my rents have been approached by the green home company to put 16 solar panels on their South facing roof, they get free electricity during the day (this is third hand so may not be accurate) and the installation company get the FIT. Good deal? Worth it?

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Solar-panels-PV

Thats daft.

Who is going to buy a property with a long term deal set up on it with a third party.

Mortgage issues…….

Plus, why let someone else make money – stick the panels on yourself and make all the money for yourself.

We paid 8K for some and get on average £90 a month so far (Jan, Feb and March). In the summer we will get more from the electricity company.

Thats more than we were getting with 8k in an ISA. Plus in the day it powers my washing machine, dishwasher etc.

Beware:
http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/mortgage_misfortunes_the_free_solar_situation
Had the salesmen for one of these companies at the door this week (basically a kid with a clipboard).
“I’m just doing a survey…”
When I politely explained that I did not wish to purchase his product he called me “selfish” and walked away.
I’d be very wary of the rental schemes.

Who is going to buy a property with a long term deal set up on it with a third party.

+1

Or give you a mortgage as you no longer have 100% title…..

Think there was a BBC article on this recently.

Issues also with house insurance as well as mortgages.

And IIRC they were reducing the rates you would get for the energy as well.

And IIRC they were reducing the rates you would get for the energy as well.

The home owner would get nothing other than the electricity – although that can be quite a lot in the summer – this is what our 4KW system is producing today. this very second it’s chucking out 3.8Kw which is enough for quite a lots of stuff 🙂
I certainly wouldn’t go for the third party deal, too many things to go wrong.

Who is going to buy a property with a long term deal set up on it with a third party.

Mortgage issues……. these two issue are the big problems. However there may be some logic for an older generation who have no real intention of moving and no mortgage. If they don’t expect to sell up (or if they do and its only going to fund a care home) they may not be too worried about any effect on property sale.

Plus, why let someone else make money – stick the panels on yourself and make all the money for yourself.

We paid 8K for some and get on average £90 a month so far (Jan, Feb and March). In the summer we will get more from the electricity company.
the whole logic of the feed in tarrif is completely bonkers. It encourages people who are cash rich to add ‘eco-bling’ to their properties, subsidised by those who are not able to afford to do it themselves! Your response assumes that people have £8k sitting in a bank account that they know they won’t need to access – but also assumed people have a mortgage… those two seem contradictory to me.

Plus in the day it powers my washing machine, dishwasher etc.

one of the major “downsides” to solar power is it produces most power during the day when most people are not in the house (although again this may be less of an issue for retirees). Certainly in our house our usual daytime load on weekdays is low, but our evening demand is high.

Add to that the fact they aren’t even a very efficient way of making power (a typical UK install can take as much as 8 yrs to pay back the energy involved in making the panel, shipping it and installing it!) and that e.g. solar hot water/thermal is probably more ‘eco’ for most people.

Bimbler – one point to make clear to your folks is they don’t get “free electricity during the day”. They get free electricity if it is supplied from the panels, if their instantaneous demand exceeds the panel supply then they pay for the extra. Over the course of a day their average demand may be less than the average supply, but if they put the dishwasher, washing machine, tumble drier and kettle on at the same time as having a shower it will outstrip any normal sized installation. To get maximum benefit from the free energy you need to (a) be bothered enough to pay attention to demand/availability and (b) actually be there to turn on/off appliances as necessary.

Or you could just use the money on properly insulating / proofing your house and making it efficient in the cheapest way, then enjoy the savings rather than try and make a few ££ generating with solar.

Or you could just use the money on properly insulating / proofing your house and making it efficient in the cheapest way, then enjoy the savings rather than try and make a few ££ generating with solar.

That sounds far too sensible to me, it’ll never catch on…

I’ve got the cash in the bank. I’ve no mortgage. I object though on moral grounds to the better off being subsidised by the increased electricity bills of the less well off so I wouldn’t touch these schemes with a bargepole. It’s like the PM’s father in law but on a smaller scale.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027708/Samantha-Camerons-father-nets-350-000-year-subsidised-wind-farm.html

So if I am reading correctly at an average £100 per month return it will take over 6.5 years just to recoup the outlay. Longer if you take into accout the return you could have earned on the £8k in your ISA over that period.

Is the warranty for the system longer than 6.5 years or do you need to pay for any failures / repairs after the 1st year? Raises a couple of questions for me:
1. How long is the warranty on the system?
2. What is the expected life of the system (I guess the warranty question answers that)?
3. Does the £8k include any support and maintenance fee or do you need to pay for out of warranty fixes yourself?

I object though on moral grounds to the better off being subsidised by the increased electricity bills of the less well off so I wouldn’t touch these schemes with a bargepole.

You have laudable morals. Given we should morally reduce our consumption, generate more sustainable energy and reduce waste and other pollution, what do your strong morals have you doing in those areas?