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Solar panels

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Comments

  • #92
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    I completely understand your frustration richiek67 - I've just spent an hour on the phone to a family member (male) trying to help him change his Mac's operating system back from Urdu to English, without success, and it can be annoying when people don't know the basics of something you understand well. What narked me was the idea that a particular person's lack of understanding was common to her sex - "Women!"

    I wouldn't worry too much about the electric shower myself, but then I have the careless rapture of the uninformed where electricity is concerned.


  • #93
    The question
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭The question


    snow mad wrote: »
    I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT MY HEATING BILLS ARE ABOUT 700 A YEAR AND ABOUT 30% OF THIS GOES TO HOT WATER=210. SOLAR PANELS GIVE YOU UP TO 70% OF THIS = 147. AND THESE ARE THE HIGHER % SAVINGS BEING THROWN AROUND. THAT IS A MAXIMUM OF 4410 OVER 30 YEARS THEN TAKE SERVICING OF THIS 150MIN EVERY 4 YEARS=1125

    4410-1125=3285

    BY THESE FIGURES WHICH ARE GENEROUS TO SOLAR THE SYSTEMS ARE HIGHLY OVERPRICE IN THIS COUNTRY AND REALLY HAVE LITTLE HOPE OF PAYING FOR THEMSELVES NEVER MIND SAVING ME MONEY

    Im only recently joined this Forum and have been reading through this thread... What is stated above is absolutely 100% what annoys me though is that a lot of the bigger Thermal Companies seem to be using whats called the double glazed sales book approach and getting people to sign on the night.. Ive even heard of these companies selling thermal systems for the guts of €10k telling people they will make their money back in 7 years... what a joke.. is their no proper enforcement in this...? or is this just another housing boom scam? Don't get me wrong it will work if sold and installed for the right price.. same as PV and wind etc... but 10k? come on ... would anybody else have heard of these mad prices being quoted and being told its that fast of a payback?


  • #94
    richiek67
    Closed Accounts Posts: 305 ✭✭richiek67


    Well I had Electric Ireland bulldoze their way into my house. Had him sitting in a room and I thought it was a prelimm to change back from Airtricity to ESB. Have been with Airtricity for the last 3 years. He wanted me to sign there and then. I had to hunt him out. I informed Airtricity of this and they gave me a discount on the phone there and then to stay with them.
    Joke.


  • #95
    jdrysdale
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭jdrysdale


    ConorOB wrote: »
    Hiya,

    I've got to answer these questions as there's a lot of misinformation and confusion here. Just to let ye know, I'm a solar installer myself, and have specialised in this line of work for the last 8 years with over 400 installations completed.
    -Planning permission is not needed for houses unless your property is a listed building.
    -Management companies rarely allow modifications to the outside of apartments.
    -Grants are still available, capped at €800
    -To correctly size a system, a cylinder is chosen based on the water usage, eg 200 litres for 3-4 people, 300 litres for 5-6 people. The solar collector is sized based on the orientation of the roof and priced based on it's quality, warranty and aesthetics. Budget solutions for 3-4 people should cost 3.5k after grant, 5-6 people costing 4.5k after grant.
    -Like most products, the more you spend, the higher quality you'll get including longer warranties.
    -Tubes will sit proud of the roof and minimise labour and cost. Panels are chosen when aesthetics are a consideration and are built into the roof, having removed tile or slate. These end up looking like velux windows, demand more labour and so cost more, however do NOT cost anything near 8k-12k if your being quoted by a reputable company.
    -There's no point getting panels and raising them on support brackets. If your collector's going to sit proud of the roof then get tubes. They're more effective.
    -Installation can be finished in 1 day however may take up to 2 days. There is a very minimum of disruption to any household while the job is happening, (The hot water will be off for 3-4 hours and the attic off limits for the day).
    -The maths are simple. With solar hot water heating you're highly unlikely to need any other water heating source from March-late October. During winter the solar will preheat your domestic hot water and so will reduce your oil/gas costs by up to 20%. This happens very simply because the closed circuit of central heated water returns to your heater, with less heat extracted from it because your domestic hot water is typically 25-35 degrees with solar as opposed to 5-10 degrees without it. As your heater is thermostatically controlled, it ignites your burner less frequently to maintain the desired house temperatures.
    Many of my previous customer have calculated that they will recover their costs in 6-8 years and that doesn't calculate the increase in BER their properties have gained.

    My advice to anyone considering solar is to get at least 3 quotes from solar specialists, not plumbers who've done a few jobs recently because their plumbing work has slackened.
    Just because someone has the right qualifications on paper doesn't mean they have the experience to do the job right so make sure to get at least 2 references in your area who will vouch for the company's expertise and professionalism. Visit them if you can to verify they've actually got a system in place.
    The only people that say solar doesn't work in Ireland either have no first hand experience of it or have a system that wasn't installed properly.
    The only people that say solar isn't worth it either didn't shop around for a competitive quote or have a system that wasn't installed properly.
    In short, solar works very effectively and economically in Ireland IF it's installed by someone who knows what they're doing. Make sure you choose a specialist.
    Feel free to PM me or ask any other questions.
    ALL THE ABOVE makes the most valid explanation of solar water heating in ireland


  • #96
    richiek67
    Closed Accounts Posts: 305 ✭✭richiek67


    Thanks for that info. I was wondering actually if the solar can tap into central heating and be used as a means of heating this water too? Is there a separate valve that could be used to either bring this element into the system or not?

    Cheers

    Rich

    I might re-consider my solar options...!!


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  • #97
    richiek67
    Closed Accounts Posts: 305 ✭✭richiek67


    jdrysdale wrote: »
    ALL THE ABOVE makes the most valid explanation of solar water heating in ireland


    Hi ConorOB, I'm thinking of going back to the route of solar ...The one thing that was putting me off was the fact that our electric shower in the bathroom only had cold going in. I believe and hope that a pipe will run down the partition and supply a new hot/cold supply shower. This being the case I'm definitely interested in sorting it once and for all . And the back of our house faces south/south west. Ideal.
    Can you let me know if you are available?

    Cheers

    Rich


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