Solar panels deliver a year of juice
Bijli: the electrons get overexcited, you know
IT IS NIGH on a year since 15 solar panels were installed on the roof of INQ Central, so we thought we’d bring you this last update before we shuffle off our tabloid coil.
Since installation, the price of bijli (electricity) has gone up a bit, but we haven’t paid a bill since this time last year. Eon has been delivering cheques regularly, and we’re in credit, so have to keep remembering to get the supplier to refund us.
The two screen shots here need a little bit of explanation. The first one says that we’ve earned £270.99 pounds in the year, but that’s inaccurate. The Fronius software is a tad buggy. But the rest of the figures are about right.
The second shot shows the vagaries of the British weather graphically. April 2007 was a lovely month, but the rains set in June and July, and our summer was so wet that the swifts headed back to Africa much earlier than normal, poor souls.
If you’ve come to the pages of the INQ for the first time, then please try a search for solar panel to read our other stories on the subject.
So far, February is glorious! All God’s creatures think it’s Spring, poor deluded souls. µ
Comments
ROI
So how much did the solar panels cost you then? No use knowing how much you earnt without knowing how much you spent...missing key information?
I keep reading the articles on the solar panels, but (as far as I remember, correct me if I'm wrong) they have never included what I've been looking for.How much did they cost?
Where did you get them from?
How big are they?
How many did you need to install to get the results in your articles?
[We did write this. See here
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/03/08/inq-solar-panels-up-and-running
The government divvied up 50 per cent of the cost and the install, so we paid 8,000 UK.]
Breakeven
So, based on this year, how many years until your break even point?Comparo
For comparison and info you can use http://home.altenergystore.com/ which lists a Kyocera KC200GT at around US$1,000 a piece.awesome!
keep the juice flowing! you serve as a great example for other companies. hopefully more companies go solar and slowly make it more affordable for the little guys.Payback time ?
Just curious, based on 1 year of use, when do you think you will1) break even, thanks to the 50% grant ?
2) break even without the grant
Yes, yes, its all about saving energy, hugging trees etc. but I am still curious to know.
Bills
What was your annual electricity bill before you got this stuff in? I see the old story refers to a 25 year lifespan on the panels.Key Info?
Actualy I'm more interested in how much energy it takes to make a solar panel, compared to how much it will realisticly produce in its lifetime?Solar panels are becoming more eficient we are told, but only money is used as the key metric in all stories I see.
If it doesnt produce more than it takes to make, then its a waste.
Right then!
How soon until you'll be spotting the dosh to have us over for a look see?ROI
correct me if I'm wrong, but I would estimate the value of the electricity you have crated at around 300 punds, which would mean a yield of 3.75% this year for your 8000 punds of investment (and that's thanks to government subsidies, but not including the price of the happiness derived from delusions of planet saver)Go!
I've been doing the same since 1979, and have run both a computer consultancy (embedded programming) and a machine shop, all solar but for the odd times we have to run a backup generator. From a "control over your life" point of view, the ROI is overwhelming. But there's another, very real roi that's not mentioned, as it probably doesn't apply to the Inq.Where I live is very rural, I bought land and built on it. Guess what? The power company is named that for more than one reason -- they effectively enforce the building code -- no permits, no power.
Hah! As a result of no permits, all 4 of the buildings on my campus are taxed as barns, not dwellings, workplaces etc.
This pays for the panels, batteries, inverters, and gas for the generators, more than once per year.
See www.coultersmithing.com for more, and "don't tell on me".