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Original poster

Free solar panels? Where's the catch?

11 replies

sheba1 · 08/10/2010 16:22

A company has approached us offering to install free solar panels on our roof (if it turns out to be suitable). We get to use the electricity it generates during sunlight hours and any excess is sold back to the national grid. The company get the money from this.

One catch is that you have to agree to a 25 year lease on your roof, but we have just moved into what will be our home for a long time.

I can't see us having the spare cash in the future to buy our own panels - I think they're about 10-15K.

Is there a major catch I haven't seen?

OP posts:

Lauriefairycake · 08/10/2010 16:23

British gas are doing this too so have a look at their site too.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 10/10/2010 08:21

Would it have an effect on selling the house later? Your buyers would have to take over the agreement for the remainder of the 25 years or there may be some early repayment type of tie-in. I'm interested in this too.

noddyholder · 10/10/2010 08:22

You have to pay them a fee if you move I think unless of course there is a way of selling to the new buyer.

BeenBeta · 10/10/2010 08:27

Selling a lease on your roof for soalr panels is like selling a portion of the rights to use your house to say put a big advertising hoardng on your roof. It will reduce the value of your house by perhaps quite a lot more than the amount of money you will gain.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 10/10/2010 13:03

Thanks, that's something to consider.

popelloucla · 10/10/2010 13:26

We have solar panels under this scheme.

I'm sure all the companies have different terms and conditions, but we don't have to pay a fee if we move.

Whether they have devalued the house or not, I don't know. It probably depends on the buyer.

The scheme has been very popular in our area and I spot new panels every couple of weeks.

The lease is for the space just above the roof, not the actual roof space. We have quite a large roof, so the panels don't take up much space. Some of the houses with smaller roofs have been completed covered in panels.

We are happy with them, they are certainly reducing our expenditure on electricity.

piratecat · 10/10/2010 13:28

saw this on the tv couple of days ago, there were a load of homes on one street with them on. Sounds interesting.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 10/10/2010 13:42

Do they look acceptable? I know some people don't find wind farms pleasing to the eye and I can't understand that. I haven't seen solar panels but imagine they'd be a bit overwhelming? I sound Victorian, we'll probably all get used to them in years to come.

MyBoysHaveDogsNames · 10/10/2010 18:36

My DH has a business in this sector www.hatchsustain.co.uk. He says free solar panels are offered to people by investors who see a great investment return from the Feed In Tariff (Fit). If you can't afford to pay for the solar panels yourself or borrow the money to pay for them it is an option but be careful. You have to sign over access to your roof for 25 years, and would a prospective buyer like that restriction?

bacon · 11/10/2010 23:22

We get to use the electricity it generates during sunlight hours

Is this the catch? You have to use all the elec in the day - opposite of the old system when you used to turn on the dishwasher at night etc.

Will this system cover you for all your day time needs - ie with all yr white goods on will you need to draw off the grid?

I think the life span of a solar panel is 15 years? Check to see what happens then.

Whether its acceptable or not - its the way forward to renew. You cant complain about pollution if you cant accept renewables.

As soon as more grants are available I will be plastering my farm with them. Aparently this is the best time as feeding tarifs will only go down as more people get interested.

TheNextMrsDepp · 12/10/2010 20:13

The catch is that you miss out on the Feed In Tariffs, which can net you over £1,000-£1,500 a year - the company installing for free will nab those. You still get the reduction in electricity bills of course, but the tariffs are the lucrative part of the deal - they pay out even if you use all the electricity you generate.

I think the rule of thumb is that if you plan to live in your house for less than eight years it is better to have the panels for free and miss out on the tariffs, but if you are going to live there any longer you'd be better off if you pay for the panels and take the tariffs yourself, as they are payable for 25 years. But of course you need to have a spare £15,000 sitting around!

BUT as Bacon mentions, there is some debate at the moment as to whether the coalition government will scrap/reduce the Feed In Tariffs at some time in the future........

I don't think it could reduce the price of your home tbh, I think it would increase it.

I am dead keen to get solar panels on our house, we have the most perfect roof, large and south-facing, just need to do my sums.

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