Solar PV Installation, Step-by-Step
With their Energy Station solar panel installation, Mr & Mrs Woolley have been regularly earning money from the FIT
When the Feed in Tariff (FIT) was announced in April 2010 we thought it all sounded too good to be true and so we did a lot of research into Solar PV. We really did our homework and discovered that the Government pay you 41.3p per kilowatt generated and that the payment is also index linked and guaranteed for 25 years! And even better, we still get the payment even if we use the electricity. And we get to do our bit for the environment too!
We then set about getting quotes from both local and nationwide firms. This was quite an eye-opener as most firms we spoke to knew less than we did about solar PV and in a lot of cases the panels that they had quoted for were the lowest efficiency.
We then found Energy Station almost on our doorstep! Jonathan was the most knowledgeable person regarding solar PV that we had encountered. He spent a long time with us explaining all about solar PV and then talking us through the system he had designed and he then submitted a very detailed quote. No pushy salesmen; no empty promises. When all the quotes were in Energy Station won hands down not just on price but also because they were nice people and easy to deal with. The fact that he is local and is easy to contact made things even better!
The installation went as planned – they started on the day they promised and even managed to finish a day early despite encountering the odd inevitable problem and awful weather. Both Jonathan and Eliot obviously take great pride in their work and they did a very neat and tidy job. We were both very impressed with their attention to detail. They went to great pains to hide the wire to the fuse box – not easy in a house like ours! Even the fact that our house is quite difficult to access at the back didn’t faze them. Throughout the process they acted in a business- like and professional manner and kept us fully informed.
Since then the meter has been ticking over nicely despite the bad weather but today the sun came out and it felt great to see the meter reading shoot up. Even the threat of imminent electricity price increases could not wipe the smile from our faces!
Thanks Jonathan and Elliot for doing such a great job – you are worth your weight in coffee and flapjacks and welcome anytime to call in and admire your handiwork!
Mandy and Hugh Woolley, Thurnby
UPDATE: MAY 2011
It is now three months since Energy Station installed a 3.84 KW system of 16 PV panels on our south facing roof at the end of February. We also had a Sunny Beam monitor which displays our current generation and various others pieces of information and this has provided us with some interesting facts and figures.
In the three months since February 23rd we have generated 1240 KW. With the current FIT this will earn us £524! In addition to this any electricity we used as we were making it was free.
During this time we have saved 867kg of carbon dioxide and our most productive day so far was 2nd of May when we made 26 KW.
It still seems too good to be true. Our only regret is that we didn’t have the PV panels earlier.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 2011
Our system is now nearly 7 months old and we have generated 2780 KW so far. Every month we have generated more than the projected figures we were given except August which really was unseasonably dull. Our first FiT payment was nearly £600 and we are expecting the next payment any day now and this should be a little more.
Earlier on whenever we made more electricity than we used it sent the meter backwards because it was an oldish electricity meter! This is not uncommon and Ecotricity seemed in no hurry to fit a new one. Even better they didn’t charge us for this “free” electricity. Because of this we have saved even more money on electricity bills than we had expected. We now have a new meter and so it will be easier to say just how much we have saved compared to last year.
And on top of all this we have saved 1946kg of CO2. We hope to get our money back in 8 years which will be great. Roll on clear bright days!
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 2012
Tomorrow is the first birthday of our PV system. In the first year, we have generated 3580kW - that's over 330kW more than predicted! We have also saved 2506kg of CO2. The FIT payments have been coming in nicely and reading the figures on our generation meter is still one of the highlights of our day.
More information
For more information about Energy Station, call 0116 288 4000 for a free, no-obligation quote.