Solar Panels.....

[KimberleyChris]

"Giving sensible answers and suggestions is hardly entertaining for a Sunday evening"

Sorry.

Seriously though, a relative has a raft of these on one whole side of his garage roof, and he rates them, although he lives a long way south of me in Hampshire. His airing cupboard is stuffed full to the door with lagging.

The 'electricity' ones are OK, but they seem to do their job best when you don't need them. Warm water is a lot easier to store than electricity.

If you can get your hands on a BIG water tank, connected permanently to the panels, then you only have to heat up the portion that lives in your immersion heater, and it refills itself from the big tank with almost-free warm water, not stone-cold water.

[Spacecadet]

I bet the solar companies cant wait for the next decent storm....

Its the really sunny days which are great. The national grid phone up and ask you to stick some curtains over them cause the can't deal with the power surge. Got £10K for that once

[Freamon]

what are the downsides?

Everyone will instantly know you're a cock.

[BrilloPad]

Has anybody got them on their roof.

We can get some on our roof for free electricity but what are the downsides?

I have a friend who has just started installing solar panels. They typically add a few percent to the value of the house and provide a decent return on the electricty saved. Of course you can also get money for electricty put back into the grid - though the amount is currently up in the air.

The downside is having to have the cash to pay for it. Most customers are older people. Its a shame as the returns are good - but there is a recession on.

If anyone in the South-East wants a quote please let me know.#

BP

[TheFaQQer]

Has anybody got them on their roof.

We can get some on our roof for free electricity but what are the downsides?

My parents had them installed last year - payback in 8 years and they should last 25 years.

At the moment, the subsidy is a little under debate - the government is appealing the high court decision that they couldn't cut it as they did. Our school was looking into it in December, but the scheme changed, so that they were just being offered a 2.5p cut per KW.

As an investment, it was quite a good deal, but not so much any more.

[d000hg]

well , some people might think you are a band-wagon-jumping, subsidy-rent-seeking scrounging, look-at-me-arnt-i-fcnk-saving-the-planet, watermelon turd

but not me.

If you do it purely for the financial incentives, what's wrong with that? Make sure to tell your mates you don't give a fig about the planet when they get misty eyed, but are just screwing the government for some free tax-payers' cash.

[EternalOptimist]

If you do it purely for the financial incentives, what's wrong with that? Make sure to tell your mates you don't give a fig about the planet when they get misty eyed, but are just screwing the government for some free tax-payers' cash.

Because financial incentives, as controlled by HMG help to skew the market and can be taken away or even reversed.

anyone who pays the full whack is welcome to them and good luck. They have their place as well.
All of the emergency telephones in the outback are solar powered, but only an eejit would ask the eskimos to use solar powered telephones.
And the place to draw the line is somewhere south of england

[KimberleyChris]

You've got a big handlebar moustache, haven't you?

LOL.

My present 'voice of treason' avatar is pretty close to what I look like in real life, so you're not far off.

[d000hg]

All of the emergency telephones in the outback are solar powered, but only an eejit would ask the eskimos to use solar powered telephones.

You think they're better with wind or hydro?

Reminds me of this:

All that advert does is make me wish we HAD things like that

[thelurker]

We contacted a company called homserve (or similar!) who would install the panels on our roof so "no cost" to us.

This looks like a **no brainier** of free electricity and extra energy generated goes back to the company that installed the energy.

But where is the catch......