Solar Install costs
 

Hi

Please could anyone / everyone who has had a 14 panel 6kw solar install on a flat roof let me know the cost?
I know there are many variables, but I am just looking at ballpark to see if it is worth considering further.

Thanks

Re: Solar Install costs
 

About €8k fully installed. I think the 60% EU subsidy may no longer be available, but you can deduct up to 60% from your Spanish income tax bill. The current feed-in tarif is about 6c a kWh.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Thanks Fred. Exactly the type of answer I need. You're a star.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Go for it! I have 19 panels rated at 9.5kWh and last year generated 12500Kwh, having used 9500 in total, so my electricity is free and also pays most of the standing charges. Since my total subsidies exceed the total cost it wasn't a difficult decision.

Look at the installation offers carefully. Many of the suppliers just contract the equipment supply and installation to third-party installers and ramp the prices up because they know (or at least last year they did) that the government are paying most of the bill. You could probably buy the kit directly and get someone to install it. Its not rocket science. You screw the panels to the roof, connect up the wires to the control unit and it's done. If you want the subsidies and connection to the grid, there's a lot of paperwork so the big companies do all that. If you want a simple installation at a lower price, DIY is an option. If you want to go down that route, Leroy Merlin have all the kit.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

I have a builder reforming the house and he is replacing the roof waterproofing and insulating it. He's also quoted for a solar install. I want him to do the solar as I don't want to have any chance of losing the guarantee for the roof. So I'm trying to check his costs.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Make sure the brackets the panels are fitted to are adjustable. To get the most from your panels their angle need adjusting twice a year minimum

Solar Panel Adjustment – Off Grid In Spain

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Don't worry too much about positioning, that is usually determined by the direction of the roof. My panels face slightly north of west and what we lose in the morning we make for in the late afternoon. Yes, there is an optimum position, but if you are not getting the output that you want, stick a few more panels up - they are getting cheaper by the minute. I have 19 panels facing in a non optimal direction and generate 12500kwh per year - more than I can use.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Wow, that's huge. Our apartment with 4 of us in it uses about 5k per annum in total, but then again it is just an apartment.

So if you are connected to the grid and generate more during the day than you use round the clock then your electricity use is free overall (apart from any fixed fees)?

Re: Solar Install costs
 

It's a big house with high ceilings, so it needs a lot of heating/cooling. Basically, I pay for any power I take from the grid and they pay me for any overproduction which is fed back into the grid. Last year I almost covered the whole power bill, including the monthly static charges. This year wont be quite so good as the differential between the two prices is increasing. Last year the differential was about 3c and this year its about 5c. The basic power will be covered, but I will end up paying a slightly higher % of the static charges. It's still a very good deal as most of the installation costs are covered by Spanish/EU subsidies.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Its OK to ignore positioning when you have a lot of panels, most people don't Fred. In the UK I'm running 26x500w panels (ground mounted at the end of the garden) but I re-angle the brackets a couple of times a year and it makes a big difference to the power hitting the battery banks.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

Well, you have far more panels than I do. The OP is in Spain, and from a solar point of view, you could be in a different world. There is so much sun, and with the huge grants available, efficiency is not the issue it would be in the UK. We haven't seen the sun today, but will have generated about 40kw.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

We have no solar and wont have until we move. But it should be about efficiency as the more you can generate and feedback the better off the world (or at least the country) should become and then will not have to use any other type of generation. Or can use the power to increase base load.
I have an issue with most of the people I actually know who have solar and that is that they are very selfish once they get solar.

"Oh I generate Xmillion KW and as its free I have all the stuff in the house on even though its not really needed. If the company I sold it back too would give me the same price as I pay then I might think about it"
Every single one says a version of this.

Solar panels in colder climates are more efficient than those in hotter ones even with less sunlight. Panel efficiency drops as the temp rises.
So those who live in sunnier places (hotter) should be more interested in keeping them at the best angle.

This is current data (I have an ex work mate who runs a company who rent your roof for solar)
Solar panel efficiency decreases as temperatures increase due to the temperature coefficient. Cooler temperatures improve efficiency, while hotter temperatures above 25°C (77°F) can reduce efficiency by up to 0.38% per degree Celsius.

Anyway, once we finally get some and a solar water heater, we will feed back as much as possible. Even if its at 10% of what we pay, I have the technical knowledge to build a unit that will follow the sun (already do this with the weather station to record light levels) but I bet there already is a system available to improve the efficiency fairly cheaply anyway and it will be powerd by that 'free' electric.

Re: Solar Install costs
 

they exist. they are ground based and pole mounted with the panel(s) mounted to it... Space would be needed and a clean view...