According to Moneysaving expert in 2019 the average cost was £5000 for a 3.5 kw peak system compared to £6000 in 2011. I recall when the feed in tariffs ( subsidies) were first reduced there were squeals of anguish from the industry with forecasts of large job losses. In fact the reverse happened and prices dropped. Perhaps dropping the help to buy scheme which is reckoned to have increased prices by 15% could help manage houses prices a bit better.
Nor being negative as we would like solar panels, but even at £5000 the breakeven point is a very long time. When selling a home I wonder if solar panels are taken into consideration unlike when trading in a caravan, they only offer you the base price and generally virtually nothing for the extras?
Houses with a north-south ridge still benefit from solar panels as they can be fitted both sides (at a cost) rather than just the south side with an east-west ridge - in any case the ridge could be aligned to optimise the benefit on new-build homes.
If you look on the internet you will see numerous articles on break even point, which as panels have gotten more efficient the BE point has reduced. Of course location, orientation etc and owner usage will affect BE point. But as things evolve houses will not only have solar panels, but battery storage too. Certainly low tech solutions such as cavity wall and loft insulation have shorter payback times but that shouldn't rule out other sensible options. When we first fitted UPVC double glazing in the early 1990s it cost around £4k for 10 windows in a 4 bed detached. Again in 2010 it was slightly cheaper in the same house, in our current house we have just paid £4.5k for 12 windows and they are larger too. Economies of scale perhaps.
Absolutely not, I put them in at work and they already paid for themselves, 8years.
Surely with those long, languorous, sunny Scottish summer days you would be onto winner
Built from straw bales as I recall so "greener" than bricks which are energy-intensive is production.
Our home also has roof with East West orientation so solar panels are a no go for us due to the break even point being way in the future.
In South Africa they experimented with plastic bottles in the walls of budget homes. Kept homes cool in the summer and warm in the winters. Good way to recycle old plastic bottles, but as it was labour intensive, the idea was dropped.
Ours has east west orientation. Our install was relativly modest in terms of panels (3.12kW) split 50/50 east and west. As a result our install cost was high (as we had 2 sets of scaffolding). Ours paid back in 6.5 years. When building new homes, adding solar and a battery along with decent insulation from day one increases build and sale cost that will be repaid in way under 10 years.
energysavingtrust.org.uk
Interesting to compare that output with the actual output from my system. https://pvoutput.org/aggregate.jsp?id=8104&sid=6565&v=0&t=yIf you want an example of payback/investment in PV panels you may find this calculator interesting.
Solar energy calculator
Use the solar energy calculator to get an idea of the benefits you may see from installing a solar photovoltaic system at home.
I've just plugged in my numbers and over the 25 year lifetime they assume I would lose just over £500 at todays figures. It takes into account, installation cost, maintenance cost and loss in efficiency plus also considers the Smart Export Guarantee for excess volts.
For a west facing roof (mine).....
Estimated installation costs £5,419
Estimated lifetime maintenance costs £1,450
Potential lifetime net benefit -£523 *
If my roof faced south then.....
Estimated installation costs £5,419
Estimated lifetime maintenance costs £1,450
Potential lifetime net benefit £344
Just done the same exercise, £3526 installation cost - net benefit £664, ie £26-27 per year, just 0.75% of cost - with loss of dividend on investment of 3+% that's a significant real cost/year.If you want an example of payback/investment in PV panels you may find this calculator interesting.
Solar energy calculator
Use the solar energy calculator to get an idea of the benefits you may see from installing a solar photovoltaic system at home.
I've just plugged in my numbers and over the 25 year lifetime they assume I would lose just over £500 at todays figures. It takes into account, installation cost, maintenance cost and loss in efficiency plus also considers the Smart Export Guarantee for excess volts.
For a west facing roof (mine).....
Estimated installation costs £5,419
Estimated lifetime maintenance costs £1,450
Potential lifetime net benefit -£523 *
If my roof faced south then.....
Estimated installation costs £5,419
Estimated lifetime maintenance costs £1,450
Potential lifetime net benefit £344
The calculator also makes the assumption of 16p/kWh of electricity. Right now, it's 25p. 16p is probably a good price point for the medium term, but longer term, it will go up with both inflation and costs (though if wider spread adoption of renewables come in sooner rather than later, that may come down again).
Manmade climate change as a result of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions is neither an unproved theory, nor a myth. It's a hard scientific fact backed up by decades of research and data. Dismissing CO2 as a naturally occurring phenomenon is as sensible as dismissing the radiation pollution associated with Chernobyl or Fukushima as being as natural as radiation from deposits of Radon or Uranium. Yes CO2 is natural and absorbed by plants. but that does not change the truth that mankind IS destroying our own environment resulting in sea level rise and climate change.
I don't recall stating that man made CO2 was not an issue and neither did I say it was a myth? Please read my post again maybe it will then make sense to you?
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