System Size: 3.515 kWp
Panels: 19 Romag 185 Wp, Landscape
Inverter, Location: Diehl Ako 3800S, Attached Garage
Roof Orientation and Pitch: 120° East South-East, 22° pitch
Roof Structure: Curvy Pantile
Mounting System: Mage and Unistrut Subframe
Generation factor, per kWp installed, per annum: 893 kWh
Expected annual generation: 3132kWh
Our Customer’s views:
Reasons for installing PV
“I had the capital. Couldn’t get a ROI to match that estimated for fitting PV panels (8-12%)
Fear of ever escalating energy bills with absolutely no control over the cost and minimal control over consumption (wife + teenage sons)
Unwillingness to pay for other people’s PV installations through escalating electricity bills – this was really the killer punch for me. The government aren’t paying for the FIT subsidy through general taxation which would have been bad enough. The energy companies are paying it and funding it by increasing the cost of electricity for everybody. If I am going to be paying for everyone else to have PV cells then I wanted that benefit for myself too.
The FIT payments and the export payments are about 4 times what it cost me to buy electricity so it’s really a no brainer.”
IWCTE’s proposal, quote and financial information supplied prior to purchase
“The proposal was comprehensive and the quote was competitive. Not the cheapest but within a few % of the cheapest. The financial information on the spreadsheets was very useful but I wasn’t able to get a copy of them so I had to construct a copy myself. Not difficult but tedious nonetheless. I think Patrick provided printouts with some of my figures entered into them but I constructed my own because I played a lot of what-if games that helped me decide to go ahead. Having Patrick do that for me and provide new printouts wasn’t really feasible. Your financial and technical information was much more detailed and deeper than anything anyone else provided. A number of other suppliers’ predictions were rubbish. They clearly hadn’t mastered the concept of spreadsheets or financial modelling and some of them had strange assumptions..i.e. their compounding of annual price rises and inflation didn’t…compound, that is..!”
Key factor(s) for choosing It Won’t Cost the Earth (IWCTE)
“See above….more knowledge, greater responsiveness and willingness and ability to answer a load of daft questions..and without being pushy, sales-wise
Despite being not local you were far and away the better qualified installers”
Your experience planning and scheduling the install
“Good experience…You guys did what you said you would do when you said it would be done.
You were reliable. I can’t stand unreliability.”
Your experience throughout the installation
“See above….a delightful experience especially having several staff members relaxing in the garage all accessing their emails and the internet using their laptops..
Even my wife commented on how good an experience it was and she hates having builders in..!..”
Your feelings about the quality of the install and the equipment used
“Good quality, great equipment. I love interrogating the inverter and seeing how much FIT payment I will receive for that day’s generation…and getting quite excited as it approaches £10 per day..!”
How your property was left after the installation
“In general it was left spotless….I have only one criticism..and I can’t in all honesty see how you could avoid it..unless you rolled it back before starting……but it might be worth mentioning beforehand to new customers…We had insulated our loft to 300mm..and the insulation was all nice and puffy…after you left..because you had to walk on it even on duckboards it was compressed in places down to 100mm and some rolls were separated from the next one so there were gaps. We have ordered some more to supplement what is left. Not a big deal but….worth thinking about.”
IWCTE’s post installation communication and information
“Very good…helpful and to the point…and I like communicating with you guys…even after the event…”
Any other general comments
“Electricity billable usage down to about 25% of before PV cells fitted. (between 5 & 7 kwh average per day after – 24+ kwh per day before) I think we underestimated how much of the generated electricity we would use and exactly how much effect that would have on our electricity bill. I have prevailed upon Amanda to fire up the dishwasher, dryer and washing machine during daylight hours as far as possible. Before we would have switched them on as we went to bed. I think this has had a major impact on reducing our electricity bill. I haven’t had the same success with teenage sons and their computer gaming which almost always takes place after dark..!
Other companies I approached appeared to be electricians or plumbers who were branching out into sustainable technology but without the deep technical knowledge and ability of IWCTE. They might be taking advantage of a blip in demand prior to the March 2012 decrease in FIT.
Might be worthwhile bearing in mind that Eon at least will only take FIT readings over a 14 day period straddling the 3 months after installation. I got my reading in after the 7 days following 15th June so won’t see any payment until I give them another reading on 15th Sept..I am now hoping that because the payment is delayed they will at least pay me all of it according to the rate prevailing on April 2011. They have no way of estimating accurately how much was generated in the last 2 weeks of March.”
Motivation: Being an IT chap for a City bank, David likes the technical side – or maybe more specifically, the analysis side. PV is a natural way to save money while doing the right thing.
System Aspects: The roof is just South of East, and potentially could have suffered significant shade. In fact, our analysis of the photographs and satellite imagery allowed us to agree with David that the shallow angle would in fact leave his roof largely untouched by shade. The next challenge was the exact dimensions – a key factor as the brief was to maximise potential, requiring the pushing of the roof boundaries. David’s final accurate measurements were required to confirm the design.
The narrow rafters led us to install ‘noggins’ – pieces of 3 by 2 timber to ensure that the rafters would not split over time. This is standard for our installs where the rafters fall below 35mm.
As the panels were to be positioned in landscape, we chose to use a subframe – so lower rails running horizontally (as normal), with mounting rails over the top running vertically. This allows the ‘clamps’ to attach to the long edge of the panels as usual. The alternatives are: attaching to the short side of the panel – not feasible and against warranty for many panels; running rails vertically straight onto the rafters – leaves the install vulnerable to rafter spacing and design and can make a final flat finish difficult to achieve. Neither alternatives are so robust.
But finally we had to win over David that we weren’t local to West Sussex. This took some doing, but our comprehensive approach, accessibility and openness persuaded him that we could be trusted. His words above show that we did not let him down.
Installer Notes: Plenty of tea and home-made biscuits ensured work went swiftly. Any concerns over the ladder straying onto next door neighbour’s lawn proved unfounded. Another good experience – with a drink with David at the Black Jug and a rather fine supper at Strada completing the 2 days. Great customers!