It’s quite difficult to navigate the number of organisations promoting solar panels. What are people’s experiences? Where is the best place to find solar installers? What kind of returns have people got from their solar panels?
Would be great if people could add some experiences.
Remember that there is solar PV (electric), solar thermal (hot water) and PVT (hybrid system which generates hot water by cooling the high temp PV)
Feed in Tariff has now ended so many are questioning investment viability of PV A new export scheme is due to be available in the new year. Details yet to be released but Gov.
We first installed a second-hand vacuum solar thermal water system and it works very well even in winter although obviously it only pre heats a tank. About 10 degrees C which isn’t bad the downside to thermal solar is a maintenance cost which we have done every 4 years.
We then installed 2.75kW of solar panels when the FIT payments were high and it now pays for all our gas heating and our electricity which includes running 2 EV’s. Personally after having both systems I would favour solar PV as no on going maintenance costs you can also get a power diverter to use excess electricity to either heat water or charging an EV these days.
That’s incredible that a relatively small solar array can do all that! Is there anything you do with your management of electricity which makes it stretch so far?
Need to research the solar heating system. Any recommendations?