anyone used or got any experience of them ?

My grandparents have recently had panels installed by these guys. They have done a good job on the installation and it appears that during the day the panels are providing all the electricity they need. They haven’t received an electricity bill yet, so its too early to say how much of an impact its had.

it appears that during the day the panels are providing all the electricity they need.

Really, how do you know? Good for them if that’s the case though.
Having lived with solar panels for 12 months now I can vouch for the fact that they do have an impact on your bill. But bear in mind that generally the average household uses the most electricity at night and during the winter – exactly when solar panel output is at its lowest/non-existant.
I work from home and have IT stuff running 24/7 so I am probably using 95% of the power being generated (the other 5% is during a very sunny summers day when the panels have generated 20kwh).
No idea about these free installs, although there is defo a catch in it somewhere. I’ve read something about them leasing your roof or similar.

I thought that with the free installs, you get the panels and the leccy, but the installer gets the FIT. It also stays with the property, you move, you lose. AFAIK

after reading a bit on moneysaving expert people are worried that selling on your home

mortgage companies arent happy because youve effectively rented out your roof

after reading a bit on moneysaving expert people are worried that selling on your home mortgage companies arent happy because youve effectively rented out your roof

I would be pretty hesitant to buy a house where some company had rights over the roof! Do you get the panels with the free installs? I thought it was just the leccy.

I would be pretty hesitant to buy a house where some company had rights over the roof!

It’s not THEIR roof though is it – and there must be terms and conditions you could check.

I wouldn’t mind buying a house that had free leccy to be honest.

All good points raised so far but IMO the most significant thing to investigate is the fact that the free PV company takes a lease on your roof for the length of the FIT scheme – 20 years currently.

The issue is that when you come to sell, I have heard that there are mortgage companies that wont give a mortgage on a building that also has a lease on it.

Check out this link for advice from Energy Savings Trust…

EST advice

If you have already decided to go for free PV, then I cant comment on a shade greener as I’ve not dealt with them, however I read an article on the lovemoney website a while ago that said their contract seemed reasonable one.

HTH