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Thread: Solar panels

  1. #1
    DF VIP Member Soulassassin's Avatar
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    Default Solar panels

    Has anybody here got solar panels on their house?
    Thinking about getting them but have a couple of issues. The first and biggest is the fact my bungalow has a flat(ish) roof. The angle is about 10 degrees so the panels can lie flush getting the sun all of the day. However the installer says he doesn't need to fix them to the roof as they sit on a frame and the weight alone will keep them in place. I think wind would be a massive issue and could blow the entire thing off and not even sure house insurance would cover that.

    Second issue is the return, it will cost about 9k but only save about £70 to £80 a month. Technically it will be making more a month than 9k sitting in a bank account would but about 10 years to pay for itself.

    Does anybody that has them think they are worth it?
    If nature always takes the easiest route, what's easier...?
    The creation of billions of galaxies each containing trillions of stars each with their own solar systems, some with planets that have evolved civilisations with billions of different life forms. OR The creation of just your imagination?

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    DF VIP Member TotallyRandom's Avatar
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    Default Re: Solar panels

    Hey man think of buying solar pannels as buying your electricity up front with the cost of it going up constantly its defo worth it.

    Then they will make you some also.

    Sound like they will be installing on a A frame and that would be fine to be installed like that.
    I do some IT work on the side for a solar company and seen how they do alot of it

    PM me the quote I'll have a look as that seems a bit steep

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    DF VIP Member Copex's Avatar
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    Default Re: Solar panels

    Solar panels will only save you money if you are in between 8 am and 6pm. on days that are not cloudy or overcast
    hacking the internet one bit at a time

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    DF VIP Member Soulassassin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Solar panels

    Quote Originally Posted by TotallyRandom View Post
    Hey man think of buying solar pannels as buying your electricity up front with the cost of it going up constantly its defo worth it.

    Then they will make you some also.

    Sound like they will be installing on a A frame and that would be fine to be installed like that.
    I do some IT work on the side for a solar company and seen how they do alot of it

    PM me the quote I'll have a look as that seems a bit steep
    Yes the panels were going on a frame, almost flush with the roof, not much of an angle but enough to self clean. (Anything too angled would raise the roof height and require planning permission ). But the winds we get are quite scary at times, last storm damaged 4 or 5 houses in our street, including our neighbours. I'll see if I can pm the quote, cheers.

    @Copex, this was a battery system so wether I'm in or not is irrelevant, even overcast new systems are supposed to deliver a saving. (Or so the salesperson sai)
    If nature always takes the easiest route, what's easier...?
    The creation of billions of galaxies each containing trillions of stars each with their own solar systems, some with planets that have evolved civilisations with billions of different life forms. OR The creation of just your imagination?

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    Default Re: Solar panels

    On YouTube ctrl-alt-rees recently installed a couple of panels and it was a useful video. Shortly afterwards he installed a couple more and made sure he told people what he'd done wrong in the first video.

    He installed his on a flat roof on a frame. The frame was angled at the mean direction the sun passes over, considering that it gets higher in the summer etc.

    This was relatively small scale but his intention was to run his retro room/studio and produce his YouTube content using solar energy alone. His first two panel set up with inverter and battery was about £520 from memory. Obviously this is all stand alone, no feed-in to the grid etc.

    I also recently watched on YouTube a Harry's Farm video where he had panels installed on a barn. He didn't have batteries and showed the high cost of the Tesla storage to not make much sense at the moment.
    No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...

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    DF VIP Member Copex's Avatar
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    Default Re: Solar panels

    My system generates 20kwh on a good day and a low of 2kwh on a cloudy / overcast day. You have to generate the power to charge the batts, you will see a saving, but it will depend on the setup.

    Have a look here, https://www.youtube.com/c/TheEVPuzzle/videos
    hacking the internet one bit at a time

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    Default Re: Solar panels

    I'd say it's worth getting panels. We got ours around 6 years ago.

    We don't put anything back into the grid, but have a bypass controller that pushes unused electricity into our immersion heater to heat up hot water.

    Our primary fuel for heating is oil, backed up by a solid fuel Rayburn with a back boiler.

    We ran out of oil in March this year, and have been relying solar on solar heated water for showers, washing up etc.

    Will have to bite the bullet this month though and get an oil order in place.

    @beansontoast always good to hear from fellow ctrl-alt-rees viewers!
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    Thanks to tombott

    beansontoast (28th September 2022)  


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