What PV panel type is best?
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JackGuestWhat would you consider a good quality panel. We got a quote from this website and one of the installers who contacted said all their panels came from Germany, I’ve heard others talk of Chinese and Korean and its starting to get confusing.
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T P SolarGuestMany photovoltaic panels are produced in China. To give you an idea we install 16 x 833 panels (Spanish) which come with a 20 year warranty and an SMA inverter for £5750.
There are many different panel types and inverters on the market so it is also important to have confidence in the installer to make sure that they are offering the right products for your property.
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JackGuestHi,
We are trying to do the right thing and have got a few quotes but still unsure if they are value for money, I’ve listed them below so any advice / comments would be great
Quote 1 £4999.99
16 Futurasan FU-250p 250w poly panels
1 Sofar boost sf3680tl
1 solar iboost immersion booster
Fitting & InstallationQuote 2 £7900.00
16 Evolution +10 panels
1 Growatt inverter
1 HW controller
1 VO unit
Fitting & InstallationQuote 3 £6350.00
16 EC All black mono
1 Tranergy PVI4000TL
1 solar iboost immersion booster
Fitting & Installation -
Norfolk SolarGuestHi Jack
When I first looked at your post I thought quote 1 was too cheap ( are the company making any profit?) Quotation 2 too expensive and quote 3 seemed middle of the road and around the asking price of a middle of the road quotation for the equipment supplied.
I then had a look at the data sheets for quotation 1 and the kit seems fine.
Quotation 1 Italian panels and Chinese inverter.
Quotation 2 Chinese panels and inverter.
Quotation 3 Chinese panels and inverter.The Chinese make 80% of the panels sold around the world and their inverters on paper are excellent.
I have never used any of the inverters so cannot tell you long term reliability but on paper there is not a lot between them.
If you do not mind a blue poly panel, the first quotation is best value for money.
You also need to look at the companies involved in the installation this is just as important as the kit involved.
You can always contact Stuart the owner of this website and he can put you in touch with a good reputable company near to you.
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LincolnshireGuestFor the best possible saving, you can make in your own property from a solar PV installation.
The majority of people in the use 3500 kwh of electricity per year in a property, have gas central heating and a 110 litre water tank. They will use about 10 kWh of electricity per day on an average. There electric bill will be about £450 + Vat per year + standing charge and gas bill about the same. A total utility bill of £1000.00 per year.
I would recommend the following:
A. 2.0 kW Solar PV system if facing south or a 2.5 kW system if facing East or West
This will give you a total generation of 1784 kWh per year within Lincolnshire.I expect you to use 1200kWh within your home, reducing your bill for your electric by 1200 X 12p = £144.00 = 5% VAT Total £151.20
The FITs are as follows:
Total generation 1784 x 12.97 = £231.38
Export 1784/50% x 4.8 p = £42.81
Fit an automatic switch for your hot water tank saving 500kWh per year 500 kW x 12p = £60.00
Fit Energy saving light bulbs, saving 1 kW per day on average over the year, saving 365 kW @ 12p = £43.80Install a boiler controller saving up to 20% on your gas consumption over a year. 16500 less 20% = 3300@ 3.4p per kw = £112.00 per year
Total savings
In-house savings from solar PV £151.20
Boiler controller saving £112.00
Low energy lighting £60.00
Fits payments £231.38 + £42.81= £274.19
Total savings = £537.39 per yearCosts fully installed (approx):
Solar PV system 2 kW £3500.00
Boiler controller £400.00
Low energy lights £200.00 (quality light bulbs with 3 year warranty)
Hot water switch £360.00
Total cost £4460 + VAT 5% = £4683.00
Payback time £4683.00/ £537.39 = 8.7 years.
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