double (£3,600) so there is a longer period before you get your money back.
On the other hand, you will obviously make a lot more money over the 25 years but not double what a 4kw system makes.
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Why would the energy companies pay 43p per kilowatt when they charge 23p for tier 1 and 10p for tier 2. That just seems like that they are paying more for the electricity than they actually charge customers for.
Yep. They are been forced to by the government.
What is really happening is a proportion of what normal people pay for their electric is now going to pay the 43.3p paid to solar panel owners.
Genius isn't it?
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I like the idea of solar panels and batteries but i do not like the idea putting it back in to the grid at a fixed price. I would sell to the grid or to anyone else who wants it but i would like to set the price. I think if energy prices do go up and you are on a "guaranteed" price you could end up getting paid less than the energy companies actually charge.
The tariffs are index linked.
Tahrs good to know. Is there a reason you guys buy and fit from same people, does it have to be installed by a silly government contractor?
I'm assuming it would be cheaper to source the parts yourself, then pay someone to fit them and connect the power up. But seeing as they all seem to say registered, I'm assuming you can't do this.
I'm assuming it would be cheaper to source the parts yourself, then pay someone to fit them and connect the power up. But seeing as they all seem to say registered, I'm assuming you can't do this.
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So a percentage or something? So as the market price for kw goes up, then they will pay the solar panel suppliers more?
Wtf, you like the idea of batteries are you mad. Expensive, in efficient. Take up So much room, huge amount of room. Better selling it back to the grid, simple and easy.
Unlikely. Being indexed link and since at 43.3p they are already way above electric prices I can't see them ever catching up.
You would need electric prices to rocket to stupid levels before anybody would want to pay you more than what you are getting under the guaranteed scheme.
By then they wouldn;t pay you anyway as it would be cheaper for them to build their own solar panel farms or wnd farms than to buy from you.
Indexed linked to inflation. In theory the market price for electric could drop but solar panel owners would still get paid more every year.Daft eh?
EDIT: It's indexed linked to the RPI not inflation and this years increase on the 1st April 2011 was 4.8%
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The chaps that done ours are electrical contractors, they have to be registered MCS.
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You sell it to the grid and charge some batteries at the same time. That way when the panels are not generating any electricity (at night for example) you don't have to use the grid. You can use the batteries. Well I have seen videos from states of people doing that and it seems to work for them. Some people on farms even combine hydro power and wind and have batteries charging that way.
They also limit the efficency of the panels, by about 30%.
They simply are not practical unless you have no access to the grid.
Missed the boat there. If you installed your panels prior to 1st April 2010 you could do DIY or use anybody you wanted. To qualify for the maximum FIT you have to use a MCS certified installer (but there are lots)