So… from an Australian point of view, this is really interesting. I’ll start off with my original calculation. I spent AUD $8000 on the first install - so around 5500 gbp. With that I broke even last year (around 4-5 year ROI) however, times are changing fast. I followed up with a powerwall install a year ago as the landscape has changed significantly since the first lot of solar went on. The key issue here is with behind the meter (distributed PV) generation. Originally, solar was a great investment as there was guaranteed infeed rates so even if you didn’t use it, you could feed back to the grid and get a return. Now the situation is different and may be an indicator of what might be in store for the uk. The situation now is that rooftop PV generates so much output that the grid is overloaded. The distribution networks have taken to either increasing grid voltage to force inverters to switch off, or the newer systems are built in with a function to allowed them to be switched off remotely when the grid has excess feed in. To boot - the infeed tarrifs have also dropped too close to nil.
So, as solar PV gains ground, we find that the necessity of having a battery increases as the dramatic swing from day to night places increasing strain on generators, and therefore peak pricing becomes more polarised. Now - if you don’t use it yourself, it’s really worthless.
Originally, solar was a great investment as there was guaranteed infeed rates so even if you didn’t use it, you could feed back to the grid and get a return. Now the situation is different and may be an indicator of what might be in store for the uk.
It's much lower now that it was. 15p at the moment and for a couple of years I think it was zero...
Was very high 20 years ago in the early years and those system made their owners a handsome profit over the years, but probably cost nearly £15k to install back then.
Was very high 20 years ago in the early years and those system made their owners a handsome profit over the years, but probably cost nearly £15k to install back then.
10 years ago when i first looked they wanted 15k for a 2k install....
id have made money on the FIT - but it was hopeless for powering my house and took up the same roof space as my current 4k system.
a 4k system came in at 4700 installed 18 months ago.
