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Electric heating systems and solar panels

fattmattfattmatt
in Not Sports Related
Hi,

My old back boiler will probably need replacing in the next 5 years or so. I'm considering installing electric heating (maybe under-floor heating?). Then using a domestic photovoltaic system to offset the cost of the additional electricity use.

I think that you can then export power to the National Grid during the sunny months, to reduce electricity bills.

Does anyone have, or have any knowledge about these systems?

Cheers!

Comments

  • smiffyboysmiffyboy
    Unless you are planning on staying in the house for 15 + years I can't see you could recoup the initial expense of installing it with what the national grid will give you back for the electricity or by what you will save on your bill
  • SwisdomSwisdom
    What sort of house do you have - large or small? Is your roof in the right orientation to maximise the PV panels?
  • AddictedAddicted
    It'll become a more viable option with new battery tech. With selling surplus as the only real option at the moment (rather than storing for your own use) it takes a fair while to recoup the initial costs.

    It will probably make your property more sellable too, although not add much to the value.
  • fattmattfattmatt
    Smiffyboy. If I don't stay then cheap energy costs is a good selling point I'd say.

    Swisdom. My house is a medium size house with a pitched roof facing directly South with a flat roof extension that could also house panels.

    Thanks,
  • MrOneLungMrOneLung
    Wife looked into this, and think would save/make £120 per year which was not really worth the initial outlay of 3k or so.
  • charltonkestoncharltonkeston
    fattmatt said:

    Smiffyboy. If I don't stay then cheap energy costs is a good selling point I'd say.

    Swisdom. My house is a medium size house with a pitched roof facing directly South with a flat roof extension that could also house panels.

    Thanks,

    I asked about this stuff at the Grand designs show the other week and also look into it myself.
    A normal install is an array that will produce about 4KW/H. This has a break even point of 7 years and should earn you about 16k over 20 years. I had ball park figures of about 6K for a 4KW/H install but I reckon you really want double this and some to make worthwhile. Its only another couple of thousand to do so.
    I don't think you will be heating your house with a one sided array of the ones you normally see on house roofs. Also its only the government feed in discounts that make viable, how long will these last?
    The best saving you can make is to reduce the amount of energy required to maintain your home, i.e. insulate it and turn your thermostat down a couple of degrees.
    Personally I wouldn't bother.
  • fattmattfattmatt
    Of course I'd also be considering the fact that I wouldn't have the outlay for a new boiler, which would need to be relocated from behind the fireplace to the kitchen. The fireplace could then house a log burner which would be a cheap way to add extra heat when needed.

    I'd be looking at probably 3K for the boiler work to be done. This would go some way to funding the photovoltaics.

    Charltonkeston- good point about the government feed-in discounts though. I guess that only time will tell on this one.



  • SwisdomSwisdom
    A Feed-in Tariff scheme (FIT) has been provided by the UK Government where you can be paid for the generation of electricity from your photovoltaic (PV) system, whether you use it yourself or export it back to the grid.

    The generation tariff varies depending on your EPC rating and you will get paid a set rate for each unit (kWh) of electricity you generate for the period of the tariff (up to 20 years). The export tariff will get a further 4.85p/kWh from your energy supplier for each unit you export back to the electricity grid. Only one meter will need to be installed to measure the amount of electricity being generated by the PV system, unless the system is greater than 30kWp then an export meter will need to be installed. For systems smaller than 30kWp it is assumed that 50% of electricity generated by the PV system will be exported back to the grid.

    When applying for a FIT you will need to provide evidence for the property’s EPC rating. If this information is not available it will be assumed that the property has an EPC rating below band D and therefore the lower generation tariff rate will be applied. We would advise that an EPC is provided as the higher rate can range from 13.39p/kWh to 12.92p/kWh and the lower rate from 6.16p/kWh to 5.94p/kWh, which is a considerable amount. The lower amounts for each rate apply between July-September 2015.

    Please also note that the installations of the PV system must be commissioned by a MCS certified installer using a MCS certified product or be certified under an equivalent scheme. Once the system has been installed it will need to be registered on the central MCS database and you will then need to complete the application form for the chosen FIT supplier. The FIT supplier will confirm your eligibility and the date you are eligible for payments from. Regular meter readings will be required to ensure you receive the correct payments.

    More information can be found at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/domestic/content/feed-tariff-scheme.

    Personally I think it's a fad and won't last. It will take a long time to pay back the initial outlay and the panels will only deteriorate so their efficiency will reduce.

    Good luck if you go for it
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